WSU’s Enrollment in Spokane Climbs to New Record High

SPOKANE, Wash. — Washington State University experienced its largest ever fall enrollment in Spokane, with continued strength in the health sciences, design disciplines, nursing, and education. Enrollment in Spokane programs reached a headcount of 1,427, an increase of 6.7 percent from comparable figures from last fall.

Programs taught at the Riverpoint campus reached an all-time high of 737 FTE. The WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing also experienced record enrollments, with 593 FTEs statewide.

In the face of a continuing state and national nursing shortage, the college of nursing was recently awarded funding by the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board to allow the enrollment of 10 additional undergraduate students on the Spokane campus. The funding also allows enrollment of additional students at WSU Tri-Cities and in the online RN to BSN program that allows students with associate degrees to complete a bachelor’s degree. The college of nursing, headquartered in Spokane, provides nursing education statewide at several locations and through innovative technology-enabled teaching, and is the largest nursing education program in the state.

WSU Spokane interim chancellor Nicholas Lovrich noted that continued program development will anchor enrollment growth in future years.

“The new bachelor’s degree in professional development that builds on a human development core has generated a great deal of interest already, and we enrolled a number of students in this program this fall. We are getting a good deal of interest in the bachelor’s in exercise physiology and metabolism, and know that students at the Pullman campus and at the Spokane community colleges are working on the prerequisite courses to start in that program next fall,” Lovrich said. “When the college of nursing moves to Riverpoint, a PhD program will be added to their offerings, and expanded enrollments in nursing will be possible. Other new programs are under development as well that will help meet the needs of the state and our region for an educated workforce and citizenry.”

Web sites:
WSU Spokane: www.spokane.wsu.edu
WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing: www.nursing.wsu.edu