Kansas is always in need of nurses who are dedicated to helping patients, families, and other members in their families. Although there are currently approximately 856 registered nurses in Kentucky who have obtained their BSN degree, there is still a need for more within the state. With medical technology constantly evolving, nurses are seeking out higher education more than ever to meet the high demands of their industry. The Kansas Action Coalition has developed an Education Strategic Map. This map outlines the increase in enrollment for RN to BSN programs within the state of Kansas.
In our Kansas RN program guide, find rankings for both ADN and BSN Degree programs, tuition costs, NCLEX passing rates, and more. Research key Kansas RN Program information to help you compare program metrics and to apply to best RN program for your career in nursing.
In the State of Kansas, nurses are helping to change the face of healthcare. To ensure that they have the best education and preparation for future health care challenges, registered nurses need to graduate from a state-approved associate's degree in nursing program or a BSN degree program.
Nurses who graduate from an RN program can obtain certification in over 100 nursing specialties, go on to earn an RN to BSN or RN to MSN degree.
BSN degree holders have options to earn an Advance Practice Register Nursing (APRN) degree and become a Nurse Practitioner (NP), or earn an advanced degree for a career in any number of nursing leadership roles such Nurse Educator or Clinical Nurse Specialist.
Kansas RN Program Comparisons: ADN vs BSN
| Compare RN Programs | ADN | BSN |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Nursing Programs | 21 | 18 |
| Average NCLEX Passing Rate | 80.85% | 84.64% |
| NCLEX Passing Rate Range | 58.18% to 92.72% | 65.63% to 94.94% |
| Average Net Price | $9,633.23 | $16,094.35 |
| Average Net Price Range | $4,347.00 to $19,305.00 | $9,039.00 to $22,242.00 |
| Average Student Loan | $7,313.00 | $16,621.22 |
| Average Student Loan Range | $4,500.00 to $13,413.00 | $10,637.00 to $23,125.00 |
| See Additional Detail | ADN Rankings for Kansas State | BSN Rankings for Kansas State |
Best Ranked RN Programs in Kansas
To help nursing students in their search for a top RN program, the education experts at RNCareers.org publish their annual findings of the best nursing schools for both Kansas and the country. Schools ranked on our list have proven their ability to educate highly competent nurses.
To create our rankings, we evaluated 20 ADN degree programs and 16 BSN degree programs in Kansas. We obtained each institution’s first-time NCLEX-RN passing rates, the number of students taking the test, the program nursing accreditation and more. We then compared the results against other nursing programs in Kansas to provide our state rankings. View our methodology.
Grade | Degree | University | KS Rank | US Rank | City | Type: | Offered As: | Accreditor(s): | More: | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 97.80 | ADN | Labette Community College | 1 | 42 | Parsons | Public | Campus | ACEN | See School Details | ||
| 96.39 | ADN | Manhattan Area Technical College | 2 | 91 | Manhattan | Manhattan Area Technical College is located in Manhattan, Kansas. Their nursing program offers an LPN and an ADN program. Their ADN program is offered twice yearly – in July and January. Their AD program requires that its students hold an LPN license in order to enroll. | Public | Campus | ACEN | See School Details | |
| 93.83 | ADN | Coffeyville Community College | 3 | 206 | Coffeyville | Public | Campus | See School Details | |||
| 92.21 | ADN | Dodge City Community College | 4 | 277 | Dodge City | Public | Campus | ACEN | See School Details | ||
| 89.58 | ADN | Butler County Community College | 5 | 379 | El Dorado | Butler Community College is located in El Dorado, Kansas. They offer an RN program and an LPN to RN program. They also may take online courses after graduation at Kansas University or Wichita State University in their RN to BSN programs. | Public | Campus | ACEN | See School Details | |
| 88.61 | ADN | Cloud County Community College | 6 | 409 | Concordia | Cloud County Community College is located in Concordia, Kansas. Their nursing department offers an ADN program or a LPN program. Their ADN program is specifically designed for LPNs who seek to become RNs; non-LPNs are not eligible for their program. | Public | Campus | ACEN | See School Details | |
| 87.70 | ADN | Johnson County Community College | 7 | 450 | Overland Park | Johnson County Community College is located in Overland Park, Kansas. JCCC has over 46,000 student’s enrolled, making it one of the state’s largest higher education programs. They offer an RN program and also an RN refresher program. The RN refresher program is a non-degree program and is designed to prepare RNs who have been out of the workforce or out of the acute care setting for a while. | Public | Campus | ACEN | See School Details | |
