30 Best Online Bachelors of Nursing Programs

Nurs­ing remains inte­gral to the human expe­ri­ence. We all get hurt or sick from time to time, and unfor­tu­nate­ly, we will all require pro­fes­sion­al care and help at some point in our lives. Our nation’s nurs­es offer unri­valed care. The unique com­bi­na­tion of skills and heart is how nurs­es help oth­ers know their dig­ni­ty, heal their mal­adies, and grow in relationships. 

Nurs­ing is cur­rent­ly one of the fastest-grow­ing fields in our coun­try. Demand will con­tin­ue as Baby Boomers age and require health­care ser­vices. The Bureau of Labor Sta­tis­tics pre­dicts it will grow at 6 per­cent to 2032. Addi­tion­al­ly, the BLS pre­dicts that there will be over a mil­lion jobs by 2024.

Many orga­ni­za­tions have spo­ken about the short­age of nurs­es and the need for bet­ter train­ing. Per­haps the most known is The Insti­tute of Medicine’s 2010 land­mark research enti­tled, “The Future of Nurs­ing: Lead­ing Change, Advanc­ing Health.” It called for an increase in BSN (Bachelor’s of Sci­ence in Nurs­ing) degrees among oth­er things. It showed that the then-cur­rent num­ber of nurs­es fell short by 55 per­cent. The Insti­tute for Med­i­cine (now called The Health and Med­i­cine Divi­sion) fol­lowed up five years lat­er in 2015 essen­tial­ly say­ing we need more col­lab­o­ra­tion and data for how to meet the need for bet­ter data on the nurs­ing work­force. The report chal­lenged uni­ver­si­ties to pro­vide 80 per­cent more nurs­es with a BSN degree.

Our coun­try needs to train more nurs­es at a faster rate. The bonus is that nurs­ing makes a good career. Nurs­ing offers excel­lent pay, ben­e­fits, job sat­is­fac­tion, and spe­cial­iza­tion oppor­tu­ni­ties. There is a licensed prac­ti­cal nurse (LPN), reg­is­tered nurse (RN), nurse prac­ti­tion­er (NP) as well as any num­ber of spe­cial­iza­tions. The degrees ranked in this list are pre­dom­i­nant­ly aimed at RN’s seek­ing their BSN. RN’s can hold an Asso­ci­ate’s Degree in Nurs­ing (ADN), a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Nurs­ing (BSN), a Mas­ter of Sci­ence in Nurs­ing (MSN), or even a Ph.D. in Nursing. 

If you are read­ing this, odds are you are look­ing into nurs­ing as a career or are an RN seek­ing advanced train­ing and pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment. There are advan­tages to get­ting a BSN. 

• More Mar­ketable: The real­i­ty is the BSN is becom­ing a require­ment. Both the Amer­i­can Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges of Nurs­ing (AACN) and the Nation­al Advi­so­ry Coun­cil on Nurse Edu­ca­tion and Prac­tice (NACNEP) rec­og­nize the BSN degree as the min­i­mal edu­ca­tion­al require­ment for entry into prac­tice. Also, more and more hos­pi­tals pre­fer hir­ing nurs­es with a BSN.
• High­er Salary: An RN with a BSN has more earn­ing poten­tial. Accord­ing to the BLS, the aver­age nation­al salary for an RN is $70,000. 
• Greater Earn­ing Poten­tial: The cur­ricu­lum of BSN pro­grams allows the pos­si­bil­i­ty of spe­cial­iza­tions or man­age­r­i­al roles. These roles pay more. If you’re seek­ing to move into the high­est pay­ing nurs­ing career options, like fam­i­ly nurse prac­ti­tion­er, physi­cian assis­tant, and cer­ti­fied reg­is­tered nurse anes­thetist, they all require a BSN degree before work­ing toward that specialization. 

Online Nurs­ing degrees have popped up all over the fruit­ed plains. In response to the ris­ing demand and pro­fes­sion­al orga­ni­za­tions’ chal­lenges, the online BSN pro­vides the flex­i­bil­i­ty, con­ve­nience, and afford­abil­i­ty work­ing pro­fes­sion­als need. Every school on our list offers a com­bi­na­tion of these traits. Though there are sim­i­lar­i­ties in many of the pro­grams, there are sig­nif­i­cant dif­fer­ences. Some offer asyn­chro­nous instruc­tion­al styles, and oth­ers require res­i­den­cy for clin­i­cal expe­ri­ences. Some schools pro­vide notable aca­d­e­m­ic sup­port for online learn­ers while oth­ers have incred­i­ble trans­fer policies.

The schools on our list are accred­it­ed, and the Com­mis­sion on Col­le­giate Nurs­ing Edu­ca­tion (CCNE) cer­ti­fies many. The CCNE ensures the qual­i­ty to be expect­ed of our insti­tu­tions of high­er learn­ing. It also assures you objec­tive cri­te­ria have test­ed the pro­gram. We deter­mined our list of the top 30 by cal­cu­lat­ing a rep­u­ta­tion score, the cost per cred­it score, which helps you deter­mine the best ROI, and an insti­tu­tion­al excel­lence score. Please note that all online pro­grams are not avail­able in all states.

1. The Ohio State University

• Loca­tion: Colum­bus, OH
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 45,831
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 19 to 1
• Degrees Offered: One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

It’s hard to under­state the fact that The Ohio State Uni­ver­si­ty is gigan­tic. Sit­u­at­ed on 1800 acres, OSU enrolls 45,000 under­grad­u­ates. You can see them walk­ing, bik­ing, bus­ing, and attend­ing class­es at the main cam­pus. OSU is the third-largest uni­ver­si­ty in Amer­i­ca and is more selec­tive than oth­er large institutions. 

Know­ing that OSU is ranked #2 by U.S. News and World Report’s 2018 Best Online Bachelor’s Degrees is encour­ag­ing. This, cou­pled with the accred­i­ta­tion by the Com­mis­sion on Col­le­giate Nurs­ing Edu­ca­tion (CCNE), gives you the assur­ance that you’ll get a top nurs­ing degree pro­gram and the train­ing you need to be suc­cess­ful. The Online Bachelor’s in Nurs­ing is a ful­ly 100 per­cent online degree can be tak­en part-time or full-time at your con­ve­nience. Anoth­er notable fact is the pro­gram is autho­rized in 39 out of 50 states giv­ing almost our entire nation access (the oth­er 11 states are pur­su­ing autho­riza­tion). OSU’s inte­gra­tion of evi­dence-based prac­tice max­i­mizes hands-on, real-world learn­ing that trans­lates into job readi­ness. Last and not least, the cost per cred­it is one of the low­est on our list mak­ing the ROI favor­able. OSU also has part­ner­ships with sev­er­al Cen­tral Ohio com­mu­ni­ty col­leges that make trans­fer­ring into the BSN straightforward.

