Online Graduate Nursing Program Ranked Best in Nebraska

U.S. News & World Report ranked Clarkson College 39th out of 147 eligible institutions in the nation in the category of 2016 Best Online Graduate Nursing Programs, making it the top ranked school in Nebraska.

This is the fifth year U.S. News released a Best Online Graduate Nursing Programs list and the fifth time Clarkson College achieved a high-ranking status in the category, this year earning a total of 79 out of 100 possible points. The rankings recognize the best online graduate nursing programs based on five factors: student engagement (30 percent), faculty credentials and training (25 percent), peer reputation (20 percent), student services and technology (15 percent), and admissions selectivity (10 percent).

“This national ranking is an honor and emblematic of our focus on quality and cost control,” said Clarkson College President Dr. Louis Burgher.” Graduate Nursing Director Dr. Patricia Coyle-Rogers expressed her gratitude to the nursing faculty and College administrative staff for their commitment to high academic standards. “Without their expertise and guidance, our program would not be as successful as it is today.”

To gather the information necessary to create the 2016 Best Online Graduate Nursing Programs rankings, U.S. News compiled a list of public, private and for-profit institutions granting Master’s degrees in Nursing that were accredited by either the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).  Next, U.S. News collected data from these schools by sending them statistical questionnaires. Respondents were asked if they would be offering distance education (online) graduate-level nursing courses in the 2015-16 academic year.

Between the start of data collection in August 2015 and the October 2015 closing date, 149 schools, or 29 percent of the schools surveyed, said they would be offering online Master's in Nursing degree programs, while the rest either said they would not be or chose not to respond. This count is up from 133 schools the previous year.

The Clarkson College Graduate Nursing program is accredited by the ACEN and began offering distance-learning courses in 1998. The master’s degree program offers specialties in family nurse practitioner, nursing education, nursing health care administration, and adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner. Post-MSN certificate programs are also available online. The curricula for each program prepare registered nurses to promote, maintain, supervise and restore health; identify health risks; and assess, diagnose and manage patients. Students are prepared to function as nurse educators, leaders, consultants, advocates and advanced practitioners.

Other colleges in Nebraska to make the 2016 U.S. News Best Online Graduate Nursing Programs list include Creighton University (ranked 64th) and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (ranked 73rd). To view the complete list of this year’s rankings, visit the U.S. News & World Report website. All unranked programs (those reporting fewer than 10 enrolled students) and Rank Not Published programs (those whose overall scores are in the bottom 25 percent) are listed but not numerically ranked.