Sinclair Community College to Offer Bachelor of Science in Nursing Completion Program

Sinclair Community College will begin offering a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN) for the first time in the 136-year history of the institution. The BSN completion program will allow Sinclair to work towards filling perhaps the largest single job vacancy in the Dayton Region in the coming years and will allow students to get a critically needed education at a much lower cost. Sinclair expects to begin offering the BSN completion program in January 2024.

“This is a great day for Sinclair Community College and for the health care community that serves the Dayton region,” said Dr. Steve Johnson, President – Sinclair Community College. “Sinclair was founded as a workforce aligned institution and this community is in desperate need of an increased supply of well-educated nurses. The BSN completion program at Sinclair will allow nurses who graduated with an associate degree in nursing to take their career to the next step without leaving the workforce or taking on unnecessary debt. We are so excited to work with our healthcare providers to make sure that this critical workforce need is filled to the best of our ability.”

Sinclair Community College recently received approval to offer the BSN completion program from the Institutional Actions Council of the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Earlier this year, Sinclair received approval from the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE). 

Students enrolling in the Sinclair BSN completion program can anticipate having a variety of teaching modalities in the hybrid program. All courses will be accessible online and will include the option of face-to-face labs on the Dayton campus. Students will collaborate with faculty to create clinical experiences that support their interests and career goals as practicing nurses, often within their places of employment. 

“Sinclair Community College is grateful to the HLC and ODHE for supporting this completion program that will provide the exceptional education and skills our students need to further their nursing careers and meet the growing workforce needs of the region’s health care providers,” added Dr. Rena Sebor, Dean – Health Sciences Division, Sinclair Community College. 

The Sinclair BSN completion program will be tailored to allow currently employed Registered Nurses to complete their BSN while working, and many of them will be able to complete their clinical experiences at their places of employment.  This ‘earn-and-learn’ model is well-established across Sinclair’s array of degrees and helps underserved populations afford to support their families, while pursuing a more advanced degree.

The Sinclair Associate Degree Nursing Program is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), and Sinclair will pursue their ACEN accreditation for the BSN completion program. 

There are currently an estimated 8,357 RN openings, and growth estimated at 1,225 positions
statewide. Locally, in the Top Jobs West Region (Dayton metro & surrounding area), there are currently 899 annual openings for Registered Nurses, with projected annual growth of 167 positions and a projected 1,286 postings over the next four years.  Dayton hospital employers have goals to increase the number of bachelor’s prepared nurses caring for patients.

“Nursing is an incredibly fulfilling profession, and the need for nurses is anticipated to remain high across Southwest Ohio and nationally,” said Lisa Gossett, MSN, RN, CENP, system chief nursing officer and chief experience officer at Premier Health. “We congratulate Sinclair on achieving this important milestone, which will provide needed reinforcements for our region’s clinical workforce.”

Sinclair is critical to the overall healthcare economy of the Dayton region. In the past six years, Sinclair has graduated the following, as an example:

786 Registered Nurses
152 Physical Therapist Assistants
133 Respiratory Therapists
109 Occupational Therapists

The nursing program at Sinclair has been in existence since 1969 and in that time has graduated over 6,000 students, and Sinclair is very pleased to have the opportunity to continue to provide the Dayton region with critical healthcare personnel. 

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Posted: 11-28-2022