• Cost per Cred­it: $323
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://online.osu.edu/program/rnbsn

2. George Washington University

• Loca­tion: Wash­ing­ton, Dis­trict of Columbia 
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 11,504
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 13 to 1
• Degrees Offered: One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: Mid­dle States Com­mis­sion on High­er Edu­ca­tion as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Hav­ing George Wash­ing­ton as the vision­ary for a school is a def­i­nite bonus. George Wash­ing­ton Uni­ver­si­ty was found­ed based on our 1st Pres­i­dents desire to have a nation­al uni­ver­si­ty in the nation’s cap­i­tal. Since 1821, GWU has instilled lead­er­ship into every grad­u­ate. The School also has a state-of-the-art med­ical center. 

The Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Nurs­ing at GWU is a part-time online pro­gram. The way it works is a four-semes­ter pro­gram struc­tured for RN’s seek­ing their BSN. The cur­ricu­lum is 21 cred­its and a pro­fes­sion­al port­fo­lio which takes into account gen­er­al edu­ca­tion require­ments and pre­vi­ous cred­its (usu­al­ly ful­filled with an ADN). Through the BSN at GWU, you will gain knowl­edge and skills with evi­dence-based prac­tice, patient safe­ty and health care qual­i­ty, and nurs­ing lead­er­ship and pol­i­cy prepar­ing you for suc­cess on day one. The qual­i­ty of the pro­gram is vital into today’s com­pet­i­tive world, and GWU’s his­to­ry of prepar­ing lead­ers in the med­ical field speaks for itself. Admis­sion require­ments include an Associate’s in Nurs­ing Degree, a 3.0 GPA, and an RN license from your state. 

• Cost per Cred­it: $640
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://online.gwu.edu/rn-bsn

3. Saint Louis University

• Loca­tion: Saint Louis, MO
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 11,779
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 9 to 1
• Degrees Offered: One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Locat­ed five min­utes away from the Gate­way Arch on the Mis­sis­sip­pi River­front, Saint Louis Uni­ver­si­ty is a pri­vate, research uni­ver­si­ty. Found­ed in 1818 by the Most Rev­erend Louis Guil­laume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the sec­ond-old­est Jesuit Uni­ver­si­ty in the nation. SLU also oper­ates a uni­ver­si­ty in Madrid, Spain.

SLU offers their RN to BSN online pro­gram with all the sup­port and flex­i­bil­i­ty a nurse needs. The pro­gram fea­tures indi­vid­u­al­ized cur­ricu­lum plans, fac­ul­ty men­tor­ship, and online access to SLU’s fan­tas­tic library and writ­ing cen­ter. You will com­plete a total of 120 cred­it hours in this pro­gram. Please note that you need to fin­ish 30 of the final 36 cred­it hours at SLU. For those who have passed the NCLEX (Nation­al Coun­cil Licen­sure Exam­i­na­tion) or have pri­or expe­ri­ence, you will be cred­it­ed up to 38 cred­it hours. Admis­sion require­ments include an asso­ciate or hos­pi­tal degree and an RN license. It is rec­om­mend­ed you check admis­sions require­ments for pre­vi­ous degrees as SLU only accepts those accred­it­ed by par­tic­u­lar agen­cies as well as if your state qualifies. 

• Cost per Cred­it: $770
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://www.slu.edu/programs/undergraduate/nursing-rn-to-bsn.php

4. University of Cincinnati

• Loca­tion: Cincin­nati, OH
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 25,820
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 17 to 1
• Degrees Offered: One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Two but less than four years cer­tifi­cate, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Cincin­nati equips stu­dents to work and con­tribute to our coun­try and beyond. UC pio­neered the idea of “co-op edu­ca­tion” now used by many insti­tu­tions. Addi­tion­al­ly, the Uni­ver­si­ty receives rough­ly $400 mil­lion a year in research fund­ing and offers 350 programs. 

UC’s online nurs­ing degree tar­gets those who have an associate’s degree or diplo­ma in nurs­ing and RN license. At UC, you will get a top-notch edu­ca­tion taught by expe­ri­enced fac­ul­ty. There are a full-time and two part-time options. The options are nine months, 12 months, and 18 months. Pre­vi­ous expe­ri­ence cov­ers most gen­er­al edu­ca­tion require­ments. There are nine cours­es in the Nurs­ing Core. They include Infor­mat­ics for Pro­fes­sion­al Nurs­es, Sci­en­tif­ic Basis for Evi­dence-Based Prac­tice, and Health Issues of Vul­ner­a­ble & Mar­gin­al­ized Pop­u­la­tions to name a few. The clin­i­cal com­po­nent usu­al­ly takes places with a spe­cif­ic pop­u­la­tion or area with­in your com­mu­ni­ty. All in all, with afford­able tuition, excel­lent aca­d­e­m­ic sup­port (includ­ing UC’s ten libraries) for online stu­dents, and a long his­to­ry of prepar­ing lead­ers, UC could be a great fit. 

• Cost per Cred­it: $503

5. Saint Xavier University 

• Loca­tion: Chica­go, IL
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 2,954
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 13 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s certificate
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as sev­er­al oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Estab­lished in 1846 as a lib­er­al-arts col­lege for women by the Sis­ters of Mer­cy, St. Xavier is now a pri­vate, co-edu­ca­tion­al Catholic uni­ver­si­ty. The School offers more than 40 under­grad­u­ate degree pro­grams to about 4000 total stu­dents as well as near­ly 30 grad­u­ate degree programs.

The School of Nurs­ing at St. Xavier offers a 100 per­cent online RN to BSN degree. The pro­gram is con­ve­nient and flex­i­ble and, if you’re moti­vat­ed, can be com­plet­ed in four to five semes­ters in sev­en-week blocks with up to two cours­es per semes­ter. In gen­er­al, you can expect 5–6 hours per week per class. Like most RN to BSN degrees on our list, SXU’s pro­gram is designed for reg­is­tered nurs­es who have com­plet­ed their ADN and are look­ing for their bachelor’s degree. A fact worth know­ing when con­sid­er­ing SXU is their No.1 U.S. News and World Report rank­ing for Best Online Grad­u­ate Nurs­ing Pro­grams in 2017. This demon­strates they know what they’re about when it comes to train­ing nurs­es to be lead­ers, care­givers, and peo­ple of character. 

• Cost per Cred­it: $575

6. Michigan State University

• Loca­tion: East Lans­ing, MI
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 39,090
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 17 to 1
• Degrees Offered: One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Michi­gan State Uni­ver­si­ty in East Lans­ing is a land-grant insti­tu­tion, one of the nation’s pro­to­types. It is now one of the largest and most diverse schools in Amer­i­ca. MSU excels in eco­nom­ics and busi­ness, social sci­ence, agri­cul­tur­al sci­ences, physics, engi­neer­ing, and com­put­er sci­ences. It has ranked among the top 100 uni­ver­si­ties in the world by Shang­hai Jiao Tong Uni­ver­si­ty in its Aca­d­e­m­ic Rank­ing of World Uni­ver­si­ties for nine years in a row. 

