BSN programs in Ohio
46 BSN programs compared on what happens after graduation: first-time NCLEX-RN pass rates, what a year costs, what graduates owe and what they earn.
- 88.3%
- of first-time test-takers from Ohio BSN programs passed the NCLEX-RN, 2025 (national BSN rate: 87.6%, 2025)
- 41
- programs with at least 20 first-time test-takers over three years, so their pass rate is ranked; 5 more are shown without a rank
- $82,510
- median yearly pay for registered nurses in Ohio, May 2025 (BLS)
What the data shows
- Spread between programs. Among the 41 programs with at least 20 first-time test-takers, three-year pass rates run from 75.9% (Notre Dame College) to 100.0% (Hiram College), a gap of 24.1 points.
- Against the national rate. BSN graduates in Ohio beat the national first-time rate of 87.6% by 0.7 points. Programs here passed 88.3% of 3,333 first-time test-takers in the latest year each reported (2025).
- Lowest net price with an above-average pass rate. Miami University-Hamilton has the lowest average net price ($11,513 a year) of the 26 ranked programs that were at or above the state's pooled pass rate of 90.3%.
- Direction of travel. 22 of 43 programs reported a lower first-time pass rate in their latest year than in their earliest of the three years shown (2023 to 2025 for most).
41 BSN programs ranked by first-time pass rate
Ordered by the pass rate pooled over the program's last three reporting years. The dots show each year, newest in blue; the vertical line marks the Ohio average for the latest year.
| Program | First-time NCLEX-RN pass rate | Test-takers | Net price a year | Median loan debt | Pay 1 year out | Graduation rate | Accredited by | Online option |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiram CollegeHiram, Private | 100.0%2023: 100.0% · 2024: 100.0% · 2025: 100.0% | 31 | $20,753 | $27,000 | $76,987 | 55% | CCNE | No |
| Shawnee State UniversityPortsmouth, Public | 98.0%2023: 100.0% · 2024: 100.0% · 2025: 90.0% | 49 | $17,766 | $24,978 | $84,986 | 37% | ACEN | No |
| Cedarville UniversityCedarville, Private | 97.4%2023: 96.3% · 2024: 97.8% · 2025: 98.8% | 308 | $23,335 | $21,000 | $73,503 | 73% | CCNE | No |
| Ohio Northern UniversityAda, Private | 97.0%2023: 100.0% · 2024: 100.0% · 2025: 93.3% | 66 | $23,969 | $24,254 | $82,253 | 73% | CCNE | No |
| Capital UniversityColumbus, Private | 96.7%2023: 97.6% · 2024: 100.0% · 2025: 90.0% | 211 | $20,550 | $25,000 | $76,542 | 59% | CCNE | No |
| Ohio University-Main CampusAthens, Public | 96.7%2023: 98.5% · 2024: 97.6% · 2025: 93.6% | 576 | $20,666 | $15,475 | $83,529 | 65% | CCNE | Partly |
| Muskingum UniversityNew Concord, Private | 96.3%2023: 90.0% · 2024: 100.0% · 2025: 100.0% | 54 | $19,145 | $27,000 | $75,122 | 55% | CCNE | Partly |
| Baldwin Wallace UniversityBerea, Private | 93.8%2023: 91.3% · 2024: 100.0% · 2025: 92.3% | 64 | $27,222 | $25,000 | $79,118 | 68% | CCNE | No |
| Malone UniversityCanton, Private | 93.8%2023: 100.0% · 2024: 100.0% · 2025: 78.6% | 48 | $12,621 | $25,419 | $77,543 | 50% | CCNE | No |
| Ohio State University-Main CampusColumbus, Public | 93.8%2023: 94.2% · 2024: 97.2% · 2025: 88.7% | 676 | $17,269 | $14,000 | $78,970 | 87% | CCNE | No |
| Otterbein UniversityWesterville, Private | 93.2%2023: 100.0% · 2024: 94.3% · 2025: 85.7% | 148 | $20,189 | $27,000 | $80,166 | 64% | CCNE | No |
| Miami University-HamiltonHamilton, Public | 92.8%2023: 91.9% · 2024: 94.0% · 2025: 92.6% | 374 | $11,513 | $22,000 | $74,043 | 25% | CCNE | Partly |
| Galen College of Nursing-CincinnatiCincinnati, For-profit | 92.6%2023: 97.2% · 2024: 93.2% · 2025: 85.7% | 108 | $28,591 | $33,445 | $78,918 | 36% | – | No |
| Bowling Green State University-Main CampusBowling Green, Public | 92.5%2023: 81.1% · 2024: 91.1% · 2025: 98.8% | 173 | $21,453 | $24,623 | $75,940 | 65% | CCNE | Partly |
