Approval Granted for Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program at Webber

After a two-year process, Webber International University has been granted approval to offer a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program. The University has begun accepting applications for students to start their pre-nursing coursework beginning in January of 2022.

The word of approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the Florida Board of Nursing was welcomed by Dr. Carol Daniel, the program's Chief Nursing Administrator/Director, who will lead this program for the University. Dr. Daniel joined Webber in the fall of 2020. The university's Clinical Coordinator, Jennifer Cranor, was hired in the Spring of 2021. Both are licensed RNs.

"The university first had to go through SACSCOC before we could start the application process through the Florida Board of Nursing, starting in the fall of 2020," said Dr. Daniel. "We just received final approval from the Board on October 14. We are celebrating."

The university, located in Babson Park just south of Lake Wales, has been approved for two cohort starts each academic year. That will include one cohort of 24 students in the Fall and another cohort of 24 students in the Spring. The first group of nursing students will be admitted into the core of the nursing program in August 2022, wherein students take upper division nursing courses.

"Nursing is my passion," said Dr. Daniel, "so being able to provide a quality nursing program for students in our community who have the same passion is my dream. It's a traditional four-year BSN program on campus," she added.

According to the University's public relations department, students meeting all the requirements of the four-year program will earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and be eligible to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam. A registered nurse license will be awarded by the Florida Board of Nursing to graduates who successfully pass the NCLEX-RN exam and satisfactorily meet all other Board of Nursing licensure requirements.

The nursing program falls under the recently-developed College of Health Sciences and Professions at WIU.

While students must complete their last 72 credits of upper-level classes at Webber, up to 50 credits of approved lower-level general education and prerequisite work may be transferred from accredited colleges or universities.

Webber offers degrees at the associates, bachelors, and masters level through traditional day, accelerated night and weekend, and entirely on-line formats. The campus is located on the shore of Crooked Lake, making it one of the most attractive university settings in Florida.