The Col­lege of Nurs­ing at MSU offers an RN to BSN part-time pro­gram. The five-semes­ter pro­gram tar­gets licensed nurs­es with an asso­ci­ate’s. Accred­it­ed by the Com­mis­sion on Col­le­giate Nurs­ing Edu­ca­tion, MSU’s pro­gram pre­pares you for lead­er­ship and care­giv­ing with all the best knowl­edge and prac­tices avail­able. Expe­ri­enced fac­ul­ty guide the clin­i­cal com­po­nent of the degree at loca­tions con­ve­nient for each stu­dent. Admis­sion is rolling, and require­ments include an RN license, Asso­ciates, pre­req­ui­sites, and a 2.75 cumu­la­tive GPA. Please note that MSU doesn’t accept all out-of-state appli­ca­tions. The Uni­ver­si­ty reviews all pre­vi­ous course­work to deter­mine what require­ments can be fulfilled. 

• Cost per Cred­it: $647
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://admissions.msu.edu/academics/majors-degrees-programs/nursing-online-program-rn-license-required.aspx

7. Ball State University

• Loca­tion: Muncie, IN
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 17,011
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 14 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Ball State Uni­ver­si­ty began as a school to train teach­ers for the 20th cen­tu­ry. Found­ed by New York indus­tri­al­ists, Ball State Uni­ver­si­ty is now a large, pub­lic, research uni­ver­si­ty offer­ing about 200 majors through eight col­leges and two satel­lite campuses. 

The Ball State Uni­ver­si­ty RN to BSN online pro­gram is rep­utable, flex­i­ble, afford­able, and mar­ketable. Named a Nation­al League for Nurs­ing Cen­ter of Excel­lence in Nurs­ing Edu­ca­tion, BSU’s pro­gram is full-time or part-time and uti­lizes asyn­chro­nous learn­ing (you don’t have to “go to class” at a set time). As for afford­abil­i­ty and mar­ketabil­i­ty, the low­er tuition rate and the demand for qual­i­fied nurs­es with bach­e­lors sets you up for a start­ing salary around $60,000 (as opposed to $45K for RN’s with­out bachelor’s). At BSU count on fac­ul­ty and online learn­ing sup­port. This is some­thing nec­es­sary for the rig­or­ous and inte­grat­ed lib­er­al-arts learn­ing at Ball State. Last and not least, the Com­mis­sion on Col­le­giate Nurs­ing Edu­ca­tion (CCNE) award­ed BSU’s nurs­ing pro­gram the Qual­i­ty Mat­ters Imple­men­ta­tion Plan Seal.

• Cost per Cred­it: $510
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://cms.bsu.edu/academics/collegesanddepartments/online/academic-programs/bachelors/rntobsn

8. University of Memphis

• Loca­tion: Mem­phis, TN
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 17.183
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 14 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

From hum­ble and noble ori­gins start­ing in 1909, the Uni­ver­si­ty of Mem­phis is now a com­pre­hen­sive, pub­lic, research uni­ver­si­ty. Known for great research (like their Cen­ter for Earth­quake Research and Infor­ma­tion), law, busi­ness, and more, the Uni­ver­si­ty stands out as one of the best in Tennessee. 

Loewen­berg Col­lege of Nurs­ing (LCON) offers two options through U of M Glob­al: The RN to BSN and the BSN. Both are 100 per­cent online. The RN to BSN a 31 cred­it pro­gram for reg­is­tered nurs­es to com­plete their BSN. Core prin­ci­ples of com­pe­ten­cy, kind­ness, and excel­lence guide both options. LCON’s pre­pares grad­u­ates to make a dif­fer­ence in every area with­in the nurs­ing field. The BSN’s 120 hours can be com­plet­ed in the way that works best for you: entire­ly online or in com­bi­na­tion with pre­vi­ous­ly com­plet­ed cred­its. With over 100 years of teach­ing expe­ri­ence, U of M Glob­al con­tin­ues the strong tra­di­tion with excel­lent online sup­port staff and fac­ul­ty for either degree. Accred­it­ed by the Com­mis­sion on Col­le­giate Nurs­ing Edu­ca­tion (CCNE) the LCON’s pro­grams teach best prac­tices includ­ing but not lim­it­ed to evi­dence-based research, infor­mat­ics, legal and eth­i­cal con­sid­er­a­tions, clin­i­cal pre­ven­tion, and total health care. 

• Cost per Cred­it: $420
• Pro­gram Web­site: http://www.memphis.edu/uofmglobal/degrees/undergraduate/rn-bsn.php

9. University of Colorado Denver — Anschutz Medical Campus

• Loca­tion: Den­ver, CO
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 14,622
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 15 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Bach­e­lor’s degree, Mas­ter’s degree, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Uni­ver­si­ty of Col­orado Denver/Anschutz Med­ical Cam­pus is the most exten­sive research insti­tu­tion in Col­orado. CU Anschutz is one of three cam­pus­es of CU Den­ver, which in turn emerged from UC Boul­der. With more than $400 mil­lion in research grants annu­al­ly and state-of-the-art facil­i­ties, UC Anschutz is one of the nations newest and bright­est med­ical research institutions. 

If you are an RN seek­ing your BSN you can com­plete CU Anschutz Col­lege of Nursing’s pro­gram in four semes­ters. The 30-cred­it degree is acces­si­ble 100 per­cent online and avail­able in most states. Check­ing with your states licens­ing board is advised. The cohort-mod­el of online edu­ca­tion helps you nav­i­gate through the pro­gram with oth­ers. A total of at least 60 semes­ter- or 90 quar­ter-hours of approved, trans­fer­able non-nurs­ing pre­req­ui­site course­work is required. In addi­tion to the RN to BSN, CU Anschutz also offers an Online Dual Enroll­ment ADN in Nurs­ing. The Dual pro­gram is for those who have been accept­ed into the Asso­ciate Degree in Nurs­ing pro­gram from Ara­pa­hoe Com­mu­ni­ty Col­lege (ACC), Front Range Com­mu­ni­ty Col­lege (FRCC), or Pueblo Com­mu­ni­ty College/Southwest Col­orado Com­mu­ni­ty Col­lege (PCC/SCCC).

• Cost per Cred­it: $635
• Pro­gram Web­site: http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/nursing/programs-admissions/undergraduate-programs/rn-to-nursing-bs/Pages/default.aspx

10. University of North Carolina at Wilmington

• Loca­tion: Wilm­ing­ton, NC
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 13,914
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 18 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as sev­er­al oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

The Uni­ver­si­ty of North Car­oli­na Wilm­ing­ton, found­ed in 1946, is a pub­lic, co-edu­ca­tion­al uni­ver­si­ty orga­nized into five schools. UNC Wilm­ing­ton is known for edu­ca­tion­al lead­er­ship and admin­is­tra­tion, busi­ness admin­is­tra­tion, marine biol­o­gy, psy­chol­o­gy, and nursing. 

