About the School
The Whitson-Hester School of Nursing has prepared nurses for the Upper Cumberland and the state of Tennessee since 1980. We teach in a purpose-built nursing facility on the Cookeville campus, place students with clinical partners across Middle and East Tennessee, and offer five pathways to a nursing career — from a four-year BSN to a practice doctorate.
What sets the school apart is scale: cohorts small enough that faculty know every student by name, in a school large enough to offer nurse practitioner, nursing education, and nursing administration concentrations at the graduate level. Our BSN graduates pass the NCLEX-RN on the first attempt at a rate better than 95%.
See our available programs of study
History of the School
In 1965 the State Board of Education asked each university in the system to investigate the need for a school of nursing, and proposed that each state college be authorized to establish a two-year associate degree program in nursing. At that time, clinical facilities in the Upper Cumberland were not adequate to support a school of nursing. By 1973 they had improved, and Tennessee Technological University began to plan for one.
A feasibility study identified a need for nurses in Middle Tennessee, and the State Board of Regents committed to supporting a new baccalaureate school of nursing if federal funding could be obtained. Tennessee Technological University received a three-year Special Projects Grant from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, admitted its first class to Upper Division nursing in Fall 1980, and awarded its first Bachelor of Science degrees in Nursing in June 1982.
Since Fall 2008 the school has occupied a purpose-built 65,500-square-foot facility on the Cookeville campus. Today it offers five pathways into nursing, from the four-year BSN to a practice doctorate.
Milestones
1980 — first class admitted to Upper Division nursing
1982 — first Bachelor of Science degrees in Nursing awarded
2004 — Baccalaureate program accreditation moves to CCNE
2008 — the school moves into its 65,500-square-foot facility
2018–2019 — the joint ETSU–Tennessee Tech DNP and the Tennessee Tech MSN earn CCNE accreditation
2023 — all four nursing programs reaccredited by CCNE through 2034
Today — five degree pathways, clinical partners across Middle and East Tennessee, and a
first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate better than 95%
Accreditation
See our detailed accreditation page.
Goals for the Whitson-Hester School of Nursing
- Provide excellence in teaching and lifelong learning
- Offer the highest quality BSN and MSN graduates to address workforce needs
- Preserve and protect diversity and inclusion of people and ideas through availability of opportunities for students and faculty
- Impact health care delivery and policies through professional leadership in the academic and healthcare communities
- Engage in faculty and student research/scholarly activities that lead to improvement in the health of communities, advancement of nursing knowledge and practice and/or impacts health care delivery
- Faculty and students engage in interprofessional education, research, service and practice
- Provide graduates the ability to address patient care needs in the delivery of innovative health care, while recognizing their unique placement and leadership in the nursing workforce
Consumer Info
See information on our licensure eligibility here.