In July 2022, WVU Medicine President and CEO Albert Wright Jr., PharmD, told Becker’s he wanted to start an associate degree nursing program. A month later, Melanie Heuston, DNP, RN, joined as the system’s chief nursing executive — and realized the task was not feasible.
“We saw very quickly there wasn’t an opportunity, nor an appetite, to do that,” Dr. Heuston said. “Potentially, that could have worked out if we had a little bit more time, but we really were trying to react swiftly to the vacancies, as well as do something really incredibly innovative.”
The Morgantown, W.Va.-based health system’s answer: returning to the roots of nursing education with a hospital-based diploma program.
Despite having more than 70 nursing programs, West Virginia’s healthcare organizations have struggled to fill nurse vacancies, according to Tanya Rogers, EdD, MSN. WVU Medicine hired Dr. Rogers — who has more than 20 years of experience in higher education — to craft a nursing diploma curriculum and infrastructure plan to meet the needs of the 25-hospital health system and the state’s workforce.
This undertaking typically takes 18 to 24 months to research, plan and present to a board of directors. Dr. Rogers had three months.
Once popular across the U.S., only a few dozen hospital-based diploma programs remain. In the mid-20th century, a decadeslong push to transition nursing education from hospitals to universities led to the rise of associate and baccalaureate programs, while diploma programs were phased out.
Legacy diploma programs still exist in clusters around Pittsburgh, Texas, Florida and Ohio, but the last one in West Virginia transitioned to an associate degree program in the 1990s, according to Dr. Rogers, WVU Medicine’s assistant vice president of nursing education.
Her $14 million capital investment proposal to open the state’s first nursing diploma program in more than 25 years was approved. Work quickly began on what would become the WVU Medicine Center for Nursing Education.
Instead of a two-year associate degree, the system chose a 21-month diploma program. Like graduates of associate and baccalaureate programs, nursing diploma recipients take the National Council Licensure Examination to become RNs.
WVU Medicine’s program offers a full tuition waiver and free books and resources in exchange for a three-year work commitment.
On Aug. 15, 2024, when the admissions portal opened, 653 people across 20 states and six countries submitted applications for just 24 spots. It was “the day the computer crashed,” Dr. Heuston said, laughing.
Student interest is matched by enthusiasm from WVU Medicine’s front-line nurses, she said.
“They see this as something different than the traditional sign-on bonuses and incentives and working with colleges,” Dr. Heuston said. “I think it’s like, the cavalry is coming. They feel like we’re doing something that’s different … And rarely do I say this: I’ve heard not one negative comment from the nurses across the health system about CNE [Center for Nursing Education].”
The program is housed inside the WVU Innovation Corp., spans about 37,000 square feet and sits next to the J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. It features a gym, laundry facilities, green spaces, on-site study rooms, a food bank and lactation rooms.
Dr. Rogers and Dr. Heuston said the WVU Medicine Center for Nursing Education is “a traditional program with a contemporary approach.”
On April 1, they will present the project at the American Organization for Nursing Leadership’s annual conference.
“A lot of people might look at us as a large health system, but this project could be scalable,” Dr. Rogers said. “While it is significant — you have to have people that you know, know what they’re doing, and it’s a significant investment — it can be scaled up or down, depending upon the needs of the institution and the resources that they have.”
The first cohort of 24 students will begin class Aug. 25, 2025.