With over 40 years train­ing nurs­es and an excel­lent rep­u­ta­tion for it, UNC Wilmington’s RN to BSN degree is an excel­lent choice. It is one of the most effi­cient regard­ing time to com­plete. The 29-cred­it degree can be com­plet­ed in 12 months. The pro­gram focus­es on nurse-led research in clin­i­cal issues, pro­fes­sion­al­ism, com­mu­ni­ca­tion, and a con­cern for oth­ers. Accred­it­ed by the Com­mis­sion of Col­le­giate Edu­ca­tion in Nurs­ing (CCNE) the 100-per­cent online pro­gram pre­pares nurs­es for the 21st cen­tu­ry. Cours­es occur in eight-week blocks with eight mod­ules (one per week). Admis­sion require­ments vary, but in gen­er­al you must be a licensed nurse, have com­plet­ed the pre­req­ui­sites, and earned a cumu­la­tive GPA of 2.5. Tuition and require­ments also vary depend­ing on if you are in-state or out-of-state. Six start dates give you ample oppor­tu­ni­ty to begin when convenient.

• Cost per Cred­it: $636
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://onlinedegree.uncw.edu/programs/rn-to-bsn.aspx

11. Fort Hays State

• Loca­tion: Hays, KS
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 12,045
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 16 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Mas­ter’s degree„ Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as sev­er­al oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

With a tuition of $5 and a small class of stu­dents, Fort Hays State Uni­ver­si­ty was born. Named after the U.S. Mil­i­tary Fort Hays (1865–1889) the school start­ed as a teacher-train­ing school. FHSU is now a com­pre­hen­sive pub­lic uni­ver­si­ty locat­ed in Hays, Kansas.

Fort Hays State Uni­ver­si­ty Depart­ment of Nurs­ing offers an entire­ly online RN to BSN and one of the most inex­pen­sive on our list. Please note, FHSU Depart­ment of Nurs­ing does not accept appli­ca­tions from Ten­nessee, Utah, Wyoming, Alaba­ma, or Wash­ing­ton. The pro­gram takes stu­dents through all the core knowl­edge and skills nec­es­sary to excel in any health­care insti­tu­tion or orga­ni­za­tion. Accred­it­ed by the Com­mis­sion on Col­le­giate Nurs­ing Edu­ca­tion (CCNE), the RN to BSN pro­gram includ­ed cours­es in Men­tal Health Nurs­ing, Pedi­atrics, and Health & Ill­ness cours­es and practicum. FHSU takes into account pre­vi­ous edu­ca­tion yet still requires a min­i­mum of 30 cred­its at FHSU. Last and not least, there are nurs­ing schol­ar­ships avail­able. Do check with an admis­sions coun­selor if you qual­i­fy for the Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kansas State Board of Nurs­ing (KSBN), or the Kansas Nurs­es Foun­da­tion scholarships.

• Cost per Cred­it: $213
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://www.fhsu.edu/nursing/RN-BSN-On-LINE/

12. University of North Carolina at Charlotte

• Loca­tion: Char­lotte, NC
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 23,40
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 19 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Locat­ed in the Pied­mont of North Car­oli­na is Uni­ver­si­ty of North Car­oli­na Uni­ver­si­ty at Char­lotte. Char­lotte is a blos­som­ing city has sev­er­al For­tune 500 com­pa­nies, offers numer­ous cul­tur­al, busi­ness, and edu­ca­tion­al oppor­tu­ni­ties. UNC at Char­lotte is also grow­ing fast. It pro­vides ample bach­e­lor’s, mas­ter’s, and doc­tor­al degree pro­grams at an afford­able price.

The RN to BSN degree at UNC Char­lotte is the most inex­pen­sive on our list. This fact alone makes the pro­gram wor­thy of con­sid­er­a­tion in today’s day and age. In addi­tion to price, the pro­gram can be com­plet­ed in 12 months and start in the fall, spring or sum­mer. The cur­ricu­lum is deliv­ered 100 per­cent online and includes course­work in Health Assess­ment, Aging and Health, Infor­ma­tion Tech­nol­o­gy, and more. The RN to BSN at UNC Char­lotte is open to licensed RN’s with asso­ciate degrees and a cumu­la­tive GPA of 2.0. If you have oth­er degrees or nurs­ing expe­ri­ence you may have a high­er chance of being admit­ted. The Com­mis­sion on Col­le­giate Nurs­ing Edu­ca­tion (CCNE) accred­its the RN to BSN pro­gram. The North Car­oli­na Board of Nurs­ing also cer­ti­fy the program.

• Cost per Cred­it: $157
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://distanceed.uncc.edu/programs/rn-bsn-completion-program

13. Jacksonville University

• Loca­tion: Jack­sonville, FL
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 2,889
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 12 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as sev­er­al oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Jack­sonville Uni­ver­si­ty opened with 60 stu­dents on the third floor of the First Bap­tist Church in down­town Jack­sonville as a junior col­lege. It has since grown into a pri­vate uni­ver­si­ty with 4000 total stu­dents and 70 majors. Pop­u­lar majors include avi­a­tion man­age­ment, biol­o­gy, nurs­ing, busi­ness and marine science.

Ide­al for work­ing nurs­es, the RN to BSN at Jack­sonville can be com­plet­ed 100 per­cent online in as lit­tle as 18 months. The cur­ricu­lum pre­pares grad­u­ates to be com­pe­tent in all areas of nurs­ing, from patient care to evi­dence-based nurs­ing, to inte­grat­ing tech­nol­o­gy and com­mu­ni­ty-focused nurs­ing. With six eight-week ses­sions through­out the year, there is ulti­mate flex­i­bil­i­ty in start times. The pro­gram fea­tures no set login times; in oth­er words it’s asyn­chro­nous, the same fac­ul­ty teach­es it as tra­di­tion­al brick and mor­tar learn­ing, and all practicums and clin­i­cal expe­ri­ences can be local­ly ful­filled. If you are an RN, have an asso­ciate degree, or a major in some­thing oth­er than nurs­ing, with a 2.5 cumu­la­tive GPA, Jack­sonville Uni­ver­si­ty could be a go!

• Cost per Cred­it: $500
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://www.ju.edu/nursing/undergraduate/online-rn-bsn.php

14. University of St. Francis 

• Loca­tion: Joli­et, IL
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 1,620
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 12 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree — other
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as sev­er­al oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

The Uni­ver­si­ty of St. Fran­cis mot­to is “Big­ger think­ing. Brighter pur­pose.” This catch­phrase cap­tures much of the spir­it of the lib­er­al-arts Catholic insti­tu­tion found­ed. The School is com­mit­ted to “rev­er­ence for cre­ation, com­pas­sion, and peacemaking.” 

