HENDERSON, NV – Nevada State College President Bart Patterson presented the annual State of the College address to community members and stakeholders, highlighting 2018-2019 successes as well as the goals and challenges for the next year.
In the past year, Nevada State College has set many new records including the largest student enrollment number in its history, which helped maintain its status as the second fastest-growing college in the nation. Nevada State College also has become one of the most diverse college campuses in the state of Nevada.
Patterson announced that construction has begun on the college’s first student housing complex. The 342-bed project is crucial for Nevada State College as it will attract students from across the state and boost retention and graduation rates. The complex will be ready for students starting Fall 2020.
The School of Nursing continues to break barriers by having the largest RN to BSN program in the region with more than 725 students enrolled. Nevada State College nursing students have one of the highest passing rates for the National Council Licensure Examination of Registered Nurses. The average Nevada State College nursing graduates are hired in less than three months after graduation at hospitals across Southern Nevada.
The School of Education is making key contributions to the critical teacher shortage in Nevada and in the nation. The newly funded Glenn and Ande Christenson School of Education building, which was approved this year by the Nevada Legislature, will help Nevada State College accept a greater number of students who will be trained in key areas such as early childhood education.
The Deaf Studies program within the School of Liberal Arts graduated their first class of five students in May 2019. Nevada State College was the first to offer a four-year deaf studies degree in the state.
For the upcoming year, the college’s top goal is to improve student success. Nevada State College’s priority of small class sizes and personalized student attention is a key factor that has significantly enhanced student retention and graduation. Over the last five years, the freshman retention rate has increased from 13 percent to 78 percent, which is more than any other higher education institutions in the state. The overall graduation rate has also increased 52 percent, compared to the 2014-2015 academic year.
Patterson also addressed public transportation, one of the college’s major concerns, and the ways to improve access from other areas of the valley. Nevada State College, in partnership with Lt. Gov. Kate Marshall and the College of Southern Nevada, is currently looking into a transportation pilot program that will experiment with a student shuttle service, which can be utilized to improve overall transportation to and from the campus.
The 2018-2019 academic school year was marked with history-making success, and according to Patterson, “was the year that the improbable became the reality for Nevada State College.”
About Nevada State College
Nevada State College, a four-year public institution, is a member of the Nevada System of Higher Education. Nevada State places a special emphasis on the advancement of a diverse and largely under-served student population. Located on a developing 512-acre campus in the foothills of Henderson, Nevada, the college was established in 2002 as a new tier in the state system between the research universities and the two-year colleges and, as such, is Nevada’s only state college. Nevada State College is the second fastest-growing college in the country and the fastest growing in Nevada. It currently has nearly 5,500 students and more than 600 full- and part-time employees. For more information, visit https://nsc.edu.
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