The University's Board of Trustees granted college status to Penn State's School of Nursing, renaming it the College of Nursing, effective immediately.
The change recognizes that the College of Nursing has become an independent academic unit with an organizational structure consistent with other colleges at Penn State and has demonstrated academic excellence, achieved considerable growth in its graduate programs and research productivity, and demonstrated an ongoing commitment to outreach.
Over the last five years, the college also has become financially independent from the College of Health and Human Development.
"This change is a logical step in our development that creates visibility and brings clarity to our structure within the University system," Paula Milone-Nuzzo, dean of the College of Nursing, said. "It also improves our status among nursing schools nationally, which will help our efforts to recruit exceptional faculty and students."
The college offers associate, baccalaureate, master's and doctoral programs to more than 2,700 students annually at 13 Penn State campuses, preparing more students for nursing careers each year than any other program in Pennsylvania.
At Penn State Worthington Scranton, the nursing program is one of the strongest and most popular programs, with the campus having been approved this past year to begin offering a four-year baccalaureate of science degree beginning in the fall of 2014.
"This is great news not just for the University, but for our campus as well," said Dr. Mary-Beth Krogh-Jespersen, PSWS chancellor. "Worthington Scranton's nursing program has always been strong and well-respected in the local community. This designation serves to further underscore the high quality education and experience our nursing students and graduates obtain here."