LEWISTON, Idaho — Lewis-Clark State College’s nursing program has again been ranked No. 1 among four-year higher education institutions in Idaho by RegisteredNursing.org, a nursing advocacy organization.
LC State’s program earned a score of 92.94 out of 100 to earn the honor, which is two points higher than any other four-year public institution in the state.
Now in its ninth annual ratings, RegisteredNursing.org assesses nursing programs on several factors, including how well the program supports students toward licensure and beyond, and past and present first-time NCLEX-RN test pass rates. The NCLEX-RN exam is the national exam that all nursing program graduates must take to demonstrate competency and to be licensed to begin their nursing career. State boards of nursing can use a school’s overall exam pass rates as one measure of a school’s ability to deliver a quality nursing education. LC State’s first-time NCLEX pass rates have been the highest of the public four-year institutions in Idaho for the past five years.
LC State offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Students interested in the BSN program must complete pre-program requirements at LC State or an accredited college or university before they can apply and be accepted into the LC program to take upper division BSN courses.
The college also offers BSN completion tracks for currently licensed practical (LPN) and registered nurses (RN). The LPN-BSN track is offered through a combination of traditional on-campus and online course delivery, while the RN-BSN track is delivered fully online.
LC State now also offers a Master of Science in Nursing degree. The online graduate program, which is the only one of its kind among public Idaho institutions, represents the first full master’s degree offering in the college’s 131-year history. The college received Idaho State Board of Education approval for the program in February and was notified of NWCCU approval in late June.
