Associate Degree Nursing (RN)

The program of instruction is consistent with the institutional commitment of teaching and learning which is designed to incorporate the highest instructional and nursing standards. The program of instruction is designed to incorporate knowledge, attitudes, and skills applicable to life in a complex society. The program also focuses on the education and healthcare needs of rural East Central Mississippi.

The associate degree nurse is prepared to provide and manage care for individuals and groups in a variety of health care settings. Clear, concise, and timely communication with internal and external constituencies is a critical success factor for an effective nursing program. We believe the nurse of the future must encompass the core concepts of patient-centered care, professionalism, leadership, systems-based practice, informatics, communication, collaboration, safety, quality improvement and evidenced based practice, in order to provide safe and effective care. Graduates of the program receive an Associate of Applied Science Degree (AAS).

East Central Community College (ECCC), with its main campus located in Decatur, Mississippi, and a secondary career and technical center located in Philadelphia, Mississippi, was founded in 1928.

The Mission Statement of the college declares: East Central Community College is a public, open-access, comprehensive, two-year institution of higher education that provides university transfer education, distance education opportunities, career-technical programs, workforce development services, and basic skills offerings to meet the educational and training needs of the residents of Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Scott, and Winston counties located in east central Mississippi.

East Central Community College earned initial accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award the Associate Degree in 1939 and has had its accreditation reaffirmed each decade since.