| Mount St. Joseph UniversityCincinnati, Private | 92.1%2023: 93.9% · 2024: 95.5% · 2025: 85.7% | 76 | $19,231 | $27,000 | $80,828 | 55% | CCNE | No |
| Franciscan University of SteubenvilleSteubenville, Private | 92.0%2023: 95.0% · 2024: 92.5% · 2025: 88.9% | 125 | $24,629 | $25,000 | $74,926 | 76% | CCNE | No |
| Mercy College of OhioToledo, Private | 92.0%2023: 88.8% · 2024: 95.6% · 2025: 90.9% | 226 | $15,273 | $25,274 | $80,763 | 53% | CCNE | No |
| The University of FindlayFindlay, Private | 91.7%2023: 94.1% · 2024: 78.6% · 2025: 100.0% | 48 | $26,406 | $25,500 | $81,518 | 60% | CCNE | No |
| University of Cincinnati-Main CampusCincinnati, Public | 91.6%2023: 92.7% · 2024: 95.1% · 2025: 87.6% | 585 | $24,917 | $18,749 | $78,002 | 75% | ACEN + CCNE | Yes |
| Ashland UniversityAshland, Private | 91.5%2023: 88.5% · 2024: 93.2% · 2025: 95.5% | 213 | $23,678 | $27,000 | $78,090 | 59% | CCNE | Partly |
| Kent State University at KentKent, Public | 91.0%2023: 90.3% · 2024: 91.1% · 2025: 91.6% | 1,134 | $20,294 | $23,987 | $74,293 | 57% | CCNE | Partly |
| University of Mount UnionAlliance, Private | 90.9%2023: 92.9% · 2024: 92.9% · 2025: 86.2% | 99 | $23,956 | $25,675 | $75,465 | 62% | CCNE | No |
| Wright State University-Main CampusDayton, Public | 90.7%2023: 90.0% · 2024: 95.6% · 2025: 86.2% | 410 | $13,715 | $22,000 | $74,715 | 42% | CCNE | Partly |
| Xavier UniversityCincinnati, Private | 90.7%2023: 90.6% · 2024: 92.9% · 2025: 87.9% | 840 | $31,905 | $19,500 | $80,580 | 70% | CCNE | Partly |
| Mount Vernon Nazarene UniversityMount Vernon, Private | 90.6%2023: 88.5% · 2024: 87.0% · 2025: 100.0% | 64 | $21,193 | $27,000 | $75,805 | 66% | CCNE | Yes |
| Walsh UniversityNorth Canton, Private | 90.6%2023: 95.2% · 2024: 93.7% · 2025: 80.4% | 192 | $19,588 | $27,000 | $74,611 | 58% | CCNE | Partly |
| Bryant and Stratton College Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree | 90.0%2023: 84.6% · 2024: 91.7% · 2025: 100.0% | 30 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Aultman College of Nursing and Health SciencesCanton, Private | 89.5%2023: 90.3% · 2024: 96.3% · 2025: 77.8% | 76 | $19,320 | $25,500 | $72,418 | 52% | CCNE | Partly |
| The Christ College of Nursing and Health SciencesCincinnati, Private | 89.5%2023: 87.4% · 2024: 91.9% · 2025: 88.6% | 496 | $17,566 | $21,474 | $76,399 | 58% | CCNE | Partly |
| Ursuline CollegePepper Pike, Private | 89.3%2023: 92.9% · 2024: 92.5% · 2025: 82.7% | 374 | $17,186 | $25,000 | $78,415 | 61% | CCNE | Partly |
| Wittenberg UniversitySpringfield, Private | 89.3%2023: 93.3% · 2024: 88.2% · 2025: 87.5% | 56 | $23,310 | $26,500 | $76,842 | 56% | CCNE | No |
| Case Western Reserve UniversityCleveland, Private | 89.0%2023: 89.7% · 2024: 95.1% · 2025: 85.1% | 282 | $44,622 | $23,446 | $82,843 | 87% | CCNE | No |
| Mount Carmel College of NursingColumbus, Private | 88.3%2023: 87.8% · 2024: 92.6% · 2025: 83.0% | 530 | $23,987 | $22,082 | $78,721 | 56% | CCNE | Partly |
| Youngstown State UniversityYoungstown, Public | 87.5%2023: 87.1% · 2024: 87.3% · 2025: 88.2% | 248 | $9,161 | $19,500 | $72,504 | 52% | ACEN + CCNE | Partly |
| Kettering CollegeKettering, Private | 87.0%2023: 81.2% · 2024: 89.7% · 2025: 90.1% | 254 | $20,896 | $25,000 | $75,237 | 60% | ACEN | Partly |
| Chamberlain University-OhioColumbus, For-profit | 86.8%2023: 82.1% · 2024: 91.1% · 2025: 92.9% | 363 | $35,431 | $21,656 | $89,974 | 19% | – | No |
| Lourdes College | 86.8%2023: 80.5% · 2024: 89.7% · 2025: 95.2% | 91 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| University of Akron Main CampusAkron, Public | 85.2%2023: 86.8% · 2024: 85.9% · 2025: 82.2% | 418 | $13,072 | $22,267 | $72,920 | 53% | CCNE | Partly |
| University of ToledoToledo, Public | 84.9%2023: 77.4% · 2024: 88.9% · 2025: 91.0% | 642 | $16,406 | $19,500 | $74,846 | 57% | CCNE | Partly |
