on the website. Questions or clarifications about the content of this handbook should be directed to faculty in the SON.
Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy, reliability and completeness of the policies and procedures found in this handbook. However, if any discrepancies exist between the information in this handbook and official University policies, the information in the SON policies shall take precedence.
SON offers six undergraduate programs: Traditional Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (AAS), Accelerated Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (AAS), Licensed Practical Nurse to Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (AAS), Traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Second Degree BSN, and the post-licensure RN-BSN. All programs are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). Students who successfully complete pre-licensure degree requirements for the AAS and BSN programs meet eligibility to sit for the national licensure exam (NCLEX-RN).
The University was chartered in May 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons, only the second state-supported institution of higher learning in Kentucky. During Frankfort's 1886 centennial celebration when vivid recollections of the Civil War remained, the city donated $1,500 and a site on a scenic bluff overlooking the town. In 1890, the institution became a Land Grant College and the departments of Home Economics, Agriculture, and Mechanics were added to the school's curriculum. The school produced its first graduating class of five students in the spring of that year. A high school was organized in 1893. In 1902, the name was changed to Kentucky Normal and Industrial Institute for Colored Persons. The name was changed again in 1926 to Kentucky State Industrial College for Colored Persons. In the early 1930s the high school was discontinued, and in 1938 the school was named the Kentucky State College for Negroes. The term "for Negroes" was dropped in 1952. Kentucky State College became a university in 1972 and in 1973 the first graduate students enrolled in its School of Public Affairs. Over the past 25 years the University's enrollment and faculty have more than doubled and 29 new structures or major building expansions have enhanced Kentucky State University's 511-acre campus, which includes a 203-acre agricultural research farm. The year 1986 marked the University's centennial anniversary and its evolution over the previous century into a coeducational, liberal arts institution.