IU Northwest tops state list of best-value nursing programs Nursing Explorer weighs NCLEX-RN pass rate with net cost to determine best and most affordable education

IU Northwest tops state list of best-value nursing programs Nursing Explorer weighs NCLEX-RN pass rate with net cost to determine best and most affordable education

Nursing Explorer, a searchable database of nursing programs across the U.S., recently published its annual ranking of Best-Value Nursing Schools, and Indiana University Northwest topped the Indiana list.

With data collected from the U.S. Department of Education, the Indiana State Board of Nursing, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. (ACEN), Nursing Explorer examines data from more than 3,000 nursing schools and ranks 1,721 schools across 45 states.

The ranking formula weighs the pass rates for the National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX-RN) with a university’s affordability. A 70 percent weight is given to the pass rate and 30 percent weight to net price, which means the payment after financial aid is applied. The resulting score reflects a program’s quality of education and affordability.

IU Northwest’s 2018 NCLEX-RN pass rate of 96.9 percent―among the highest in the state―combined with its net price, estimated by Nursing Explorer at an average of $6,736 per year, is what elevated IU Northwest to the top spot out of the 26 programs that the site evaluated from the pool of 49 nursing schools in Indiana.

Professor Linda Delunas, director of the School of Nursing, said that what makes IU Northwest’s program stand out is its unique partnership between faculty and students.

“Students and faculty work in partnership to ensure that students are well-prepared for the NCLEX-RN exam, and our results show that this partnership works,” said Delunas. She added, ““Our affordable, high quality program prepares nurse for today’s workplace, making an IU Northwest degree in nursing very desirable to employers.”

IU Northwest’s nursing programs include a traditional Bachelor of Science degree in nursing (BSN), as well as a BA/BS-to-BSN program and RN-to-BSN program. IU Northwest also offers a master’s degree in nursing Family Nurse Practitioner option.

For more information on IU Northwest’s nursing degree programs, please visit iun.edu/nursing.