Tulsa Community College is expanding its nursing pipeline amid continued staffing pressures at Oklahoma hospitals. The college offers two nursing tracks that prepare graduates to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam and become registered nurses, and renovated lab space is helping the program accommodate larger classes twice a year.
Record Enrollment, Record Need
TCC reported fall enrollment of 518 students in its Nursing program in 2025, a record at the time, according to Tulsa Community College. In November 2026, KJRH reported that program director Lauri Jones put enrollment at 534. The college's Traditional Registered Nurse track takes about four semesters to complete once prerequisites are finished and is designed for students with no prior nursing experience, while the Career Mobility track serves licensed practical nurses and registered paramedics and can be finished in three semesters. TCC accepts roughly 80 students each fall and spring semester into the Traditional track, though the school says admission is limited partly by clinical availability and faculty workload.
That growth comes as Oklahoma's hospitals report some of the worst nursing vacancy numbers in years. The 2024 OHA Workforce Survey found a 17% vacancy rate for registered nurses among participating Oklahoma hospitals, compared with 9.9% nationally in the NSI survey cohort, per the Oklahoma Hospital Association. That same report counted 32,610 employed registered nurses statewide as of May 2023. A more recent 2025 workforce survey found vacancy rates had improved slightly year over year but remained elevated, especially in nursing, while Oklahoma's turnover rates continued to exceed national averages in many healthcare categories, according to the Oklahoma Center for Nursing.
New Labs, More Capacity
TCC's capacity boost traces back to facility renovations the college says it has now completed, including new nursing labs, an expanded simulation lab and new faculty offices. The project was funded through $4.7 million from the American Rescue Plan Act and $1.8 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration, per the same tulsacc.edu account. TCC says the Nursing program will continue adding student capacity each semester through Fall 2027.
That expansion builds on plans TCC first laid out years earlier. Back in 2022, the college said it intended to use proposed ARPA funding to graduate 360 additional nurses over five years, or about 72 more per year, according to Public Radio Tulsa. By 2024, construction at TCC's Metro and West campuses was on track for completion by spring 2025, the Journal Record reported at the time. The investment appears to be paying off in graduating classes, too — TCC honored 116 Spring 2025 nursing graduates, its second-largest graduating class ever, tulsacc.edu reported.
What Constrains Nursing Program Growth
Expanding enrollment depends on more than classroom and lab space. In an April 2023 report on Oklahoma nursing schools, KGOU quoted an OU nursing dean identifying off-site clinical placements and nursing faculty as constraints on expanding programs—a statewide concern, not evidence of a TCC-specific limitation. The Oklahoma Hospital Association’s 2024 workforce survey reported an overall turnover rate of 21.52% among participating hospitals during its 12-month performance period. That overall figure provides workforce context but does not show how turnover or vacancies are distributed by region.
Inside the Classroom
TCC program director Lauri Jones said the college is considering a competency-based curriculum, according to 2 News Oklahoma KJRH Tulsa.
KJRH also reported that students use simulation and debriefing as part of their preparation for clinical work.
Where the Graduates Land
KJRH reported that TCC recorded a 92% NCLEX-RN pass rate in 2024. For comparison, the national pass rate was approximately 83% in 2025; the figures are from different years.
The pressure to produce more nurses isn't unique to Tulsa. East Central University's new Dan Hays STEM Center is expected to expand that school's capacity to admit and train nursing students by 60%, with ECU President Wendell Godwin saying the facility would allow the university to grow its program to 600 nursing majors, according to the Journal Record. The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust awarded ECU a $13 million Legacy Grant to help complete the $41 million building, the same report notes. The Journal Record also cited a federal projection estimating Oklahoma will face a shortage of 5,900 full-time-equivalent registered nurses by 2038, underscoring why community colleges and universities alike are racing to widen their nursing pipelines.
