As fall classes get underway at the University of Florida, one college in particular is celebrating a milestone achievement.
Last week, UF’s College of Nursing welcomed 85 new Bachelor of Science students – a 60% increase in enrollment over last year, over the usual 141 that are accepted, according to a UF College of Nursing press release. The fall 2025 cohort of 226 students is the college’s largest undergraduate class in its history.
“I am just elated because this is truly a historic moment for the University of Florida College of Nursing,” Dr. Shakira Henderson, the college’s dean and chief nurse executive for UF Health, said in an interview with Mainstreet. “It is more than just a milestone in numbers; it represents an investment in the future of healthcare and the lives of the patients our graduates will serve.”
With the expansion, it brings the total BSN enrollment to 722 students across the college’s traditional, accelerated and accelerated RN-to-BSN tracks, the release said.
The increase in enrollment comes at a critical time, with Florida projected to face a shortage of over 59,000 nurses by 2035, according to the Florida Hospital Association.
“I would definitely say welcoming the largest undergraduate class in our history really doesn’t just reflect our deep commitment, but it’s our deep commitment to addressing the state and national nursing shortage while making sure we’re expanding opportunities for our students to enter the profession,” Henderson said.
In January 2024, the college launched its strategic plan, which Henderson said they’re referring to as Elevate 2029.
“We worked really strategically to expand the class sizes while definitely making sure that we maintain that high academic standard that, of course, raises us among the nation’s top nursing schools,” she said. “We invested in additional faculty, and we were able to do so because of the LINE (Linking Industry to Nursing Education) funding resources that we’ve gotten from the state. So, we are so grateful for that, as well as other philanthropic gifts that we’ve received that have also allowed us to enhance our student support services and also expand advanced simulation and clinical technologies.”
This year, the U.S. News & World Report ranked UF’s College of Nursing BSN among the top 20 best in the country and No. 1 in Florida.
Henderson said the college is going to continue to grow if it’s able to receive the resources and continue its high academic standards.
“I always say more nurses mean better care and relief from a strained system, because with the nursing shortage, we are experiencing a strained healthcare system,” she said. “We want to make sure that the state of Florida has the best care and they’re in the best hands. And we are poised and happy to be able to answer that call.”
Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.