Nina Cortez, Nightingale College
Built on the objective to remove unnecessary barriers and provide vital assistance to students, Nightingale College’s Wraparound Support Initiative has gone through several iterations over the years to implement resources that will better serve its student population. By showcasing the organization’s commitment to closing health equity gaps, Nightingale College has been able to prepare a relevantly skilled, readily available nursing workforce, representative of the communities they serve. Through this program, the College has been able to showcase the excellence it provides in academics while highlighting its commitment to progress.
College History
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Nightingale College currently offers seven education programs along the nursing continuum. As of 2023, Nightingale College serves under the Nightingale Education Group umbrella, which also encompasses the business units of Nightingale Innovations and EvolvEd. Each division focuses on facilitating learning and professional growth to build generations of competent, confident, and compassionate nurses reshaping healthcare across the United States.
Established in 2010, Nightingale College remains dedicated to addressing the demand for nurses while implementing strategies to tackle the nursing shortage. Since its establishment, Nightingale College has had one primary objective: to graduate highly skilled and compassionate nurses into the nursing workforce. In the following years, the College recognized that educating students through distance learning in their communities would allow it to sustain a steady supply of nurses. In 2014, Nightingale College tested its program with success. After obtaining the necessary accreditation and expanding beyond Utah, it launched its RN-to-BSN program.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the College quickly adapted by transitioning to a fully online educational model. The pandemic allowed the College to make nursing education accessible to all. Following its NWCCU candidacy, Nightingale College introduced innovative programs, achieved enrollment milestones, and established new SOFE (supervised on-ground field experience) sites. These developments have empowered Nightingale College and its dedicated faculty and staff to prepare future nurses to enhance the quality of healthcare in the communities they serve.
Initiative Emergence and Rationale
Nightingale College has continually enhanced its Wraparound Support Initiative, transforming it from a smaller program into a comprehensive support system that has evolved and expanded in response to students’ growing needs. The Wraparound Support Initiative is a comprehensive, data-driven system designed to foster student success and well-being, particularly for at-risk nursing students. By integrating tool-based resources with human connections, the initiative offers targeted support that enhances matriculation rates, HESI pass rates, and overall retention rates. This comprehensive approach consists of a cohesive network of foundational support, academic and wellness coaching, and a dynamic student engagement platform. The initiative reflects the College’s commitment to creating a supportive educational environment that addresses the unique challenges nursing students face, leading to improved outcomes and successful program completion.
By furthering its commitment to closing health equity gaps in nursing education and healthcare, Nightingale College is proud to support underrepresented populations of nursing students throughout the United States. The College has consistently worked to increase opportunities for prospective students and dedicated itself to successfully preparing and progressing students toward program completion. Through a continuous assessment, Nightingale College has intensified its efforts to meet the diverse needs of its students by devoting itself to creating a comprehensive Wraparound Support Initiative.
Initiative Offerings and Implementations
To ensure that all students feel valued and supported, Nightingale College launched its Wraparound Support Initiative in 2021. The initiative currently emphasizes the integration of foundational courses, tutoring, a Writing Center and Math Lab, an NCLEX reimbursement program, and a proactive platform of resources (MyNightingale) dedicated to fostering academic excellence and growth.
When evaluating ways to expand access and facilitate success for students, College leadership conducted a detailed analysis of student performance based on the Accuplacer Entrance Exam and its correlation with students’ success in their coursework. Based on the information gathered, Nightingale College decided that it would be beneficial to offer foundational courses. These courses would enable students who fell slightly short of established benchmarks to enroll at minimal cost. Over time, the implementation of this unique foundational learning experience evolved to include an innovative platform of resources, such as a personalized, one-on-one HESI Success Coaching Program and NCLEX Success Coaching support program. These services have been essential for addressing students’ needs. Since its introduction, the College has seen increased matriculation rates, higher HESI pass rates, and overall retention rates, ensuring students can thrive in their educational pursuits.
