School of Nursing
Undergraduate Program Update
Welcome, Faculty and Students to Fall 2023 term. The 23-24 academic year will be a very exciting time for the School of Nursing. This August we are welcoming the first 16 students to our new Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program. As we continue to admit 16 students to this program every semester, by summer 2024, we will have 48 additional students in our undergraduate programs. In response to the nursing shortage, we have been looking at ways to expand our program, and we are excited to offer an accelerated program here at UTC.
This program has been incredibly popular, but it will be extremely rigorous allowing students who have a college degree to earn their BSN in just one year. The expectations for these students are the same as those of our traditional, 5 semester students. This allows our students to graduate and begin working quickly, which we feel will help with the nursing shortage. This semester we will also be admitting 40 new students to the traditional BSN program and 30 new students to the RN-BSN Gateway program.
Our new undergraduate nursing curriculum, which has adapted to the ever-changing, multifaceted world of nursing, will continue its implementation with the December 2025 students entering second semester of the new curriculum. This revised curriculum is based on The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education which focuses on competency-based education (AACN, 2021).
Our faculty focuses on creating an environment that provides compassionate and quality nursing education. We feel that our four new faculty members will also provide that kind of support for our students. We would like to welcome new faculty members Savannah Kelley, Terry Ellis, Megan England, and Rachel Thomas as full-time faculty. With the addition of a new program and our increased enrollment, we are enthusiastic about the experiences all students will have with our clinical partners. We continue to grow in numbers adding new expertise to our already skilled nursing faculty. The UTC SON is proud to be a leader in nursing education and we are looking forward to a great 23-24 academic year!
--Brooke Epperson and Jason Peter
Brooke Epperson, DNP, MBA, MSN-Ed, RN
H. Clay Evans Johnson Assistant Professor
Undergraduate Program Coordinator
Jason P. Peter DNP, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC
Mary B. Jackson Founders Chair in Nursing Assistant Professor
Accelerated BSN Program Coordinator
The baccalaureate degree in nursing, master's degree in nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice and post-graduate APRN certificate at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://www.ccneaccreditation.org).
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.
The BSN White Coat Ceremony was held on Monday Sept. 11th in the University Center. To watch the livestream recording click on the photo above. For more photos go to our Flickr album!
Two UTC School of Nursing students, Kendrick Cox and Emmanuella Ingabire have been nominated as 2023 BlueCross Power of Scholars! Click here to read the full announcement. Congratulations!!! (photos courtesy of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee)
ABSN and BSN students pictured here on the first day of class! Click on the image above to link to our FLICKR album with more photos from the first day!
The ABSN students pictured here along with the traditional BSN students celebrate their first week of classes by eating donuts. "Donut Worry, Be Happy" was the theme of the week!