Dyersburg State Community College and University of Tennessee Health Science Center Sign Articulation Agreement

DSCC & UTHSC launched their new partnership on Thursday, July 13.

Dyersburg State Community College (DSCC) and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s (UTHSC) College of Nursing launched their new partnership on Thursday, July 13. The partnership offers DSCC students a pathway to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program at UTHSC, which is the highest-ranked BSN in Tennessee.

Dr. Scott Cook, President of Dyersburg State, and Wendy Likes, Ph.D., DNSc, APRN-BC, FAANP, Dean and Professor, signed the articulation agreement with Dr. Amy Johnson, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Success; Randy Johnson, BSN Director; Charleen McNeill, Executive Associate Dean of Academic and Student Affairs; and Dominic Cooper, Recruitment and Partnership Enrollment Program Coordinator present to support the historic partnership between the two institutions.

The Partnership Enrollment Program (PEP) guarantees DSCC students’ admission to the traditional four-semester BSN program at UTHSC if they complete a minimum of an Associate Degree of Science with an emphasis in health science and pre-requisite courses at Dyersburg State, with a combined 3.0 GPA.

“We are so pleased that Dyersburg State is one of our partners on the pathway to the BSN,” said Dean Wendy Likes, Ph.D., DNSc, APRN-BC, FAANP. “We hope this partnership will help students attain the BSN and address the need for nurses in West Tennessee.”

Amy Johnson, vice president of academic affairs and student success, stated, “I am excited for the opportunity to partner with UTHSC to implement an articulation agreement that will allow nursing students to transfer to a BSN program and complete their degree.”

For the past two years, UTHSC was Tennessee's most highly ranked BSN program, according to U.S. News and World Report’s Best College’s listing of undergraduate nursing programs. Nationally, the college ranked No. 39 out of 681 BSN programs on the list, placing it in the top 6% in the country. The rankings are determined by factors including student excellence and outcomes, such as graduation and retention, as well as faculty resources, such as faculty salaries and class size.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of registered nurses is projected to grow by 6 percent from 2021 to 2031. That is an estimated 203,200 openings for registered nurses each year over the decade. The median pay nationwide for a registered nurse was $81,220 per year in 2022.

For more information about the program, contact Dr. Amy Johnson, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Success, at 731-286-3398 or ajohnson@dscc.edu or the Nursing Department at 731-286-3390 or nursing@dscc.edu.