ROCK SPRINGS – Western Wyoming Community College’s nursing program was recently ranked second in the state according to Registerednursing.org.
Western scored 89.74 points for its program. According to the website, Western offers an “exceptional ADN program designed to be completed over 5-6 consecutive semesters. Throughout the 67 total semester credit hours required, students learn about psychology, acute and chronic illnesses, anatomy, and more.”
The website analyzed nine nursing schools in Wyoming, only ranking three of them. The methodology used to determine the schools’ rankings was based on the pass rates for the NCLEX-RN exam, an exam used throughout the U.S. to assess a prospective nurse and is required for their licensure. After obtaining the data, the group then excluded data regarding programs that have closed or will close, as well as data pertaining programs with no pass rate data from the previous one or two years depending on the state and years of data available, and programs with only one year of pass rate data available.
Ranks are then based on the pass rate data from the most recent years available, going back as far as five years, with each school’s pass rate averaged and weighted by how recent the exams were taken. For Wyoming, pass rate data ranging from 2018 to 2022 was used in school rankings.
“When you consider the other programs we were evaluated with, it is an honor,” Kim Dale, Western’s president said.
Dale said Wyoming has high quality nursing schools within and being ranked so highly shows the dedication of the program’s faculty. She said when programs are ranked, it always comes down to the faculty involved in those programs. Dale said Western’s nursing faculty have shown themselves to be some of the most dedicated to both the teaching and nursing professions.
She said she is proud of Western’s designation and congratulates the other schools that were ranked. Dale also said she looks forward to seeing what the rankings will be once Western is able to build its health sciences addition.
