College of Nursing ranks 10th among BSN programs

The UNMC College of Nursing’s bachelor of nursing program has ranked 10th among 694 programs in the country. The rankings were published Sept. 13 in the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges issue.

This is the first time U.S. News & World Report has published undergraduate bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) rankings. The rankings are based on the judgments of deans and senior faculty members of nursing schools and departments at institutions around the country.

Juliann Sebastian, PhD, dean and professor in the UNMC College of Nursing, said the college’s inaugural ranking among top baccalaureate of science in nursing programs highlights what it strives for in its mission at UNMC — transforming lives through excellence in education, research, and practice.

"The stellar faculty, staff, students, clinical and community partners and alumni of our BSN program make it what it is and help us aim high for a superlative learning experience for students every day," Dr. Sebastian said. "This recognition comes at an important time, when the pandemic has shone a light on the courage, knowledge, teamwork and compassion that nurses bring to their work. It is our privilege to do all we can to provide transformative education for nurses in this program as well as in our graduate programs."

In the spring and summer of 2021, U.S. News surveyed deans and senior faculty members at each of the 694 undergraduate BSN degree-granting nursing programs that met the below criteria.

To have received the survey and be ranked, an institution's nursing school or department that offers the BSN degree must:

• Be accredited at the bachelor's level by either the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education or the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. 
• Be a regionally accredited institution that awarded at least 35 BSN degrees, according to 2018-2019 data from the Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System. 

Deans and faculty members were asked to rate the academic quality of peer institutions' BSN programs on a 5-point scale: outstanding (5), strong (4), good (3), adequate (2) or marginal (1). Individuals who were unfamiliar with a particular school's programs were asked to select "don't know."

Average peer assessment scores for each nursing program were determined by computing a trimmed mean — eliminating the two highest and two lowest scores given by respondents. Average scores were then sorted and BSN programs were ranked in descending order based on the average peer assessment score. Of those surveyed, 28.3% responded.

"While recognition is not the reason for excellence, it is validating to faculty, staff and students that their national peers recognize the stellar program and opportunities at the college," said Lynnette Leeseberg Stamler, PhD, associate dean for academic programs. "This is a team effort where we all contribute. Our clinical partners we collaborate with contribute to creating and sustaining our wonderful BSN program."

"This is fantastic news and serves to quantify the wonderful work that our faculty and staff do every day in assuring that our UNMC students receive a stellar BSN education," said Kati Bravo, PhD, director of the BSN program.