ASU's Online MSN Program Ranked Among the Most Affordable in the U.S.

Angelo State University’s online Master of Science in Nursing-Nurse Educator program has been ranked among the “30 Most Affordable Online Nurse Educator Programs” in the U.S. for 2016 by Best Master of Science in Nursing Degrees, an online education resource guide for professional and prospective nurses, said a press release Tuesday.

ASU ranked No. 16 in the nation out of 182 schools that offer online graduate degrees in nurse education. Only accredited nursing programs were considered for the list and were ranked for affordability of in-state graduate tuition and fees. Data sources included U.S. News and World Report and the National Center for Education Statistics.

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, there is a tremendous need for nurse educators to teach student nurses as nearly 80,000 qualified students are turned away from U.S. nursing schools each year due to a critical shortage of faculty.

Graduates of Angelo State’s M.S.N.-Nurse Educator program are prepared to teach student nurses and health care providers in a variety of educational settings, including at the vocational, associate and baccalaureate levels, as well as in health care environments.

Dr. Wrennah Gabbert, chair of the ASU Nursing Department, said, “This is an exciting designation for our M.S.N.-Nurse Educator program. It is an affirmation that we are addressing one of our primary goals for this program of study – to provide an affordable, accessible pathway to enter the nurse educator role in academic or institutional work environments. With the demand for nurses increasing daily, qualified applicants are being turned away due to insufficient numbers of faculty. We are working very hard to address this need.”

Texas dominated the Best Master of Science in Nursing Degrees 2016 rankings with nurse educator programs at 10 of the state’s colleges and universities ranked in the top 30. The complete rankings list can be found at www.bestmasterofscienceinnursing.com/best/affordable-online-nurse-educator-programs/.

According to the press release, this marks the fifth top national ranking for ASU’s online graduate nursing programs in 2016. The previous rankings were compiled by U.S. News and World Report, CollegeChoice.net, TopMastersInHealthcare.com and RN-to-BSN Online Programs.

More information on all ASU’s graduate nursing degree programs is available at www.angelo.edu/dept/nursing/msn.php.