Texas A&M University-Texarkana to Open New Traditional Four-Year Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program

Texas A&M University-Texarkana has announced that they are accepting applications for a new traditional four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program which will begin next year. The new program is being added to complement the already existing RN to BSN transfer degree program and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program.

Texas A&M-Texarkana’s traditional BSN program is being opened partly in response to new recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) that the proportion of nurses with a bachelor’s degree increase to 80 percent by 2020. Further research from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) shows that baccalaureate and graduate prepared nurses are linked to lower mortality rates, fewer med ication errors, and positive patient outcomes.

The inaugural cohort at Texas A&M-Texarkana will accept 30 students, followed by a class of 35 students in the program’s second year, and 40 students the third year. Students in the program will be required to complete 120 credit hours, including 61 credit hours of prerequisite and core coursework and 59 credit hours of nursing courses. Clinical courses will take place in a state-of-the-art facility with high-fidelity simulation for practicing skills in the lab. For patient care experience, students will be placed in local hospitals and health care settings in the region.

In order to meet the needs of the new program, Texas A&M-Texarkana will receive $1.8 million in state funding over the course of 2016 and 2017 to expand its Nursing Department and support the regional medical community. The university also broke ground on a new Building for Academic and Student Services to house classrooms, skills and simulation labs, and faculty offices, expected to open in 2019.