STU Nursing Students Ace Licensing Exam as University Plans New 99,000-square-foot Nursing College Building

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Feb 26, 2025, 09:40 ET

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla., Feb. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- St. Thomas University announced Wednesday that it is bucking the trend of disappointing statewide licensing exam results for registered nurses by earning a 100% passage rate while planning a new 99,000-square-foot nursing college building.

The news comes as Florida's 84.9% first-time National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) RN passage rate trailed Guam, the District of Columbia, all 50 states, and the 91.2% national average, according to a new report from the Florida Center for Nursing at the University of South Florida.

A rendering of a proposed design for the new 99,000-square-foot nursing college building St. Thomas University plans to add to its Miami Gardens, Florida campus. STU is celebrating 100% of its nurses passing Florida's nursing licensure exams and projecting 2,000 nursing students by spring 2026, up from just 13 in 2017. Courtesy of St. Thomas University

Dean Nashat "Nash" Abualhaija, Ph.D., RN, joined St. Thomas University in March 2024, helping STU elevate its fast-growing nursing program from a department to a College of Nursing in November 2024. By spring 2026, STU expects to serve 2,000 online and on-campus nursing students, up from just 13 in 2017. Based on current enrollment statistics at Florida nursing schools, 2,000 students would make STU the third-biggest nursing program in Florida.

STU recently began fundraising to build a state-of-the-art building to house the university's newly created College of Nursing and STU's College of Health Sciences & Technology. To support the planned nursing college building, STU is seeking a health-care provider as a funding and educational partner and asking Florida's legislature for $3 million.

"St. Thomas University is leading Florida in the recruitment, retention, and professional readiness of nursing students, with a one-on-one nursing student coaching program, preparatory exit course, and higher GPA requirements for science prerequisites," said Nashat "Nash" Abualhaija, Ph.D., RN, who became STU's Nursing College dean last March. "Our future nursing education building and new nursing degrees will go a long way toward plugging the state's nursing gap."

STU, a Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami-affiliated University of nearly 6,500 students, could soon become Florida's third-biggest nursing college. By fall 2025, STU expects to serve at least 1,800 students across the university's online and on-campus nursing programs.

That total is up from just 13 students in 2017, and STU expects to reach approximately 2,000 students by spring 2026. STU's projection means the university would trail only the University of Central Florida College of Nursing and Galen College of Nursing based on their current enrollment totals of 2,000-plus students.

"St. Thomas University is fast becoming the South's premier Catholic university as we prepare to celebrate our 65th anniversary next year," said STU President David A. Armstrong, J.D. "STU's nursing program is a model for the university's new 'Pursue Excellence' strategic vision."

Florida's nursing shortage is dire. The state needs to hire 11,500 more RNs and 5,600 more LPNs – deficits the Florida Hospital Association projects will grow to 37,400 (a 12% shortage) for RNs and 21,700 LPNs (a 30% shortage) by 2035. The federal estimates show that America's supply of nurses will fall short by 6% for RNs (207,980) and 36% for LPNs (302,440).

Exacerbating matters, research shows that 100,000 RNs left the field from 2020 to 2021 – the steepest decline in 40 years. Many of those who left the field were younger than 35. Those who remain nurses seek higher pay, promotion and professional development opportunities.

In response, STU will soon debut a new online BSN to DNP degree track for the fall semester. The program, which is designed to help nurses become leaders, will allow students with a nursing bachelor's to complete a master's degree in nursing and a Doctor of Nursing Practice in just two and a half years.

STU also will soon launch an 18-month master of science in nursing with a nurse executive leadership track. The degree focuses on human resources, budgeting, and health-care outcomes to help recipients progress from nurse managers to directors or even chief nursing officers.

STU offers three undergraduate degrees to prepare students for nursing careers, including a bachelor's in natural science, a BSN in Nursing (RN to BSN track), and a BSN in Nursing (traditional track). Plus, STU provides five graduate degrees, including an MSN-Accelerated Program, an MSN-Adult Gerontology NP, an MSN-Family Nursing Practitioner, an MSN-Psychiatric-Mental Health NP, and a DNP-Nursing, along with four post-master's degrees certificates for NPs to further their training.

About St. Thomas University
St. Thomas University (STU) is one of the South's premier Catholic universities. It is a private, nonprofit institution committed to fostering students' academic and professional success and helping them become ethical leaders in the global community. Rich with cultural and international diversity, STU is a Miami Archdiocesan university, the only archdiocesan university in Florida, and one of just 11 nationwide. Since President David A. Armstrong, J.D., took office in 2018, the university has set enrollment records annually, growing to 6,500 undergraduate, graduate, and dual enrollment students. The university's new College of Nursing, College of Health Sciences & Technology, Benjamin L. Crump College of Law, Gus Machado College of Business, and Biscayne College for Liberal Arts and Social Sciences offer 61 undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degree programs online and on the university's beautiful Miami Gardens campus. STU is currently leading a multi-year effort to make $123 million in improvements, its biggest expansion since its 1961 founding, including adding 400,000 square feet of new facilities, from a residence hall to athletic fields, a new business school, and other projects.