Nursing scholarships go unclaimed, while observers say program is misdirected

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) – Nursing students have snapped up only $1.1 million of a $5 million scholarship program, and some are wondering if the program needs to be changed to help more students.

A year ago, the Nebraska Legislature allocated $5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the scholarships in hopes of addressing a chronic shortage of nurses that is expected to grow to 5,400 by 2025.

But the program was aimed at helping students in short-term training, and it has helped only about 400 nursing students. If the $5 million isn’t fully allocated by the end of next year, the remainder must be returned to the feds.

The concerns have advocates for nurses wondering if the state should amend the program so the funds are used as intended.

‘Missed the mark’

“The intent was wonderful, it was right on track. But they kind of missed the mark in not including those in traditional nursing programs,” said Deb Carlson, president and CEO of Nebraska Methodist College in Omaha.

Kim Houtwed of the Nebraska Nurses Association said it is unfortunate that the money isn’t being used as expected. She pledged  to work on changes, if needed.

The goal of “Nursing Incentives Scholarship Program” was to quickly train more nurses by providing scholarships of $2,500 per semester if a recipient agreed to work two years in the state.

But eligibility was limited to only those students in short-term, one- to four-semester programs for Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), Associate Degree Nurses (ADNs) and fast-tracked, one-year “accelerated” bachelor of science in nursing programs — not four-year programs for Registered Nurses (RNs).

Few students eligible

At Nebraska Methodist College, it meant that only 65 students — those in the accelerated program — out of the 600 seeking a bachelor of science in nursing degrees are eligible.

“It’s very frustrating,” Carlson said.

The numbers were similar at the University of Nebraska Medical Center where 30 nursing students received the state scholarships this spring out of about 670 students enrolled in the bachelor of science in nursing program.

Carlson and others interviewed said they are concerned that people might perceive the lack of scholarship applicants as meaning that prospective nurses don’t need the financial help, which they said isn’t the case.

Those concerns have been heard by officials with the Nebraska Hospital Association, which drafted the scholarship bill, as well as the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, which administers the scholarship program.

They said the program was crafted to get nurses into the workforce faster, so it was aimed at shorter-term training programs.

‘Get them in the door fast’

“Let’s get them in the door as fast as we can” was the goal, according to Andy Hale of the Nebraska Hospital Association. “Get them working, and if they like the job, then they could pursue a bachelor’s of nursing degree.”

Many employers, according to Hale, provide scholarship help to nurses once they’re on the job and then seek additional education.

But Carlson and others said that the eligibility could have been expanded to help four-year students nearing graduation — students who would be nurses in hospitals and other settings within a year or two.

Jillian Krumbach, a dean at Methodist College, said four-year students can incur a healthy debt — total tuitions costs can be $70,000 — and can really use the financial help.

Expand the pool

“There’s no reason not to expand that (eligibility) pool to those close to the finish line,” Krumbach said.

“We just have to be more creative to get people into health care,” Carlson said, which includes exposing students earlier to the field.

State Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams, who introduced the scholarship measure as part of Legislative Bill 1014 in 2022, said he, too, was surprised that more of the scholarship funds hadn’t been awarded.

It’s probably something the Legislature should look at during its 2024 session, he said.

Blair Sen. Ben Hansen, who heads the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, had similar comments this week.

Hale, of the Hospital Association, said four-year programs weren’t included because there was some concern about complying with ARPA requirements, which requires that funds must be “obligated” by Dec. 31, 2024, and spent by Dec. 31, 2026.

Keisha Patent, director of the Legislature’s Fiscal Office, said “obligated” means the scholarship funds would have to be awarded before the end of 2024.

So the clock is ticking.

Jeff Powell, a spokesman for Health and Human Services, said Thursday that the agency has decided to open applications for the spring 2025 semester in late 2024 to help ensure that as many scholarships as possible are obligated before the deadline.

Hale said it might be just a matter of “getting the word out” to more nursing students that scholarships are available.

But, he added, he plans to look at applications for scholarships for this fall — the deadline is July 31 — to see if expansion of the program’s eligibility requirements need to be pursued.

“We don’t want this money sent back to D.C.,” Hale said. 

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