Applications for the nursing program begin to roll in

By Maddi Achtyl 

Stonehill started reviewing applications for its new nursing program, three months after getting the formal okay to start.  

“We aim to accept around 40 students. We have about 400 applications that we are going through to determine the 40 students who will start in the fall,” said Peter Ubertaccio, vice president of Academic Affairs, during a meeting with The Summit editors. 

The College received full approval of its program plans from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing (BORN), effective November 26, 2025, allowing it to begin accepting applications for fall 2026. 

Nursing schools are highly competitive. Those that have been around longer have built more traction and attract more applicants, allowing them to admit more students, but each school is limited to the number of students it can accept.  

“The Board of Registration of Nurses limits you to about 10% growth per year. So, accepting 40 this year, you can only bring in 44 next year,”  Ubertaccio said. 

The College expects interest in the nursing program, which begins next fall, to increase among high school students, and more students will apply.  

During their first year, students will take basic courses such as Biology 101 and 102, a math course, basic anatomy and physiology, medical microbiology, and chemistry for nurses. First-year students will also be required to take classes that count toward the Skyhawk Core Curriculum.  

After their first two semesters, the students will begin working in simulation labs. These labs will be on the right wing of Duffy, where Financial Services is currently located. When construction of the labs will start was unclear, but Ubertaccio said he expects it will be sometime during the next school year.  

The College is currently looking for a full-time hire for the program who will teach next year, but could move on to serve as the clinical coordinator for the program.  

So far, the College has agreements with several hospitals and clinics south of Boston and across the Cape interested in hosting clinics, Ubertaccio said. The new hire will build on those relationships to eventually place students in clinical placements during their third and fourth years of the program.  

Eventually, the program will hire two types of faculty: on-campus teaching faculty and clinical faculty in the field. These faculty positions will not be needed until fall 2027 and 2028, so hiring for those positions will begin next year, he said.