National Park College

National Park College in Hot Springs, Arkansas is a public community college that offers two nursing pathways: a Practical Nursing (LPN) program and an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) for RN licensure. The overall structure is typical of a community-college nursing department—students complete general education and nursing support courses alongside a sequenced set of nursing courses, with skills practice and supervised clinical days built into each term.

On cost, students generally find community colleges to be among the lower-cost options for nursing education, particularly for Arkansas residents paying in-district or in-state tuition. Exact tuition and program fees (including uniforms, background checks, immunizations, testing products, and transportation to clinical sites) can change year to year, so applicants should use NPC’s published tuition/fees schedules and the nursing program’s checklist to estimate the full out-of-pocket total rather than relying on per-credit tuition alone.

For outcomes, NPC’s average weighted NCLEX-RN pass rate is 93.6%, which is above the 2024 Arkansas RN average of 91.1%. The PN pass rate averages 82.6%, which is below the 2024 Arkansas PN average of 92.4%, so practical-nursing applicants may want to ask how recent cohorts have performed and what academic supports are in place for NCLEX-PN readiness.

The main campus is in Hot Springs, with many students commuting from Hot Springs Village, Benton, or surrounding Garland and Saline County communities. Driving is the most common option in this part of Arkansas, so clinical scheduling and travel time are practical factors to plan for early, especially for early-morning hospital rotations.

NPC publishes clinical placement details through the nursing department rather than a single fixed list that applies to every cohort, and sites can change based on contracts and availability. Prospective students should request the current clinical site list and ask where recent cohorts have completed medical-surgical, maternal-child, pediatrics, mental health, and leadership/preceptorship experiences, as well as what on-campus simulation resources are used to practice skills before clinical days.