In mid-May, the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) announced the Accelerate Wisconsin initiative.  The intent behind this initiative is to streamline the occupational licensure process for recent nursing school graduates, so that they can begin practicing more quickly after graduation. Nursing students at participating schools will now be able to take the required NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) national nursing exam before they graduate.  Once certification of a nurse’s graduation has been provided to DSPS, the nurse will receive their occupational license from DSPS within three business days.  Furthermore, to assist employers with their hiring process, DSPS will provide nursing students who meet all criteria except graduation with a letter reflecting this.

The following nursing schools are participating in this program:

• Alverno College
• Carroll University
• Carthage College
• Chippewa Valley Technical College
• Edgewood College
• Gateway Technical College
• Madison College
• Marian University
• Marquette University
• University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
• Viterbo University