Spartanburg Community College expands nurse education

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Spartanburg Community College is increasing its capacity to bring more nurses into the workforce.

The college gained approval from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing to expand the size of its RN program by 49%, allowing the college to serve 147 new students each year, according to a news release from Spartanburg Community College.  The program now operates year-round, offering classes during the fall, summer and spring semesters.

Additionally, the South Carolina Board of Nursing approved an expansion of SCC’s LPN program, which will offer day, night and weekend classes at the college’s Cherokee County Campus in Gaffney. With the approved expansion, the program will double in size to serve 100 students each year.

Night and weekend classes for the LPN program will begin in spring 2024. 

“With this expansion of student acceptance into our RN and LPN programs, SCC seeks to meet the ongoing needs of our health care community in the South Carolina Upstate,” Annette Guy, dean of nursing at SCC, said in the news release. “The SCC RN program is ACEN accredited and the college has just been awarded ACEN candidacy for the LPN program, ensuring both programs meet national educational standards.”

SCC President Michael Mikota said the expanded program will help fill a long-running workplace need.

“South Carolina faces a severe nursing shortage that presents a significant threat to the critical care needs of our citizens and places financial burdens on our communities,” Mikota said in the release. “The proud Chasers of Spartanburg Community College are taking bold action to address the nursing shortage in a way that will provide the best return on investment for our communities. We will ensure that individuals who dream of a career in health care are empowered to both hone and utilize their unique, life-saving skills right here in their respective communities.”

SCC offers two pathways for a career in nursing, the Associate Degree in Applied Science-Nursing and the Diploma of Applied Science-Nursing.

The 2022 class of ADN students had a 100% pass rate of the NCLEX-RN exam, meaning all members are eligible to hold an RN license and immediately enter the workforce. Deadline to the spring semester cohort is Oct. 13.