WPU students benefit from tuition discounts with UNC Health

Raleigh, NC (09/17/2024) — A new partnership between UNC Health and William Peace University means tuition discounts for students in the RN-to-BSN program.

RN-to-BSN program students who are employees of any UNC Health facility now receive tuition discounts. There are 16 facilities within the UNC Health system in North Carolina.

"We are thrilled to be able to offer the tuition discount with UNC Health starting this fall," said BSN Program Director Eric Jastrow, Ph.D. "We've often talked to these employees about enrolling in our program and while our classes can be taken online, it is nice to know that we can be here, on our campus in Raleigh, to support these nurses who may work places like in Chapel Hill or Johnston and Nash counties."

The benefits of having some tuition assistance took off a lot of pressure for Ashley Jeffers, a two-time graduate of WPU. Jeffers earned a B.S. in biology with a minor in chemistry in 2015. In August, she graduated from WPU with her BSN.

"At the time going through the program I was a single-income family because my husband was in nursing school," Jeffers said. "So the discount helped. When you have all these bills it definitely helped, so I appreciate that."

Jeffers doesn't work at a UNC Health facility but qualified for the discount as a WPU alum. She's currently working at DaVita, a company providing dialysis services to patients with kidney disease. She heard about the tuition assistance program through WPU Professor and Dr. Jastrow.

"Tuition-wise, when you look through other nursing programs, Peace is really competitive," Jeffers said. "So just having that discount on top was even better."

WPU's online RN-to-BSN program can be completed in as little as 12 months and is open to any North Carolina Registered Nurse.

Nell Broadwell is also taking advantage of the tuition discount. Broadwell works at UNC Hospital/Medical Center in Chapel Hill as a neonatal ICU nurse and started the program last January.

Broadwell compared general education classes at WPU to other schools around North Carolina. The program at Peace aligned with the credits she already had and that's initially what drew her to WPU.

She said the discount and Peace's supportive faculty and staff have been great.

"Erica Jastrow was wonderful and helpful with determining what classes I needed to take and giving me more information when I first started. "It's very beneficial to have an online program that I can do schoolwork anytime, anywhere. And the discounted tuition makes it affordable in comparison to other universities in the state as well. So I would 10 out of 10 would recommend."

About WPU

William Peace University is a co-ed four-year university in downtown Raleigh, offering Bachelor's degrees in more than 35 majors for both undergraduate and professional studies students. The growing BSN program offers part-time and full-time schedules and six start dates per year. Learn more at peace.edu.