Project Grant E0153163

NURSE FACULTY LOAN PROGRAM - WILLIAM CAREY UNIVERSITY (WCU) SCHOOL OF NURSING (SON) SEEKS FUNDING UNDER THE NURSE FACULTY LOAN PROGRAM (NFLP) TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF QUALIFIED NURSING FACULTY NATIONWIDE BY PROVIDING LOW-INTEREST LOANS FOR INDIVIDUALS STUDYING TO BE NURSE FACULTY AND LOAN CANCELLATION FOR THOSE WHO THEN GO ON TO WORK AS FACULTY. WHILE MISSISSIPPI IS CURRENTLY SUFFERING FROM A NURSE FACULTY SHORTAGE, IT IS ALSO RECOGNIZED THAT ADDITIONAL NURSE FACULTY ARE NEEDED IN ALL GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS OF THE UNITED STATES (U.S.) TO IMPROVE THE WORKFORCE AND PROVIDE QUALITY NURSING EDUCATION (MISSISSIPPI INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING, 2023). THE WCU SON OFFERS THREE PROGRAMS AT THE MASTER'S AND DOCTORAL LEVELS AIMED AT CREATING MORE NURSE FACULTY TO ALLEVIATE THE CURRENT SHORTAGE. A MASTER OF SCIENCE IN NURSING (MSN) PROGRAM IS OFFERED WITH A FOCUS ON NURSING EDUCATION. THE SON ALSO HAS A ROBUST DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (PHD) IN NURSING EDUCATION AND ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM FOR POST-MASTER STUDENTS, AND A DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE (DNP) TO PHD IN NURSING EDUCATION PROGRAM IS ALSO OFFERED TO DNP-PREPARED PROFESSIONALS WHO WANT TO FOCUS ON NURSING EDUCATION. FUNDING BY THE NFLP GRANT WILL ALLOW WCU SON TO ATTRACT A DIVERSE POPULATION OF STUDENTS AND ADDRESS BARRIERS FOR MASTER'S AND PHD STUDENTS BY RELIEVING THE FINANCIAL BURDEN OF GRADUATE NURSING EDUCATION. THE NFLP GRANT WILL ALSO ALLOW WCU TO RECRUIT MORE BACCALAUREATE- AND MASTER'S-PREPARED NURSES TO GRADUATE NURSING EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND PREPARE NURSES TO SERVE AS PRECEPTORS FOR ALL LEVELS OF NURSING EDUCATORS, INCLUDING APRN STUDENTS. STUDENTS WILL BE RECRUITED FROM MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED AND VULNERABLE POPULATION AREAS THROUGHOUT THE U.S. THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING, COMBINED WITH THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE ONLINE MASTER'S AND HYBRID PHD PROGRAMS, WILL ALLOW FOR INCREASED ENROLLMENT IN EACH PROGRAM. THE INCREASED ENROLLMENT OF THESE PROGRAMS WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL NURSE EDUCATORS AVAILABLE TO NURSING PRO GRAMS IN MISSISSIPPI AND THROUGHOUT THE U.S., THEREBY ALLOWING MORE QUALIFIED APPLICANTS TO BE ADMITTED TO NURSING PROGRAMS. THE NFLP WILL BE OFFERED TO GRADUATE STUDENTS AT WCU SON. THE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS WILL FOCUS ON DOCTORAL STUDENTS, WHO WILL RECEIVE 75% OF THE FUNDS AWARDED, AND THE REMAINING 25% WILL BE AWARDED TO MASTER'S STUDENTS. QUALIFIED APPLICANTS WILL RECEIVE 100% OF TUITION COST FOR THE 2024-2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. THE PROJECT DIRECTOR AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STAFF WILL WORK CLOSELY TO QUALIFY CANDIDATES, AWARD FUNDS, MONITOR LOAN CANCELLATION, REPAYMENT, AND COLLECTION, AND COLLECT AND REPORT DATA TO HRSA. THROUGH THE COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS OF HRSA AND WCU, THE SON WILL WORK TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF QUALIFIED NURSING FACULTY TO IMPROVE THE WORKFORCE AND GO ON TO WORK AS NURSE EDUCATORS IN THE U.S.