The Leach Col­lege of Nurs­ing at USF boasts a state-of-the-art facil­i­ty and pro­grams that have received awards from the Nurs­ing Col­leges of Dis­tinc­tion 2017–18 and Top Ranked Nurs­ing Schools in 2018. Their RN to BSN online pro­gram is CCNE-accred­it­ed and taught by award-win­ning fac­ul­ty. In fact, it is like­ly you will receive one-on-one guid­ance from the fac­ul­ty. The train­ing at USF fea­tures a focus on crit­i­cal think­ing and deci­sion mak­ing. This broad approach fits in with their lib­er­al-arts spir­it yet adds the tech­ni­cal com­po­nents required for suc­ceed­ing in today’s age as a nurse. Grad­u­ates USF’s nurs­ing pro­grams are well pre­pared for the evolv­ing field whether they serve in-home care, man­aged care, tra­di­tion­al hos­pi­tal roles, or hos­pice. One aspect to note, should you be drawn to USF, is that with such incred­i­ble indi­vid­u­al­ized learn­ing the price is high­er than many oth­er pro­grams on our list. 

• Cost per Cred­it: $733

15. University of Southern Indiana

• Loca­tion: Evans­ville, IN
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 9595
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 17 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as sev­er­al oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Orig­i­nat­ing as a region­al cam­pus of Indi­ana State Uni­ver­si­ty in 1965, the Uni­ver­si­ty of South­ern Indi­ana became an inde­pen­dent uni­ver­si­ty in 1985. USI oper­ates through the Romain Col­lege of Busi­ness, Col­lege of Lib­er­al Arts, Col­lege of Nurs­ing and Health Pro­fes­sions, and Pott Col­lege of Sci­ence, Engi­neer­ing, and Education.

The cost per cred­it at USI sets it apart from many on our list. The RN to BSN degree is 100 per­cent dig­i­tal. You can fin­ish the 30 cred­its in as lit­tle as 14 months. This often depends on how many cred­its the school awards you based on your pre­vi­ous expe­ri­ence or col­lege class­es. Though there is no lim­it, stu­dents must com­plete 18 non-nurs­ing cours­es that sup­port the RN to BSN degree from USI. As for cur­ricu­lum, USI’s evi­dence-based train­ing pro­vides the knowl­edge and prob­lem-solv­ing skills required in this demand­ing field. With an Associate’s (or anoth­er nurs­ing degree), an RN license, and a cumu­la­tive 2.3 GPA you can be well on your way to tak­ing the next step in your career as a nurse. Six start dates pro­vide you with a wide range of options to begin the next chapter.

• Cost per Cred­it: $297
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://online.usi.edu/programs/rn-to-bsn.aspx

16. University of West Georgia

• Loca­tion: Car­roll­ton, GA
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 11,155
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 21 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Heed­ing the call for a “more real­is­tic edu­ca­tion­al pro­gram for rur­al youth” the res­i­dents of Geor­gia cre­at­ed an agri­cul­tur­al and mechan­i­cal school. It is now the Uni­ver­si­ty of West Geor­gia, a large, pub­lic, research uni­ver­si­ty in Car­roll­ton, Geor­gia. At UWG stu­dents enjoy the best of what Amer­i­can uni­ver­si­ties in aca­d­e­m­ic and extracur­ric­u­lar options, as well as the vital research that con­tin­ues to impact the state and nation.

Entire­ly online and inter­ac­tive, the RN to BSN at UWG is fit­ting for work­ing nurs­es to advance pro­fes­sion­al­ly and grow in their craft. The 120-cred­it pro­gram trains RN’s in the fun­da­men­tal com­pe­ten­cies required in the demand­ing and evolv­ing field of nurs­ing. The same pro­fes­sion­al fac­ul­ty teach­es in the dig­i­tal class­room, and UWG active­ly sup­ports all their dig­i­tal learn­ers. Cours­es in evi­dence-based nurs­ing, clin­i­cal expe­ri­ences, lead­er­ship, and health­care assess­ment pre­pare nurs­es for our mod­ern world. The pro­fes­sion­al core (required at UWG) can be com­plet­ed in two semes­ters. If you have an Associate’s or anoth­er degree up to 90 cred­its can be trans­ferred. Not only is the pro­gram con­ve­nient in its asyn­chro­nous deliv­ery, but it is also the sec­ond most inex­pen­sive pro­gram on our list.

• Cost per Cred­it: $177
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://www.westga.edu

17. Eastern Kentucky University

• Loca­tion: Rich­mond, KY
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 14,293
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio:16 to 1
• Degrees Offered: One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

High-qual­i­ty instruc­tion, schol­ar­ship, and ser­vice dri­ve East­ern Ken­tucky Uni­ver­si­ty. From the School’s birth to now EKU has stayed on mis­sion. It offers over 40 online programs.

The online RN to BSN can be com­plet­ed in as lit­tle as one year (upon depart­ment approval). Designed for work­ing RN’s, the degree is 100 per­cent online. If you have an ADN, NCLEX licen­sure and pro­fes­sion­al expe­ri­ence you may be able to have many of your gen­er­al edu­ca­tion require­ments cred­it­ed. The pro­gram is 120 cred­its and is part- or full-time. The cur­ricu­lum of the pro­gram goes from fun­da­men­tal nurs­ing knowl­edge and skills to advanced. For exam­ple, health pro­mo­tion and dis­ease pre­ven­tion, qual­i­ty, per­for­mance improve­ment, coor­di­na­tion of ser­vices, and pop­u­la­tion health to com­plex clin­i­cal care to the prac­ti­cal nurs­ing clin­i­cal expe­ri­ence. U.S. News and World Report rec­og­nizes EKU’s nurs­ing pro­grams. The Com­mis­sion on Col­le­giate Nurs­ing Edu­ca­tion (CCNE) accred­its them.

• Cost per Cred­it: $460
• Pro­gram Web­site: http://onlinenursingprograms.eku.edu/rn-bsn-online-degree-program

18. Boise State University

• Loca­tion: Boise, ID
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 20,186
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 17 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship.
• Accred­i­ta­tion: North­west Com­mis­sion on Col­leges and Uni­ver­si­ties as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Boise State Uni­ver­si­ty is Idaho’s largest uni­ver­si­ty and its fastest-grow­ing research insti­tu­tion. The Uni­ver­si­ty has made big invest­ments in ath­let­ics facil­i­ties as well as aca­d­e­m­ic, res­i­den­tial and oth­er stu­dent-cen­tered projects across cam­pus. BSU sits on 175 acres in down­town Boise where stu­dents enjoy the view and air of the Rocky Moun­tain range. 

