Middle Tennessee State University’s School of Nursing is listed among the top nursing programs in the region, according to recently released rankings by a nursing advocacy website.

NurseJournal.org, a social community website that targets nurses and health care professionals, listed MTSU at No. 15 among almost 1,200 schools of nursing in the eastern United States that the website evaluated in its “America’s Best Nursing Schools” rankings.

MTSU was ranked highest among Tennessee nursing programs and was the only state program ranked in the Top 30.

MTSU graduate student Todd Vickrey, left, works in a nursing lab with nursing students LaQwell Cheart, Jonathan Holland, Lauren Sliger, and Hanna Lovelady in this spring 2014 photo. (MTSU file photo by Andy Heidt)

Earning a nursing degree could be a pathway to a promising career, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that employment for registered nurses alone is projected to grow by more than 20 percent by 2022 with average salaries of $60,000 and higher.

“MTSU always knew it had a high quality and nationally competitive School of Nursing,” MTSU Provost Brad Bartel said. “These rankings affirm the quality and value of the program. It is a major achievement.”

The next highest ranked Tennessee program was the University of Tennessee-Martin’s, which was ranked 31st, followed by Austin Peay State University at 32 and the University of Memphis at 35. Other large four-year Tennessee universities in the ranking included UT-Chattanooga (76), Vanderbilt (389), University of Tennessee-Knoxville (401) and Tennessee Tech (465).

To see the full list of rankings, go here.

Click the logo to see the complete rankings list.

In evaluating the nursing programs, the website assigned scores in five categories: quality, affordability, convenience, satisfaction and value. Those scores were totaled to get an overall score that formed the basis for the rankings.

MTSU received its highest category score for affordability. To determine a category score, the website awarded points in various subcategories. For example, for affordability, the website not only considered the overall cost for a student to enroll in the program, but also factors such as financial aid percentages, student loan debt and cost of living.

The MTSU School of Nursing undergraduate program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and approved by the Tennessee Board of Nursing. The graduate program is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing.

The School of Nursing offers a traditional four-year nursing program; an R.N. to B.S.N. program for currently licensed RNs with a diploma or associate’s degree in nursing; and a master’s degree through a consortium program with three tracks: nursing education, nursing administration, and family practice nursing.

For the 2014 calendar year, the MTSU School of Nursing reported a retention rate of 97 percent and a graduation rate of 91 percent. A survey of 2014 graduates showed a 94.5 percent job placement.

For more information about MTSU’s School of Nursing programs, go to www.mtsu.edu/nursing. For more information about Nurse Journal, visit www.nursejournal.org.

— Jimmy Hart (jimmy.hart@mtsu.edu)