A new partnership with Edgewood College is allowing students on the UW-Whitewater at Rock County campus to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.

Vice Chancellor Tricia Clasen says students in the program first complete an Associate of Arts and Sciences with a pre-nursing emphasis at U Rock, and then apply for priority admission into Edgewood College’s School of Nursing, Rock County campus location.

Clasen says the program is a product of years of looking at solutions to fill a gap in nursing education in the Rock County area.

Clasen says Rock County nurses report an average salary of $83,000 and there are currently more than 1,500 vacancies in southeastern Wisconsin.

Seven students are expected to make up the first cohort of the program, which will begin in the fall of 2023.