• American Association of Colleges of Nursing
One Dupont Circle, #530
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 463-6930
www.aacn.nche.edu

• National League for Nursing
61 Broadway, 33rd Floor
New York, NY 10006
(800) 669-1656
www.nln.org

• Information on Scholarships and Fellowships, Loan and Loan Repayment Programs:
www.nlnfoundation.org
bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/
www.vcu.edu/nursing/

• In June 2005, the US Department of Labor awarded more than $12 million in grant-funding through the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative, $3 million of which will help to address the nurse faculty shortage. This latest round of funding brings the DOL's commitment to health care workforce through the High-Growth program to more than $43 million.
• On February 7, 2005, Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY) announced plans to introduce the Nurse Education, Expansion and Development (NEED) Act in the 109th Congress. This legislation (H.R. 5324), based on capitation grants authority from the 1970s, was introduced by Reps. Lowey and Lois Capps (D-CA) at the end of the congressional session in 2004. If enacted, the NEED Act would provide funding to schools of nursing to increase the number of nursing faculty and students, including hiring new and retaining current faculty.

The Nurse Faculty Education Act of 2005 addresses our nation's need to increase the number of doctoral-prepared nurses to help alleviate nursing shortages by increasing the number of faculty available. Without increases in the number of doctoral-prepared nurses, we face challenges in both access to and quality of care. This legislation seeks to increase enrollments and graduation of students from doctoral programs and increase the number of doctoral-prepared nurses who serve as nurse faculty. Doctoral faculty fulfills a critical role since they serve as educators of masters and doctoral nursing education students. It establishes the Nurse Faculty Education Program through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to:

• 1) Provide support for hiring new faculty, retaining existing faculty, and
  purchasing educational resources.
• 2) Increase enrollment and graduation rates from nursing doctoral programs.