Jun. 17—The East Valley Institute of Technology is launching a new associate degree program in registered nursing in August.

EVIT, a public trade school providing career training for adults and high school students at two central campuses in Mesa, was approved by the Council on Occupational Education to offer an associate in applied science in nursing degree.

“This is a huge win for students who have been on waiting lists to get into other nursing programs and it’s a win for our state,” said Superintendent Dr. Chad Wilson.

“The healthcare crisis we are facing will only worsen over the years and having additional, public institutions like EVIT working to solve the workforce shortage in healthcare is good for all of us.”

The five-semester registered nursing program is a combination of lecture, lab and work-based activities in 68 credit hours and 1,460 clock hours.

The nursing degree is the second associate’s program to be offered at EVIT, which started an associate of applied science in surgical technology in January and is developing additional associate degree programs.

In 2022, EVIT led efforts to pursue legislation that would allow EVIT and the state’s other 13 Career Technical Education Districts to offer associate degrees.

“That change was necessary for CTEDs to continue meeting the needs and requirements of industry,” Wilson said. “Over 65% of all jobs now require post-secondary education and training beyond high school.”

The associate degree programs are part of EVIT’s continuing work to develop its career training programs for adults. State reports show that less than half of Arizona’s high school graduates are enrolling in two- or four-year colleges compared to a national rate of 66%.

“EVIT is unique in that we are not a traditional college, but we offer college degrees as well as certificate programs that are focused on hands-on training,” Wilson said. “EVIT provides a much-needed, additional option for helping improve education attainment levels in our communities.”

EVIT offers 50 career training programs for Phoenix-area adults and high school students who reside in 11 East Valley school districts — Apache Junction, Cave Creek, Chandler, Fountain Hills, Gilbert, Higley, J.O. Combs, Mesa, Queen Creek, Tempe and Scottsdale.

Information:evit.edu/nursing.

In surveys taken in May, 92% of students said they would recommend EVIT to a friend and 92% of parents said they would recommend EVIT to other families. Learn more about EVIT at www.evit.edu.