This story was originally published by the Bennington Banner on June 23, 2025.
RANDOLPH – Vermont State University (VTSU) graduated 414 nurses into the health care workforce this year.
Consistent with its ongoing, multi-year nursing program expansion, the university enrolled 713 nursing students this academic year, 90 percent of whom are Vermont residents hailing from every county in the state. This year, approximately 92 percent of VTSU’s nursing graduates tested for licensure in Vermont, with outstanding pass rates, directly contributing to their local communities and addressing the state’s critical shortage of licensed nurses.
“Vermont needs more nurses, and VTSU is delivering them,” said VTSU President Dave Bergh in a release. “We’ve built an incredible program that is accessible statewide and whose graduates are directly and immediately impacting the health care needs of their local communities. These graduates deserve both our congratulations on their achievement and our thanks for stepping into this essential field.”
VTSU’s Nursing Program offers credentials and degrees from the certificate to Masters level and is available in 12 communities around Vermont and online, providing an accessible and affordable option for Vermonters to pursue a health care career. There are multiple ways to access a degree in the program, where the median student age is 30. These include a traditional 4-year bachelor’s degree program at the Castleton campus and a laddered credential option, available statewide, during which students earn stackable credentials and degrees and can work their way through the program or enter the workforce with a credential or degree after achieving milestones along the way.
In the laddered credential option, called 1+1+2, the Practical Nursing (PN) certificate is earned after three semesters of coursework and leads to Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) licensure. The second year of the program, the Associate of Science in Nursing (ADN) program, leads to Registered Nurse (RN) licensure. The third and fourth years lead to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree and are offered online. Additionally, the newer Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) program is offered online and prepares learners to become a clinical nurse leader (CNL) or a certified nurse educator (CNE).
In addition to the Associate, Bachelor, and Master of Science in Nursing students who graduated in May, the Practical Nursing program held four graduation ceremonies around the state last weekend, celebrating the graduates of the first step in the laddered program.
Jennifer Spika graduated from the Bennington program.
“Choosing the VTSU PN program was an easy decision for me,” she noted. “It has a strong reputation, a supportive learning environment, and it’s located right in my community, which allowed me to stay connected to my family and local roots while pursuing my goals. I feel incredibly fortunate that I’ve had a strong support system around me — my husband, my daughters, my mother, and my mother-in-law, who all stepped in and helped make this possible.”
