CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia higher education governing board approved nursing degree programs at two universities Thursday.
The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission gave the nod to bachelor of science in nursing programs at Concord and Glenville State.
Glenville’s program will be operated starting in fall 2023 through a partnership with Marshall University, while Concord will offer its own nursing program starting next spring.
In December, Gov. Jim Justice cited a nursing shortage caused by the coronavirus pandemic in announcing the state would use federal stimulus funding to aggressively recruit and train nurses over the next four years. The two new programs are among 27 across the state that have received a total of $25.5 million from the Justice administration.
“We are tremendously grateful to Gov. Justice for providing this historic funding to support the expansion of nursing education programs across West Virginia,” Higher Education Chancellor Sarah Armstrong Tucker said in a news release. “Through these new projects, our postsecondary education community will be better positioned to help shore up West Virginia’s nursing workforce — which, in turn, will help support our nurses working tirelessly on the front lines right now.”
The commission also approved university status for Bluefield State College. The change also must be approved by the state Legislature and the Bluefield State board of governors.
