University of Southern Indiana Expands Nursing Programs to Serve Evansville Region

The University of Southern Indiana is expanding its nursing program, adding roughly 80 new seats in response to persistent healthcare staffing shortages across the Evansville region and surrounding rural counties in southwestern Indiana.

The expansion comes after years of lobbying from regional hospital systems, including Deaconess Health System in Evansville, which have struggled to fill nursing positions in a part of the state with fewer training programs than the Indianapolis metro area. University officials said the new seats will be phased in over the next three admissions cycles.

"Southwestern Indiana has had a healthcare workforce problem building for years, and it's not going to fix itself if the training programs stay the same size," said the dean of USI's College of Nursing and Health Professions. "Students who train near where they eventually want to work are far more likely to stay in that community."

The university is also opening a new clinical simulation center on campus, featuring updated mannequin-based training equipment that allows nursing students to practice emergency scenarios without needing a live clinical placement for every exercise. The $5.4 million simulation center is funded through a mix of state capital funds and a donation from a regional health system.

USI officials said they expect the expanded program to graduate its first larger cohorts within four years, with a goal of keeping the majority of graduates working within southwestern Indiana rather than relocating to Indianapolis after graduation.