| 87.66 | ADN | Highland Comm College Technical Center | 8 | 451 | Highland | Public | Campus | See School Details | |||
| 87.45 | ADN | Barton County Community College | 9 | 459 | Great Bend | Public | Campus | ACEN | See School Details | ||
| 87.42 | ADN | North Central Kansas Technical College-Hays | 10 | 462 | Beloit | North Central Kansas Technical College is located in Beloit, Kansas. They offer an LPN and an ADN program. Their ADN program is considered full-time and is 18 months in duration. They accept 30 RN students, once per year. | Public | Campus | ACEN | See School Details | |
| 85.64 | ADN | Hutchinson Community College | 11 | 515 | Hutchinson | Public | Campus, Online | ACEN | See School Details | ||
| 83.84 | ADN | Garden City Community College | 12 | 558 | Garden City | Public | Campus | ACEN | See School Details | ||
| 82.65 | ADN | Fort Scott Community College | 13 | 585 | Fort Scott | Public | Campus | ACEN | See School Details | ||
| 77.24 | ADN | Kansas City Kansas Community College | 14 | 657 | Kansas City | Public | Campus, Online | ACEN | See School Details | ||
| 73.60 | ADN | Seward County Community College | 15 | 682 | Liberal | Public | Campus | ACEN | See School Details | ||
| 73.52 | ADN | Colby Community College | 16 | 683 | Colby | Public | Campus | ACEN | See School Details | ||
| 73.16 | ADN | Neosho County Community College | 17 | 685 | Chanute | Public | Campus | ACEN | See School Details | ||
| 63.27 | ADN | Pratt Community College | 18 | 707 | Pratt | Public | Campus, Online | See School Details | |||
| 63.21 | ADN | Brown Mackie College-Salina | 19 | 708 | Salina | Private For-Profit | Campus | See School Details | |||
| 96.05 | BSN | Baker University | 1 | 105 | Baldwin City | Private Not-For-Profit | Campus, Online | ACME, CCNE, COA | See School Details | ||
| 96.00 | BSN | Benedictine College | 2 | 107 | Atchison | Private Not-For-Profit | Campus | CCNE | See School Details | ||
| 94.55 | BSN | Pittsburg State University | 3 | 163 | Pittsburg | Public | Campus, Hybrid, Online | ACEN, ACME, CCNE, COA | See School Details | ||
| 94.29 | BSN | Emporia State University | 4 | 178 | Emporia | Emporia State University is located in Emporia, Kansas. They offer a BSN program and an RN to BSN program. ESU students enjoy smaller class sizes and ample scholarship/financial aid opportunities. Their campus also has a patient simulation laboratory. | Public | Campus | ACME, COA | See School Details | |
| 93.90 | BSN | MidAmerica Nazarene University | 5 | 195 | Olathe | MidAmerica Nazarene University is located in Olathe, Kansas. They offer a traditional BSN program, an RN to BSN program, an RN to MSN program (and various other master’s level programs) and an accelerated BSN program. The accelerated program allows students with previous college experience to complete the BSN program in 12 months. In addition, MidAmerican Nazarene University is proud to boast that they have a new Virtual Patient Center, which allows its students to practice skills necessary for the RN. | Private Not-For-Profit | Campus, Online | CCNE | See School Details | |
| 93.52 | BSN | University of Saint Mary | 6 | 214 | Leavenworth | Private Not-For-Profit | Campus, Online | CCNE | See School Details | ||
| 90.95 | BSN | University of Kansas Medical Center | 7 | 304 | Lawrence | University of Kansas is located in Lawrence, Kansas. They have an expansive nursing program. They offer a traditional BSN program. Their RN to BSN program is online and is designed to be flexible so that it can accommodate the needs of its students; it can be completed as quickly as one year, or students can opt to take as long as five years. | Public | Campus, Hybrid, Online | ACEN, ACME, CCNE, COA | See School Details | |
| 90.46 | BSN | Newman University | 8 | 313 | Wichita | Newman University is located in Wichita, Kansas. They offer a BSN program, an RN to BSN program and an LPN to BSN program. They also offer a “Direct Admit Program”, which is designed to allow exceptionally high-achieving high school seniors into the BSN program. | Private Not-For-Profit | Campus, Online | CCNE | See School Details | |
| 89.64 | BSN | Wichita State University | 9 | 337 | Wichita | Public | Campus, Hybrid, Online | ACEN, ACME, CCNE, COA | See School Details | ||
| 88.78 | BSN | Washburn University | 10 | 357 | Topeka | Public | Campus, Hybrid, Online | ACEN, ACME, CCNE, COA | See School Details | ||
