Benzinga | Jan 20, 2022 08:07AM EST

Aspen University Receives Approval To Open BSN Pre-Licensure Program In Atlanta, Georgia

Aspen Group, Inc. ("AGI") (NASDAQ:ASPU), an education technology holding company, today announced that Aspen University received the final required state and board of nursing regulatory approvals for their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Pre-Licensure program in Atlanta, Georgia, with permission to commence marketing and begin to enroll first-year pre-requisite students effective immediately.

"Aspen University's strategic plan is to focus on launching into Tier 1 markets over the next few years, specifically by continuing to grow its footprint in the largest Southern and Western metros. Between 2010 and 2020, the Atlanta metro population grew 15% to 6.1 million,* which was the third fastest-growing metro among the top ten MSAs in the U.S. over that 10-year period. This will now be the largest metropolitan area where we're offering our BSN Pre-Licensure program, as Atlanta is 26% larger than Phoenix's population of 4.8 million. We're targeting to begin our initial (Years 2-3) Nursing Core term in Atlanta in September 2022," stated Michael Mathews, Aspen Group Chairman and CEO.

The new Aspen University location in Atlanta will follow the BSN Pre-Licensure structure established initially in Phoenix. Atlanta will operate as a full-time, accelerated three-year (nine semester) program specifically designed for students who do not currently hold a state registered nursing license and/or who have no prior nursing experience. As of February 1, 2022, the 120-credit program at all BSN Pre-Licensure locations in the U.S. will be offered at a total cost of attendance (TCA) of $52,825 (including books), which is a 9% increase from the previous TCA of $48,640.

The Atlanta site was formally occupied by the University of Phoenix, located at 859 Mt. Vernon Highway NE, Suite 100, which is situated just off Interstate 285 in the Sandy Springs suburb in the inner ring of Atlanta. Aspen University will begin enrolling first-year Pre-Professional Nursing students in Atlanta starting in February 2022; Nursing Core students (Years 2-3) in September 2022.

During the regulatory approval process, Aspen University received Letters of Support for establishing the program from the following healthcare organizations: Southern Regional Medical Center, Peachtree Immediate Care (a division of Emory Healthcare Network), and Prosper Home Care. We have additionally received the support of the Georgia Nurses Association and the Georgia Association of School Nurses in our quest to help address the nursing shortage in Georgia.