OHIO graduates largest class of nurses from Athens Campus

Three OHIO students work on equipment in a nursing lab on OHIO's Athens Campus

Rich-Joseph Facun

91ԭ��’s School of Nursing graduated its largest class of nursing students from the Athens Campus recently, and now the graduates are moving into new careers.

During Spring Commencement, 124 graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program on the Athens Campus proudly received their degrees.

“It was the largest class we’ve had graduate from the Athens Campus,” said School of Nursing Executive Director Charman Miller.

Three years ago, Miller explained, the school deliberately increased the size of its incoming class.

“That was due to the strong demand for the program,” said Miller, who is also an associate professor of nursing. The School of Nursing was consistently receiving more qualified applicants than it could accept for the program, and industry leaders also told University leaders that they were hoping to hire more OHIO nursing graduates.

In response, the School of Nursing worked with the College of Health Sciences and Professions, as well as the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, in order to increase the size of the program by adding to the faculty and allocating additional resources.

And when more students were added to the program, the students continued to excel in their work. OHIO students perform very well in their classes and consistently have very, very high first-time pass rates on the National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX- RN).

OHIO students gain real world experience

Two OHIO students work in a nursing lab on OHIO's Athens Campus

“Experiential learning is the foundation of our program,” Miller said, describing the focus of the bachelor’s degree programs. OHIO students learn in the classrooms, but they also spend a great deal of time in campus labs and in clinical rotations.

“The students go into the facilities and gain experience in a variety of settings providing nursing care to patients across the lifespan and from diverse backgrounds,” Miller said.

And in the on-campus labs, the students work with virtual reality, augmented reality and high-fidelity simulations to help them learn.

“We have beautiful lab spaces and top-of-the-line instructional technologies,” Miller said. “We are very fortunate.”

“We have a really innovative faculty,” Miller said. When the enrollment increased for the program, the faculty and staff in the School of Nursing worked to make sure students would be split into smaller classes and smaller groups for labs and clinical experiences to maintain a high level of quality instruction.

Nursing programs on regional campuses and online

OHIO students work in a nursing lab at OHIO's Chillicothe Campus

The School of Nursing also offers the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program on OHIO’s regional campuses, where the students also work in state-of-the-art facilities and learn from experienced faculty.

“We work very closely across our campuses so that we have a consistency of quality,” Miller said. “We all work closely together and we operate under a one school model with a common curriculum and accreditation. This has resulted in consistent high quality outcomes across all of our BSN program sites.”

The School of Nursing also offers a fully online RN to BSN completion degree through OHIO Online for registered nurses who are looking to complete their bachelor’s degrees. That popular program enrolled more than 3,000 students in the 2025-26 academic year.

“We were the first program of that type in Ohio and we are proud of the quality of our online program,” Miller said.

Opportunities for nursing graduates in Ohio and around the country

“Most of our students have jobs before they graduate,” Miller said about the OHIO nursing students.

Many of the graduates end up with multiple job offers, giving them a choice of positions to move into. A large number of the graduates also choose to continue their education, either entering a master’s or doctoral program, or working toward specialty certifications.

Most of the graduates stay and work in Ohio, but a growing number are working outside of the state, some as travel nurses who move around the country.

Nationwide, projections for job growth in nursing are positive, and Miller hears often from industry leaders about the need for skilled nurses.

“Our partners consistently tell us they want more Bobcat nurses,” Miller said. “They routinely tell us how pleased they are with the quality of our graduates.”

For more information on nursing programs offered on OHIO's Athens and regional campuses, see the School of Nursing website or email nursing@ohio.edu.