Accord­ing to the BSU’s web­site, the RN to BSN pro­gram has grad­u­at­ed over 1000 nurs­es since its incep­tion in 2008. This pedi­gree and expe­ri­ence trans­lates into a depend­able nurs­ing prepa­ra­tion should you be admit­ted. Admis­sion require­ments include an unen­cum­bered RN license, recent ADN prepar­ing for the NCLEX, or cur­rent ADN stu­dent with one semes­ter of their ADN pro­gram com­plet­ed. Gen­er­al edu­ca­tion require­ments can be cred­it­ed based on past school­ing and it is advised you con­tact an admis­sions coun­selor for this. The nurs­ing core is 30 cred­its and con­sists of indus­try stan­dards and best prac­tices. Please note, no clin­i­cal expe­ri­ences are required. There are two projects and a cap­stone course. All in all, the RN to BSN at BSU is afford­able, accred­it­ed, and dependable.

• Cost per Cred­it: $365
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://online.boisestate.edu/bachelors-degrees/nursing-rn-bs/

19. East Tennessee State University

• Loca­tion: John­son, TN
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 11,065
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 16 to 1
• Degrees Offered: One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Nes­tled in the north­east­ern tip of Ten­nessee and bor­dered by Vir­ginia and North Car­oli­na is East Ten­nessee State Uni­ver­si­ty in John­son. The Blue and the Gold goes back to 1911. It now pro­vides near­ly 15,000 stu­dents with numer­ous degrees and oppor­tu­ni­ties. The Prince­ton Review ranks ETSU as one of America’s Best Val­ue Colleges.

Online edu­ca­tion at ETSU is flex­i­ble and afford­able. The part-time or full-time RN to BSN is 100 per­cent online. Deliv­ery is asyn­chro­nous giv­ing you the abil­i­ty to log in and out when you choose. The pro­gram does not require you to meet the gen­er­al edu­ca­tion require­ments before start­ing. They can be cred­it­ed from pre­vi­ous course­work, at ETSU, or online depend­ing on avail­abil­i­ty. Hav­ing your unen­cum­bered RNis required to enroll. If you are not licensed, you can still take BSN cours­es up to a point. The CCNE-accred­it­ed cur­ricu­lum cov­ers the knowl­edge and skills for nurs­ing care for indi­vid­u­als, fam­i­lies, groups, and com­mu­ni­ties. Appli­ca­tions are accept­ed every semes­ter. Please note, due to oth­er states’ restric­tions, the pro­gram is not avail­able for all states.

• Cost per Cred­it: $497
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://www.etsu.edu/online/undergraduate/onlinenursingbsndegree.php

20. Northern Kentucky University

• Loca­tion: High­land Heights, KY
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 12,380
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 19 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Two but less than four years cer­tifi­cate, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as sev­er­al oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

When peo­ple come togeth­er with a shared vision some­thing pow­er­ful hap­pens. That is how North­ern Ken­tucky Uni­ver­si­ty start­ed in 1968. NKU is now a large pub­lic uni­ver­si­ty with­in the Cincin­nati met­ro­pol­i­tan area. The most pop­u­lar majors are Orga­ni­za­tion­al Lead­er­ship, Nurs­ing, Social Work, and Com­put­er Infor­ma­tion Technology.

NKU’s RN to BSN online pro­gram con­sists of ten core nurs­ing cours­es. You can com­plete the 30-cred­it core in as lit­tle as 10 months. The total cred­it hours are 120. The pro­gram can starts at mul­ti­ple times through­out the year giv­ing you choic­es. The price is afford­able at $346 per cred­it. NKU’s nurse train­ing is proven suc­cess­ful. Grad­u­ates earn high­er salaries with a bachelor’s degree and go into the work­force with pro­fes­sion­al­ism and con­fi­dence. A sam­ple of what you will learn through NKU’s online RN to BSN is the fun­da­men­tals of the research process, the­o­ries of vul­ner­a­bil­i­ty, lead­er­ship, and man­age­ment in a vari­ety of health­care set­tings, and famil­iar­i­ty in genet­ics, genomics, and mol­e­c­u­lar biology.

• Cost per Cred­it: $346
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://onlinedegrees.nku.edu/programs/rn-to-bsn.aspx

21. Western Kentucky University

• Loca­tion: Bowl­ing Green, KY
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 17,595
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 18 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree — other
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

West­ern Ken­tucky Uni­ver­si­ty in Bowl­ing Green, Ken­tucky is a large pub­lic uni­ver­si­ty perched on “The Hill” out­side the city. Six aca­d­e­m­ic col­leges with a new­ly cre­at­ed and inde­pen­dent Hon­ors Col­lege make up the Uni­ver­si­ty. WKU also oper­ates three region­al cam­pus­es in Eliz­a­beth­town-Fort Knox, Glas­gow and Owens­boro, and offers over 50 online degrees.

Accred­it­ed by the Com­mis­sion on Col­le­giate Nurs­ing Edu­ca­tion (CCNE), WKU’s RN to BSN degree helps nurs­es get to the next lev­el pro­fes­sion­al­ly and per­son­al­ly. The cohort pro­gram is tak­en full- or part-time. There is some face to face time required. The clin­i­cal expe­ri­ence is arranged, when pos­si­ble, around your home and sched­ule. Some­thing beau­ti­ful about the WKU pro­gram is the school hon­ors your pre­vi­ous nurs­ing expe­ri­ence. You can chal­lenge up to 9 cred­its of the total 36 core nurs­ing cred­its. With your ADN (required for admis­sion along with a 2.5 GPA), the 39 gen­er­al edu­ca­tion hours are cred­it­ed. What remains of the 120 cred­its total is elec­tive. You choose those best suit­ed to your inter­est­ed and career path. 

• Cost per Cred­it: $525

22. East Carolina University

• Loca­tion: Greenville, NC
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 22,969
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 18 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

East Car­oli­na Uni­ver­si­ty orig­i­nat­ed at the turn of the 20th cen­tu­ry. It start­ed like so many of our uni­ver­si­ties as a nor­mal school. ECU now has near­ly 30,000 stu­dents, a Health Sci­ences Cam­pus, West Research Cam­pus, the Field Sta­tion for Coastal Stud­ies in New Hol­land, North Car­oli­na, and the Mil­len­ni­al Research and Inno­va­tion Cam­pus in Greenville’s ware­house district.

Com­pre­hen­sive and holis­tic train­ing a notable fea­ture of ECU’s RN to BSN online pro­gram. The cur­ricu­lum, designed with real-world input from nurs­es and grad­u­ates, is sequen­tial and includes prac­ti­cal and clin­i­cal expe­ri­ences through­out it. The pro­gram trains grad­u­ates to be com­plete caregivers—for indi­vid­u­als, fam­i­lies, and groups in any set­ting. Out­comes include inte­grat­ed knowl­edge from var­i­ous dis­ci­plines, lead­er­ship and com­mu­ni­ca­tion, eth­i­cal deci­sion-mak­ing skills, and evi­dence-based nurs­ing best prac­tices, to name a few. The Col­lege of Nurs­ing at ECU takes pride the nation­al ini­tia­tive to increase the num­ber for BSN grad­u­ates. The pro­gram is com­pet­i­tive. Every year 150 out of 250 appli­cants are accept­ed. You can typ­i­cal­ly earn your BSN in four semesters.