Nightingale College remains dedicated to connecting with its students and believes that facilitating learning by equipping students with the necessary knowledge significantly enhances care outcomes. By integrating human connection with a robust tool-based platform, the College creates an inclusive environment with a focused curriculum that adapts to student progress assessments and helps them feel supported and comfortable in a virtual setting. With master-prepared faculty catering to diverse learning styles and the integration of technology-based learning tools, high-fidelity simulations, interactive learning models, and contemporary learning management systems, faculty and staff are committed to ensuring that each student understands the material. Foundational faculty also collaborate with Student Service Strategists (instructors and mentors) to personalize academic and wellness plans and guide students through any challenges with distance education.
The comprehensive and dynamic system of MyNightingale has created a centralized hub for various educational support services, facilitating efficient communication, resource access, and academic management. It offers the familiarity of “brick and mortar” services with the convenience and ease of virtual access. Other key components of the initiative include a Writing Center, Math Lab, Library, Technology Center, Tutoring Center, free Webinars, Tutor chat, and resources for those needing assistance with military information, mental health resources, and graduation and career readiness and opportunities. When students are enrolled in foundational courses, they are directed to utilize this platform, however, all students attend a two-week College Readiness Orientation Seminar (CROS) before the start of the first semester for training on the features and benefits of the platform. When a student has an issue that arises while they are at Nightingale College, the goal is to navigate any challenge that may potentially impact them.
Access to academic management tools, learning resources, communication channels, and support services are assets to student success and promote holistic and inclusive learning opportunities. These attributes are important to a student’s journey at Nightingale because college can be challenging. By assisting students who may need extra help or are unsure about how to navigate their path, these resources reduce stress and offer assistance. The Wraparound Support Initiative exemplifies Nightingale College’s commitment to leveraging technology and improving educational outcomes to continue to support underrepresented and underserved communities.
Initiative Successes
Through extensive data and research, Nightingale College has driven continuous improvement to promote student achievement and success. Data has presented continuous user growth and demand for its MyNightingale platform, going from 7,669 users in May 2022 to 63,490 in January 2024. The positive feedback from students about MyNightingale and the properties that make up the Wraparound Support Initiative highlight the impact the College is making on the educational experience.
With the resources available, students have praised the benefits of paper reviews, a comprehensive library, informational videos, and tutoring, stating that it makes their college experience less intimidating. They also applauded the effective communication, administrative convenience, and availability of specialists and instructors who have supported them through their academic and personal goals. Generating opportunities for its graduates allows the College to address the nursing shortage in communities and beyond.
When conducting a study to identify at-risk students needing additional support within their courses, data revealed a correlation between low Exit HESI (Health Education Systems Incorporated) scores and course retakers. This then initiated individualized HESI Success Coaching that would be implemented into the initiative to target needed groups. Through its proactive approach that includes regular sessions, personalized mentoring, focused preparation, and success tracking, results showed that of the 82.5% identified at-risk students who volunteered for success coaching, 84.6% successfully passed the Exit HESI. Results also indicated that students who completed all coaching program components increased their HESI scores by an average of 119 points. Moreover, students who had previously failed the Exit HESI and completed the prescribed coaching program boosted their Exit HESI scores by an average of 258 points. Like the HESI program, Nightingale College also offers an NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) program, which has experienced immense success along with the additional properties of the Wraparound Support Initiative.
Initiative Expansion and Key Takeaways
Integrating these pillars of assistance opportunities, and as Nightingale College continues to evolve, the organization will adapt its Wraparound Support structure. Enhancing this initiative is crucial to ensuring students have the resources they need to thrive. The College is currently exploring additional resources to implement. This includes providing specialized services for students with similar backgrounds, such as those identifying as military students or first-generation students, etc. Nightingale College is also planning to offer extended student service hours to better serve its students, day or night.
Programs like Nightingale College’s Wraparound Support Initiative are vital because they allow students to become confident and competent nurses. Allowing students to progress and gain access to essential resources before and during their nursing program is an invaluable asset that reflects the College’s mission. Often, individuals from diverse backgrounds who may not be as academically prepared or who juggle full-time jobs come through Nightingale’s doors, creating barriers not typically found in a traditional nursing school environment. With this understanding, Nightingale College recognizes that it must provide the necessary support for its students to succeed and help them realize their academic goals. By taking a comprehensive approach to supporting students from day one to graduation, it demonstrates a profound commitment to student success, academic outcomes, equity, and inclusion.
