Coastal Carolina University to launch nursing program this fall
CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) — Coastal Carolina is set to offer a four-year nursing program starting this fall after winning approval from state regulators last month.
“The addition of a four-year degree program in nursing … recognizes the need for bachelor’s prepared nurses to support the growing needs of the community,” CCU nursing director Wanda Dooley said in a news release. “This program will prepare our students to become leaders in the ever-changing healthcare environment.”
CCU will accept up to 32 students in the inaugural group this fall with an projected May 2027 graduation date. Sara Hottinger, CCU’s interim provost, told lawmakers in January that class sizes could expand to 48 from a field of 1,400 applicants.
Students who move through the program will also be eligible to complete the National Council Licensure Examination.
Colleen McGlone, dean of CCU’s College of Health and Human Performance, said the program comes as a regional nursing shortage is expected to worsen along with South Carolina’s aging population.
“The addition of this program illustrates our college’s mission to create a multigenerational impact in the areas of health and human performance” McGlone said.
Most of the classes will be held in Swain Hall until the new College of Health and Human Performance Building comes in the next few years.
The dean of the CMC College of Health and Human Performance at Coastal Carolina, Colleen McGlone, said there will also be clinical sites in different hospitals throughout the county to help train the students.
McGlone said the new nursing program had to go through three different groups for approval before it could be added to the official curriculum.
Coastal Carolina University currently has two nursing programs, but McGlone said neither of them offers students the traditional four-year college experience.
Dean Colleen McGlone, with Conway Medical Center College of Health and Human Performance said the program will officially launch in the fall.
“However, our first cohort will likely be sophomore students because we anticipated that there will be current students or transfer students that will be eligible for this program,” McGlone said. “And so, the first graduating class is anticipated in 2027, and that will be the first class that takes its NCLEX licensure exam.”
Thirty-two students will be accepted this fall, but as the program grows McGlone said it can hold up to 64 students.
About 60% of out-of-state students and this new program may increase that, but McGlone said it’s important to keep those students after graduation.
“A lot of our students that are coming in from out of state,” McGlone said. “Have family that are moving to the area grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other key family members so with family being here, with the opportunity for job placement so high in the region, I think this will help out of state students make Coastal and specifically Conway and Myrtle Beach their home.”
McGlone said it’s crucial to have these BSN programs to help fill the need in the workforce. McGlone said none of this would be possible without the support from their medical providers.
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Jackie LiBrizzi is a multimedia journalist at News13. Jackie is originally from Hamilton, New Jersey, and was raised in Piedmont, South Carolina. Jackie joined the News13 team in June 2023 after she graduated as a student-athlete from the University of South Carolina in May 2023. Follow Jackie on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and read more of her work here.
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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
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