URI rises 29 spots to number 67 on U.S. News and World Report list
This September, the University of Rhode Island’s undergraduate nursing program was ranked number 67 in the country by the U.S. News and World Report.
This ranking puts the program in the top 10 percent of the country. This ranking is 29 spots higher than the University ranked last year, when it debuted at 96. This is the second year that this ranking has been recorded by the U.S. News and World Report, and is only applicable to undergraduate nursing programs.
According to Barbara Wolfe, dean of URI’s College of Nursing, there are a few different reasons this jump happened.
“I think it comes down to our reputation,” Wolfe said. “It continues to grow nationally, if not internationally. We have fabulous students. I mean, it’s just without saying, and we’re really able to attract phenomenal people from within Rhode Island as well as across the country.”
According to her, another aspect of the nursing program that puts it above other institutions is the undergraduate advisory committee — a board of undergraduate students who listen to other undergraduate nursing majors and represent them to the deans and chairs.
Apart from the representation of students, Wolfe said that the foundation of the nursing program is important not only for the ranking but also for the growth of the nursing program going forward. One of the aspects of the undergraduate program is clinical placements.
“We have a wide range of clinical placements, which is important because if you think about healthcare, a majority of healthcare is provided outside the hospital setting,” Wolfe said. “So our folks get experiences certainly in the hospital, you know, setting the hospital units, the hospital floors, but they also get experiences, not only in acute care but in primary care.”
Wolfe said that students having experience both inside and outside the hospital, such as in community health settings, is especially important after the COVID-19 pandemic because of the isolation that it caused in health settings outside the hospital.
Wolfe also said that this ranking will give the University’s nursing program more national visibility and hopefully attract more students.
Third-year nursing student Amber Gioseffi came to URI from Norwalk, Conn. in 2020. She said she was drawn to URI’s nursing program because other undergraduate students shared their experiences with her.
Gioseffi also said that she thinks the jump in the program’s placement is because professors are staying up-to-date on current events and information in medicine.
“They are teaching us information that we will have to deal with when we graduate,” Gioseffi said.
True to Wolfe’s word, Gioseffi also said that her favorite part of URI’s nursing program is her clinical classes.
“During clinical, I get to do a lot of hands-on and independent work with patients,” she said. “It lets me see what my career in the future could truly be like.”
According to Wolfe, this ranking, both previously and in years to come, isn’t about chasing a number but rather about continuous improvement.
Wolfe explained that the ranking wasn’t an endpoint but rather an opportunity for URI to provide more high-quality education moving forward.
“Education in a public university that is a research flagship university for the state – we want to continue to serve that mission and accelerate that mission,” Wolfe said. “As long as we stay true to that mission, the rest will follow.”