| Cleveland State UniversityCleveland, Public | 79.2%2023: 84.9% · 2024: 83.6% · 2025: 68.8% | 472 | $13,754 | $25,000 | $73,828 | 51% | CCNE | Partly |
| Notre Dame College | 75.9%2023: 68.8% · 2024: 84.6% | 29 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Pass rates: Ohio board of nursing, calendar. Net price is the College Scorecard's average yearly cost after grants and scholarships for first-time, full-time undergraduates who receive federal aid (in-state price at public schools), and graduation rate covers the whole school. Debt is the median federal loan balance of nursing graduates who borrowed, and pay is the median earnings of graduates who are working one year after finishing (2024 dollars). Accreditation is checked against the ACEN and CCNE directories; a dash means we could not match the program to a listing, which is not the same as being unaccredited, so check with the school. “Partly” under online option means some, but not all, of the school's programs at this level can be finished fully online, such as an RN-to-BSN track. A dash means the figure is not published, often because too few graduates received federal aid.
Programs with fewer than 20 test-takers
With so few graduates testing, one or two results can move a program's pass rate by many points, so we show these programs but do not rank them.
| Program | First-time NCLEX-RN pass rate | Test-takers |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona College of Nursing - Beachwood | 100.0%2025: 100.0% | 3 |
| Felbry CollegeColumbus, For-profit | 100.0%2024: 100.0% | 1 |
| Ohio University-Chillicothe CampusChillicothe, Public | 100.0%2023: 100.0% | 1 |
| Ohio University-Zanesville CampusZanesville, Public | 100.0%2023: 100.0% · 2024: 100.0% · 2025: 100.0% | 14 |
| Herzing University - Akron Campus, Bachelor of Science in Nursing Prog | 62.5%2023: 57.1% · 2025: 100.0% | 8 |
Other Ohio schools that award nursing bachelor's degrees
These schools reported nursing graduates to the federal government but do not appear on the board's NCLEX list for this program type. Some offer only an RN-to-BSN completion program for nurses who already hold a license; others are new, or the board lists them under another school.
| School | City | Graduates a year | Net price a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin University | Columbus | 36 | $28,451 |
| Miami University-Oxford | Oxford | 32 | $29,447 |
| Wright State University-Lake Campus | Celina | 25 | $9,533 |
| University of Akron Wayne College | Orrville | 24 | $6,549 |
| Miami University-Middletown | Middletown | 22 | $10,410 |
| Ohio University-Southern Campus | Ironton | 17 | $6,189 |
| University of Dayton | Dayton | 15 | $30,366 |
| University of Rio Grande | Rio Grande | 13 | $25,227 |
| Ohio University-Eastern Campus | Saint Clairsville | 9 | $5,949 |
| Bryant & Stratton College-Parma | Parma | 7 | $12,704 |
| Good Samaritan College of Nursing and Health Science | Cincinnati | 7 | $17,041 |
| Defiance College | Defiance | 4 | $27,873 |
| Heidelberg University | Tiffin | 4 | $22,046 |
| Bluffton University | Bluffton | 2 | $21,315 |
| Marion Technical College | Marion | 2 | $6,851 |
How to read this page
Ohio lists 46 BSN programs on its board of nursing's published NCLEX results (14 public, 24 private nonprofit and 3for-profit among the 41 we could match to a federal school record). Graduates of a bachelor's degree in nursing program take the NCLEX-RN; programs typically take about 4 years.
Pass rates cover calendar. Boards define a reporting year differently, so compare programs within a state rather than across states. We have not combined these figures into an overall score yet: the full formula on how we rank programs needs every state's data, so for now programs are ordered by pass rate alone. All sources are listed on data sources.
See Ohio's NCLEX pass rates by program type. See what it takes to get a nursing license in Ohio.