Southern to Expand Nursing Program

Southern WV Community & Technical College’s Chief Facilities Management Officer, Joe Linville, and campus workers bring new equipment into Building C on the Logan campus to get ready for the new 16-month Accelerated Non-Traditional Program.

MOUNT GAY, WV – Southern WV Community & Technical College is ready to start taking applications for a new 16-month, Accelerated Non-Traditional Nursing Program.

The program was made available thanks to a $985,000 award from West Virginia Governor Jim Justice’s Nursing Workforce Expansion Program. The award was part of $48 million to support new and expanded initiatives. They were administered by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and the Community and Technical College System.

This program is geared toward applicants that are experienced learners and have a minimum of an associate degree and license/certification from Allied Health programs such as Medical Assisting, Medical Laboratory Technology, Paramedic Science, Radiologic Technology, Respiratory Care Technology, Surgical Technologist, and LPN. We will also accept some with an unrelated bachelor’s degree.

Through Southern’s award, its Nursing Department plans to start an accelerated weekend program. The investment is expected to support up to 20 new nursing students at the local college starting in January 2023.

The program addresses the state’s nursing shortage through a multifaceted approach to attracting, training, and retaining nurses in the Mountain State.

Southern President Dr. Pamela L. Alderman said this will benefit our area in more ways than one. “This will provide a great opportunity for our students, but it will also fill a gap in the nursing shortage in our region.”

“We are tremendously grateful to Gov. Justice for providing this historic funding to support the expansion of nursing education programs across West Virginia,” said Dr. Sarah Armstrong Tucker, West Virginia’s Chancellor of Higher Education. “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.”

Applicants must apply for Southern admission, be eligible to enter or have taken college-level English and Math, have a minimum 2.5 cumulative college GPA, sit for the ATI TEAS pre-entrance exam and achieve a score of 60% or higher, provide transcripts, and have English language proficiency.

For more information on Southern’s new 16-month, Accelerated Non-Traditional Program, you can contact Sheliah Elkins, Director of Nursing at (304) 896-7322 or .