The experience of being a Frontier Nursing University student is unique and one you won’t find elsewhere. We offer a supportive student network, amazing faculty and staff, and an opportunity to complete a graduate education online from your home community. While coursework is completed online, one to two campus immersion experiences are part of the FNU journey, including an orientation prior to beginning studies, and an intensive skills workshop prior to beginning the clinical practicum in the student’s home area.
Our alumni will tell you that this tradition is one of their most treasured memories as an FNU student. We invite you to take your own tour and learn more about our home in Versailles, Kentucky.
Welcome Center and 5K Trail
Where else to begin the tour but at the Welcome Center? This is where students check in as they arrive on campus for Frontier and Clinical Bounds. Just behind the Welcome Center is the trailhead for the 5K trail around campus. The trail features several connector trails and a scenic walk around the wooded campus. The trailhead is also the location of the Land Acknowledgement marker, which recognizes this as the traditional territory of the Cherokee and Shawnee people.
The Community Center and the Learning Center
Next on the tour of campus is the Community Center. This Center contains a large auditorium for campus-wide events, accommodating up to 120 people. Smaller breakout rooms accommodate about 25 people per room.
The Learning Center is home to the university’s simulation labs. It is here that students who are ready to begin their clinical experience spend time on campus attending Clinical Bound where they practice their clinical skills. FNU employs standardized patients who follow a script written by faculty to create a realistic patient interaction for the student. Students also utilize mannequin-style models to practice hands-on skills, such as hand maneuvers for attending births and suturing techniques. These simulations allow students to experience patient interactions in a simulated environment and prepare them to see actual patients in real clinical settings. Simulations are offered in all four specialties to nurse-midwifery, family nurse practitioner, women’s health nurse practitioner, and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner students.
President’s House
The President’s House was built in 1854 and extensively renovated in 2021. Despite the name, the university president does not reside at the President’s House. Instead, the house offers ample indoor and exterior space to host various events and receptions and four bedrooms to accommodate guests.
Student Services
The Student Services building houses the FNU Library which provides high quality, evidence-based resources to support students, alumni and faculty in their careers as healthcare leaders.
IT Services is also located in the Student Services building. The IT team supports the FNU Community in using technology in creative, innovative, and immersive ways to advance and support the mission and goals of the university.
Students will also find the Academic Advising office here. Frontier Nursing University takes a multi-layered, collaborative approach to academic advising. In addition to the faculty who are with students every step of the way with coursework, FNU assigns each student an Academic Advisor and a Regional Clinical Faculty member (RCF) to provide support and direction from the point of admission to degree completion.
Dining Hall and Gift Shop
While most of the existing buildings on our historical campus were renovated, the Dining Hall is a newly-constructed building. Here, three meals a day are prepared by our chef and his staff when hosting on-campus student sessions and events. The dining hall offers seating for 120 people. The campus gift shop and gym is located downstairs from the dining room.
Bell Pavilion
A long-standing tradition at Frontier is the bell-ringing ceremony held at the end of each Bound week and after commencement. Before returning home from their campus visits, Frontier Bound and Clinical Bound students convene at the Bell Pavilion and take turns one-by-one ringing the bell to signify the beginning of a new chapter.
Student Lodges
Combined, the three student lodges have a total capacity of 100 students. Community bathrooms are located on each floor, and each lodge has a kitchenette with a microwave, a full-size refrigerator, dishes and more. The exterior design of the lodges was “Frontierized,” which is to say that the lodges were intentionally made to look very much like the buildings on FNU’s previous campus in Hyden.
Faculty / Staff House
The faculty and staff house serves as housing for visiting faculty and staff members. FNU has over 250 faculty and staff members located all over the country. Much like the students, faculty travel to campus for Frontier and Clinical Bounds.
Administration Building
The Administration Building contains two conference rooms and several administrative and staff offices, including the President’s Office.
Reflection Center
The Reflection Center offers a place for anyone on campus to have quiet space to reflect, pray, meditate, or pursue whatever form of solace they seek.
FNU surveys all students who attend Frontier and Clinical Bounds to gain insight and perspective into the student experience and how it can be improved. The feedback is overwhelmingly positive.
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