The University of Central Arkansas Department of Nursing was awarded a grant of $44,802 to provide loans/scholarships to graduate nursing students seeking to become nurse educators.
The Nurse Faculty Loan Program, provided by the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services, will pay tuition/fees and related expenses for eligible students enrolled in full-time study to become nurse educators. Students receiving funding may pay 85% of the loan back through serving as a faculty member in a nursing education program. This academic year, qualified students are eligible to receive up to $9,954.
In addition, graduate nursing students may apply for financial assistance from two other sources of funding. One source is the Advanced Education Nurse Traineeship Program, funded by the same federal agency, which is available to qualified students enrolled full-time. This program provides stipends to assist students with education related expenses. The stipend amount varies each year, but can range up to $8,000. There is no obligation for post-graduation employment or payback of these funds.
UCA offers another source of financial assistance through a state program enacted by the Arkansas Legislature, which funds full-time and part-time graduate students seeking preparation to be nursing faculty members. Funding is up to $8,000 per year for full-time enrollment or $4,000 per year for part-time enrollment. Similar to the NFLP program, the loan will be canceled or converted to a scholarship if the graduate assumes a position as a nurse educator in any nursing program in the state.
By combining funding from all three sources, a graduate student in UCA?s graduate nursing program could receive between $19,000 and $26,000 for the academic year. Dr. Barbara G. Williams, chair of the Department of Nursing, said, ?We know that to address the nursing shortage, we must educate more nurses ? and that requires more faculty.? UCA has prepared for nurse educators since 1971 when the graduate nursing program was established and is committed to this mission.
