CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The University of Northern Iowa’s new Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program invites alumni, friends and family to a Homecoming open house on Friday, Oct. 25, from 4 to 6 p.m.

Interested community members can tour the new nursing facilities located on the third floor of the Innovative Teaching and Technology Center (ITTC) and learn more about the program from UNI nursing faculty, staff and students.

Active learning is at the forefront of the UNI BSN program, with spaces customized for competency-based education within an environment that models clinical settings. Integrated classrooms combine lectures, theory, fully equipped labs and state-of-the-art simulations, allowing students to learn while practicing right on campus.

“Our hallmark is we want our graduates to be practice-ready,” said Nancy Kertz, chief academic nursing administrator and head of the Department of Nursing and Public Health. “What that means is when they walk out the door, they're still newly-prepared nurses, but they can critically think, take care of multiple patients and have a higher level of function once they graduate than we typically see.”

The open house for nursing is just one of the many activities scheduled for UNI’s Homecoming celebration, running Oct. 21 through 26. Other events for Friday, Oct. 25 include a Halloween House from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in McCollum Science Hall; the Homecoming Bash from 5 to 9 p.m. on central campus, featuring food trucks, yard games, activities and live music from The Pork Tornadoes starting at 7 p.m.; and Campaniling at midnight. For a list of all UNI Homecoming activities, visit homecoming.uni.edu.