History
The Department of Nursing was established in 1948. Initially, the Department offered a certificate in public health nursing. The R.N.-B.S.N. program started in 1961. By starting the R.N.-B.S.N. program, NCCU became one of the first universities in the United States to offer a baccalaureate in nursing to associate-degree and diploma nurses. In response to the expressed need for a generic baccalaureate program, the Department of Nursing admitted its first class of generic or traditional students in the Fall of 1969. The program received full accreditation in 1970, a status that has been maintained since that time, with it currently accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing.
The Department of Nursing seeks to create and maintain an optimum learning environment that encourages shared governance and to foster leadership, scholarship, continuous discovery and service that enable graduate professional nurses to deliver culturally competent care and meet the needs for quality health care in a global society.
We collaborate with healthcare facilities throughout the state to provide clinical experiences, including hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities and health departments in Durham, Wake, Orange, Chatham, Person, Vance-Granville and Franklin counties.
Over the past three years, the program has graduated 60–75 nursing students each year, and our retention rate averages 85%–90%. Our graduates, including both accelerated and traditional nurses, are employed in various clinical and educational sites, are leaders in the community and actively participate in local and national professional organizations.