Articles

HCC launches new nursing program to offer LVNs pathway to earn degrees

May 27, 2025

Houston Community College (HCC) is launching its new LVN to ADN program at HCC Coleman College for Health Sciences, helping to address the state and national shortage of nurses.

The program, which is pending approval from the Texas Board of Nursing, is accepting applications for its inaugural fall 2025 cohort through June 19, 2025.

LVN to ADN is open to licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) who wish to earn their Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) and take the licensure exam to become registered nurses (RNs). This full-time program is just three semesters, with the first cohort to graduate in August 2026.

“This new and improved LVN to ADN transition program at HCC makes it possible for hardworking nurses to advance their careers faster and with less financial burden, so they can achieve their goals and make a greater impact in their communities,” said HCC Dean of Nursing Dr. Nicole Townsend.

“Not only will this program help fill critical registered nurse shortages,” she said, “but it will also help LVNs elevate themselves into positions of greater responsibility, leadership, and pay.”

The median salary for an RN in Texas was $77,450 in May of last year, about $17,300 more than the median salary of an LVN, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

In the U.S., demand for health care services–driven because of an aging population and an increase in the prevalence of chronic disease–continues to increase, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services and BLS.

The BLS projects that an additional 275,000 nurses will be needed by 2030. And, in Texas, the number of nurses is low compared to national numbers. The state has just 826 nurses per 100,000 people in its population, below the national average of 948 nurses per 100,000 residents.

“The HCC Coleman College team is doing all it can to help address the nursing shortage our state and nation faces,” said Chancellor Margaret Ford Fisher, Ed.D. “The goal is to help address the shortfall while offering pathways for vocational nurses to move upward in their careers into in-demand registered nursing roles.”

To learn more about the LVN to ADN program or to apply, please visit hccs.edu/LVN-ADN.