Nursing schools expand enrollment in Greater Cincinnati

The University of Cincinnati College of Nursing along with other nursing programs in Greater Cincinnati are looking to increase their enrollment ranks as a regional and national shortage of educated nurses continues, reports the Cincinnati Business Courier.

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics is expecting the nursing workforce to expand by over 6% during the next decade, growing from 3.1 million in 2022 to 3.3 million in 2023. And the Ohio workforce in 2025 saw a shortage of more than 2,400 registered nurses across the state, reports the Business Courier.

UC College of Nursing is expecting to see the number of first-year nursing students grow by a third or an increase of 100 students. Applications for the Fall 2026 semester were up 23%, says Jack Miner, vice provost for enrollment management at UC.

A shortage in nurses is the result of several factors — a significant segment of the nursing workforce nearing retirement age, changes after the COVID-19 pandemic has increased job stressors and nursing schools unable to keep up with the demands for educated nurses, reports the Business Courier.

“This growth is allowing us to begin addressing the nursing shortage throughout Ohio and the region,” adds Miner. “In the Cincinnati area alone, nearly 15% of the nursing roles are going unfilled due to the shortage of nursing graduates in the area.”

“This is the perfect combination of students' desire to enter the healthcare field and help others, an industry that is in desperate need of more qualified staff, and a profession that is well respected and starts with great salaries,” adds Miner.

For Fall 2025, the UC College of Nursing enrolled 1,194 undergraduates — that includes 985 traditional BSN students plus 209 RN students obtaining their BSN degrees — along with 1,373 graduate students.

Donna Green, associate dean for undergraduate and prelicensure programs at the UC College of Nursing, told the Cincinnati Business Courier that local partnerships and state funding have been essential for the continued growth and success of the college’s program.

She says the college received a grant of more than $193,000 in March from the Ohio Board of Nursing, titled, ‘UC N.E.X.T: Nursing Education Expansion Through Experiential Training.’

“Colleges can apply through the Ohio Board of Nursing to help get some additional resources to help expand their plans for their programs,” Green told the Business Courier. “We are using the resources to support additional purchasing and expansion of equipment for our simulation and skills lab to help give the quality and volume of resources needed for enrollment."

UC Nursing is anticipating and planning for continued growth.

Currently located in Procter Hall, the college is looking to move to a modernized and renovated Holmes Hospital located on East campus. Holmes Hospital’s 185,000-square-foot footprint is distributed over six floors.

At its Feb. 24 meeting, the UC Board of Trustees approved $8 million for the design and preconstruction phase of the Holmes Hospital Renovation  — College of Nursing Relocation. 

The design and preconstruction work will allow preparation of designs and cost estimates. This project will address existing building modernization, systems replacement, envelope improvements, and exterior site changes.

“The approval of the Holmes Hospital as the new home of the UC College of Nursing — which will allow us to expand our programs, grow our simulation capabilities, and create learning environments worthy of the education we deliver — is a bold statement about the future of this college and the future of healthcare in this region,” explains UC Nursing Dean Alicia Ribar.

Read the story about UC Nursing in the Business Courier.

Featured top image of students at the UC College of Nursing. Photo provided.