• Cost per Cred­it: $700

23. University of Missouri — Kansas City

• Loca­tion: Kansas City, MO
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 11,704
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 14 to 1
• Degrees Offered: One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Kansas City is full of his­to­ry and oppor­tu­ni­ties. The Uni­ver­si­ty of Mis­souri at Kansas City is part of the fab­ric of the his­to­ry of the famous city. It is one of the four uni­ver­si­ties in the state sys­tem and is home to the UMKC Health Sci­ences Dis­trict on Hos­pi­tal Hill.

UMKC is known for offer­ing strong med­ical pro­grams. In the case of the online RN to BSN, UMKC uti­lizes the same fac­ul­ty, inte­grates tech­nol­o­gy, and encour­ages lead­er­ship and com­mu­ni­ty engage­ment to train the next gen­er­a­tion. The cur­ricu­lum is deliv­ered 100 per­cent online. Designed for work­ing RN’s, cours­es are syn­chro­nous or asyn­chro­nous depend­ing on the pro­fes­sor and class. A dis­tinc­tive ele­ment of UMKC’s nurs­ing pro­gram is the col­lab­o­ra­tive cap­stone expe­ri­ence where with fac­ul­ty, health­care orga­ni­za­tions or health­care-relat­ed enti­ties you design and imple­ment a team-direct­ed project in a real-world set­ting. The result is nurs­es who are high­ly-skilled lead­ers, thinkers, and prob­lem solvers.

• Cost per Cred­it: $871

24. University of Kansas 

• Loca­tion: Lawrence, KS
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 19,262
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 17 to 1
• Degrees Offered: One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as sev­er­al oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Kansas is known for its ath­let­ic accom­plish­ments and its strong sci­ence and research. KU has been a mem­ber of the pres­ti­gious Asso­ci­a­tion of Amer­i­can Uni­ver­si­ties since 1909. In addi­tion to tra­di­tion­al offer­ings, the Cen­ter for Online & Dis­tance Learn­ing (CODL) offers numer­ous pro­gram options in a vari­ety of fields.

An impor­tant con­sid­er­a­tion when choos­ing your online BSN is qual­i­ty and cost. At KU the School of Nurs­ing offers an excel­lent online with ulti­mate flex­i­bil­i­ty and proven qual­i­ty. Geared to work­ing RN’s or RN’s who decide to take time to earn their BSN, the pro­gram can take one to five years. Class­es are 100 per­cent online through asyn­chro­nous deliv­ery. You can enter the pro­gram at any semes­ter and there are no cam­pus vis­its required. To qual­i­fy for admis­sion into the KU pro­gram you need an ADN, unen­cum­bered license, and to meet the 60 cred­its of pre­req­ui­sites (the nurs­ing com­po­nent is 35). The qual­i­ty of the pro­gram, the expe­ri­ence of the fac­ul­ty and school in the field of med­i­cine, aca­d­e­m­ic sup­port, and resources, there is one down­side, the cost.

• Cost per Cred­it: $947
• Pro­gram Web­site: http://nursing.kumc.edu/academics/online-rn-to-bsn.html

25. Western Carolina University

• Loca­tion: Cul­lowhee, NC
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 9,171
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 17 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Res­i­dents of Cul­lowhee, North Car­oli­na decid­ed to take charge of their future in 1888. What they did­n’t know was their sac­ri­fice would lead to West­ern Car­oli­na Uni­ver­si­ty. WCI is a coed­u­ca­tion­al pub­lic uni­ver­si­ty offer­ing over 100 under­grad­u­ate majors and con­cen­tra­tions and more than 60 grad­u­ate programs. 

There are many rea­sons to con­sid­er WCU’s RN to BSN online pro­gram. First of all, it is the most inex­pen­sive on our list—ranked #1. Start­ing this fall of 2018 WCU is ini­ti­at­ing the State’s unique NC Promise Tuition Plan. It fea­tures an in-state rate of $53.88 per cred­it! The out-of-state cost per cred­it is $189. The afford­abil­i­ty, con­ve­nience, and flex­i­bil­i­ty are the draw to WCU. You can enroll in either Jan­u­ary or August. You can com­plete the whole pro­gram in four semes­ters. Grad­u­ates are qual­i­fied and ready to lead with the knowl­edge, and best prac­tices health­care orga­ni­za­tions are demand­ing of nurs­es these days. In addi­tion, the RN to BSN can help you earn more or move into grad­u­ate work. 

• Cost per Cred­it: $145
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://www.wcu.edu/learn/departments-schools-colleges/HHS/nursing/undergrad-programs/rnbsn/

26. Ohio University

• Loca­tion: Athens, OH
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 23,585
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 18 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Ohio Uni­ver­si­ty in Athens, Ohio is one of the old­est uni­ver­si­ties in Amer­i­ca (estab­lished in 1804). The Col­lege Green on their beau­ti­ful cam­pus shows off the best of Geor­gian Archi­tec­ture. An inscrip­tion on the Green’s gate­way says it all, “So enter that dai­ly thou mayest grow in knowl­edge, wis­dom, and love.” 

The School of Nurs­ing has been train­ing car­ing pro­fes­sion­als since 1974. The RN to BSN online pro­gram con­tin­ues this tra­di­tion. With eight enroll­ment dates through­out the year, you can start just about any­time. Designed for busy work­ing RN’s, the dig­i­tal learn­ing pro­gram makes get­ting your BSN doable. Take note, only res­i­dents of Ohio, Cal­i­for­nia, Delaware, Flori­da, Indi­ana, Ken­tucky, Michi­gan, New Jer­sey, Penn­syl­va­nia, or West Vir­ginia are accept­ed into the pro­gram. OU teach­es class­es in five-week blocks. OU’s RN to BSN Nurs­ing Knowl­edge Cen­ter pro­vides out­stand­ing sup­port, guid­ance, and resources for dig­i­tal learn­ers. If you have an unen­cum­bered RN license, an ADN, and a cumu­la­tive 2.0 GPA, OU could be the place to advance your career, increase your earn­ing poten­tial, or pave the way to grad­u­ate work.

