Ivy Tech Community College to expand nursing program offerings after adding more training space

Ivy Tech Community College had the opportunity to expand its physical training spaces for its nursing students after receiving a $1.2 million Community Impact Investment Fund grant from Indiana University Health. The expansion has made it possible for the school to begin offering evening nursing classes as part of its Transition to ASN program, which are set to begin with the Fall 2025 semester.

According to an article on Ivy Tech Community College’s website, Erik Coyne, the school’s chancellor, was quoted as saying of the expansion, "Thanks to our invaluable partnership with IU Health, Ivy Tech Bloomington can continue to respond to the needs of our communities and provide exceptionally qualified nursing graduates. We had simply outgrown the prior lab, and this expansion to our main campus building allows us to accommodate that growth and ensure the high-quality experience for our nursing students that Ivy Tech is known for."

The Lee. J. Marchant School of Nursing received a 4,000 square foot expansion, which will greatly increase the cap of students it can handle over the school’s previous 2,900 square foot iteration. The grant from Indiana University Health allowed Ivy Tech to construct the new nursing skills lab, which includes seven more nursing training beds, bringing the total of these beds up to 15. Training equipment was also upgraded to modernize the program. Five additional classrooms brings the total up to eight to accommodate the three nursing programs currently offered: Associate of Science in Nursing, Transition to ASN, and Practical Nursing programs. 

The Transition to ASN program is the program that will be receiving an evening session beginning next fall. That program allows individuals who are already LPNs, certified medical assistants, paramedics, and military medics to build upon their existing medical knowledge and work to an associate degree in nursing.

Kim Roach, who serves as the dean of the Marchant School of Nursing, was quoted as saying, “With this expansion, we are creating new opportunities and further aligning our nursing education by training students on newer equipment they’ll use in the hospital. It also provides more space to accommodate different teaching and learning needs.”

For more information about Ivy Tech Community College, visit the school’s website.