| 85.48 | BSN | Bethel College-North Newton | 11 | 435 | North Newton | Bethel College is located in North Newton, Kansas. They offer a traditional BSN program and an RN to BSN program. Bethel College also coordinates summer internships ata Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Students also have completed internships at hospitals in Wichita, KS. | Private Not-For-Profit | Campus | CCNE | See School Details | |
| 84.82 | BSN | Fort Hays State University | 12 | 447 | Hays | Public | Campus, Hybrid, Online | ACEN, ACME, CCNE, COA | See School Details | ||
| 80.64 | BSN | Hesston College | 13 | 484 | Hesston | Private Not-For-Profit | Campus | CCNE | See School Details | ||
| 78.97 | BSN | Kansas Wesleyan University | 14 | 498 | Salina | Private Not-For-Profit | Campus | ACME, CCNE, COA | See School Details | ||
| 76.84 | BSN | National American University-Overland Park | 15 | 506 | Overland Park | Private For-Profit | Campus, Online | See School Details |
Become an Advance Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) in Kansas
RNs who wish to become advanced practice registered nurses will want to pursue any number of avenues to earn Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree. Earning a Master of Science in Nursing consists of graduate-level coursework and clinical practice for those nurses who wish to direct patient roles such as a nurse practitioner. You can also pursue indirect patient roles such as teaching or leadership roles, or become involved in policy, state-wide health initiatives or community engagement. There are many clinical and non-clinical avenues that an RN with MSN can pursue.Become a Nurse Practitioner (NP) in Kansas
Learn how to become a Nurse Practitioner (NP) and research schools in Kansas offering the following high paying nurse practitioner specialties:- Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
- Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
- Family Nurse Practitioner
- Neonatal Nurse Practitioner
- Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
- Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
- Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
- Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner
Kansas RN Licensing Requirements
Kansas has strict guidelines that registered nurses must follow in order to obtain licensure. Nurses can be granted licensure by exam, by endorsement, and in some cases, by completing an education program in a foreign country. All three ways require the following:- Official transcripts sent to the Board
- Background check (takes about a month to process). It is important that candidates get the correct card from Kansas and include the $50 fee for fingerprinting
RN Licensure by Exam
When candidates have been authorized to participate in the NCLEX-RN exam, he/she can then register. There is a $200 fee that must be paid to Pearson VUE in order to register for the NCLEX exam.RN Licensure by Endorsement
RNs who are licensed in one of the other 50 states are able to obtain licensure by endorsement. There is a $75 fee that must be paid in order to process the application. Candidates are required to provide verification of licensure. Nurses with clean legal and disciplinary histories may be given a temporary permit so they can work while going through the licensing process. Candidates who did not complete the clinical component may be eligible for licensure if they have worked at least 1,000 hours as registered nurses.RN License for Nurses Educated Abroad
In some cases, nurses from countries outside of the United States may be award licensure after taking the NCLEX exam after they have their qualifications evaluated through CGFNS.RN Salaries in Kansas
It was reported that, by 2020, the number of registered nurses in Kansas could fall by 2020. Now is a better time than ever for nurses to pursue higher education. Many experienced nurses are reaching retirement and adding more to the nursing shortage. Nurses, who have obtained their Bachelor’s degree, will have the opportunity to take positions in administration, management, and other leadership positions. Some management jobs available include nursing homes, Hospice, public health, physician’s offices and occupational health nurses.Kansas Registered Nursing Salaries
There are more registered nurses by a small gap in non-metropolitan areas than there are in the metropolitan areas of Kansas. Nurses in Topeka earn the highest annual median wage.| Area name | Employment | Hourly median wage | Annual median wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawrence, KS | 610 | $28.62 | $59,540 |
| Manhattan, KS | 870 | $27.91 | $58,060 |
| Topeka, KS | 2,880 | $29.06 | $60,440 |
| Wichita, KS | 5,620 | $24.21 | $50,350 |
| Kansas nonmetropolitan area | 7,880 | $24.13 | $50,190 |