• Cost per Cred­it: $243
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://www.ohio.edu/chsp/nrse/rn-bsn/

27. University of Texas Medical Branch 

• Loca­tion: Galve­ston, TX
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 739
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 23 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas Med­ical Branch is part of the UT Sys­tem. The UT Sys­tem encom­pass­es 14 edu­ca­tion­al insti­tu­tions in Texas. Eight are aca­d­e­m­ic uni­ver­si­ties and six are health insti­tu­tions. UTMB is in Galve­ston and focus­es on health sci­ences edu­ca­tion, med­ical and health­care services.

The UTMB Online RN to BSN Pro­gram can be com­plet­ed in eight months. This stream­lined approach helps work­ing nurs­es prompt­ly earn their BSN. UTMB strives to meet the real demand in the field for high­ly-skilled nurs­es in a rapid­ly evolv­ing soci­ety and health­care indus­try. One advan­tage of UTMB’s nurs­ing pro­gram is that it is avail­able in most states. The pro­gram does require two cam­pus days of ori­en­ta­tion, but oth­er than it is 100 per­cent online. Keep in mind all 60 cred­it hours of pre­req­ui­sites must be met before admis­sion. The cur­ricu­lum in the first semes­ter focus­es on gain­ing fun­da­men­tal knowl­edge with cours­es such as Foun­da­tions for Evi­dence-Based Prac­tice and Legal and Eth­i­cal Issues in Health­care. The sec­ond semes­ter is most­ly clinical.

• Cost per Cred­it: $647
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://www.utmb.edu

28. Utica College

• Loca­tion: Uti­ca, NY
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 3,549
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 12 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: Mid­dle States Com­mis­sion on High­er Edu­ca­tion as well as sev­er­al oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Uti­ca Col­lege orig­i­nat­ed as an exten­sion of Syra­cuse Uni­ver­si­ty in 1946. Gain­ing com­plete inde­pen­dence in 2008, Uti­ca offers under­grad­u­ate and grad­u­ate degrees. The most pop­u­lar majors are Health Pro­fes­sions, Home­land Secu­ri­ty, Law Enforce­ment, Bio­log­i­cal and Bio­med­ical Sci­ences, Psy­chol­o­gy; and Communication.

May is the time to apply to Uti­ca as they are waiv­ing appli­ca­tion fees in cel­e­bra­tion of Nation­al Nurs­es Week and Nation­al Skilled Nurs­ing Care Week. If you missed May, how­ev­er, Utica’s RN to BSN online pro­gram war­rants con­sid­er­a­tion. An afford­able tuition per cred­it and con­ve­nient online deliv­ery with no res­i­den­cy require­ments. Besides the dual dig­i­tal learn­ing advan­tages of cost and con­ve­nience, that many schools offer, at Uti­ca you can rest assured of the qual­i­ty. Tthe Amer­i­can Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges of Nurs­ing expec­ta­tions and guide­lines form the basis of UC’s cur­ricu­lum. Patient-cen­tered health­care, lead­er­ship train­ing, and clin­i­cal rea­son­ing make up the core ideas. With these skills and a BSN in hand, you will be earn­ing more and enjoy­ing your work more too. A note about admis­sion, even with­out your RN you can apply to the pro­gram. How­ev­er, you must have the RN license with­in six months.

• Cost per Cred­it: $395
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://programs.online.utica.edu/programs/bachelor-science-nursing

29. The University of Texas at Arlington

• Loca­tion: Arling­ton, TX
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 32,775
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 25 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as sev­er­al oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas at Arling­ton is ded­i­cat­ed to research and dis­cov­er, edu­ca­tion­al inno­va­tion, and ser­vice. UT Arling­ton uses a 4–1‑4-based aca­d­e­m­ic cal­en­dar. UTA is one of 115 schools around the coun­try award­ed R‑1: Doc­tor­al Universities—Highest Research Activ­i­ty by the Carnegie Clas­si­fi­ca­tion of Insti­tu­tions of High­er Education,

Col­lege of Nurs­ing and Health Inno­va­tion has one of the state’s high­est grad­u­a­tion and licen­sure rates (first-time NCLEX rate is 90 per­cent). With deep expe­ri­ence and depend­abil­i­ty, UT Arlington’s Online RN to BSN pro­gram leads to high­er pay, high­er job sat­is­fac­tion, more mar­ketabil­i­ty, and of course, advanced nurs­ing skills and knowl­edge. CCNE-accred­it­ed cours­es range from five to 14 weeks. At UTA the RN to BSN pro­gram does not fol­low the tra­di­tion­al semes­ter sched­ule.
Class­es are all online, how­ev­er, please note that the required clin­i­cal expe­ri­ences must be com­plet­ed in Texas at approved health­care facil­i­ties. Admis­sion to the Col­lege of Nurs­ing requires a 2.75 cumu­la­tive GPA, a com­plet­ed Test of Essen­tial Aca­d­e­m­ic Skills, and all nec­es­sary prerequisites.

• Cost per Cred­it: $350
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://academicpartnerships.uta.edu/programs/bachelor-of-science-nursing.aspx

30. University of South Carolina

• Loca­tion: Colum­bia, SC
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 25,556
• Stu­dent to Fac­ul­ty Ratio: 18 to 1
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Two but less than four years cer­tifi­cate, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post Bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree — research/scholarship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

South Car­oli­na Col­lege was found­ed to unite South Car­olini­ans in the wake of the Amer­i­can Rev­o­lu­tion. Today, the Uni­ver­si­ty of South Car­oli­na is a flour­ish­ing and top-ranked uni­ver­si­ty and one of only 32 uni­ver­si­ties to earn the Carnegie des­ig­na­tion in both research and com­mu­ni­ty engagement. 

Though the cost is the high­est on our list, the Uni­ver­si­ty of South­ern Carolina’s Online RN to BSN is unique. With a focus on cut­ting-edge tech­nol­o­gy and the “inte­gra­tion of edu­ca­tion, research, and prac­tice,” the degree Tied for #5 on U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Online Nurs­ing Degrees” with Johns Hop­kins gives you an idea of the qual­i­ty. The 100 per­cent online pro­gram takes you through all the essen­tial knowl­edge and skills to become a con­fi­dent and car­ing leader. In addi­tion to expert fac­ul­ty and proven ped­a­gogy, USC offers out­stand­ing sup­port. The Cen­ter for Nurs­ing Lead­er­ship is an incred­i­ble resource for stu­dents for their whole career. The Sim­u­la­tion Lab uti­lizes cut­ting-edge patient sim­u­la­tors, robot­ics, and oth­er sophis­ti­cat­ed teach­ing tools to train nurs­es in real-life situations. 

• Cost per Cred­it: $1331
• Pro­gram Web­site: https://www.sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/nursing/academic_programs/bs_nursing/rntobsn/index.php

Relat­ed:

25 Best Bachelor’s in Nursing

15 Best Online Bachelor’s in Nursing

10 Fastest Online Bachelor’s in Nursing

10 Most Afford­able Bachelor’s in Nursing

15 Best Online BSN Programs

15 Best Online Train­ing and Devel­op­ment Programs