Nurse Faculty Loan Program | HRSA 16 065

Opportunity Information: Apply for HRSA 16 065

The Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) (CFDA 93.264) aimed at easing the national nursing faculty shortage. The central idea is to help accredited schools of nursing train more nurse educators, which in turn expands the capacity of nursing programs and supports a larger pipeline of newly trained nurses entering the workforce. Rather than funding students directly, HRSA funds eligible academic institutions so they can build and operate a dedicated loan program for their graduate nursing students who intend to become faculty.

Under this program, participating schools are expected to create or strengthen curriculum that prepares registered nurses for educator roles. That includes training graduate nursing students to use evidence-based teaching strategies, design and deliver curriculum for both classroom and clinical settings, and develop fair and effective approaches for evaluating student learning outcomes. The program is intentionally focused on the practical competencies of teaching in nursing education, because the larger workforce impact depends on graduates being able to step into faculty positions and teach effectively.

A key operational requirement is that grantee institutions must establish and maintain a distinct, interest-bearing NFLP loan fund. Schools use this fund to make loans to registered nurses enrolled in eligible graduate-level nursing programs, helping them cover the costs of advanced education needed to qualify as nursing faculty. The NFLP is structured as a loan-with-service benefit: borrowers can receive substantial loan forgiveness if they complete the program and then work as full-time nursing faculty for the required period. Specifically, the program provides for cancellation of up to 85 percent of the borrower’s NFLP loan balance for graduates who serve as full-time nurse faculty as prescribed by program rules, which is meant to make academic careers more financially feasible compared with often higher-paying clinical roles.

Eligibility to apply is limited to accredited schools of nursing (or nursing departments within larger academic institutions, such as a graduate school) that offer qualifying advanced nursing degree programs. The school’s accreditation must be from a national nurse education accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For most nursing programs, acceptable accrediting bodies include the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). For specialized programs, the announcement specifies additional requirements: nurse-midwifery programs must be accredited by the Accreditation Commission on Midwifery Education (ACME), and nurse anesthesia programs must be accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA). Applicants are instructed to clearly document their accreditation status and submit it as Attachment 1 as part of the application package.

Geographically, applicants must be located in eligible U.S. jurisdictions. This includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. Federally recognized Indian Tribal Governments and Native American Organizations may apply if they otherwise meet eligibility requirements. Foreign entities are generally not eligible for HRSA awards unless a statute specifically allows it or the award is for research; the notice also clarifies that this exception does not apply to research training awards or construction of research facilities.

From the opportunity details provided, the funding opportunity number is HRSA-16-065, and the original closing date listed is 2015-11-30. The anticipated number of awards is 100, and the award ceiling is listed as 0 (which typically indicates that the maximum award amount is not specified in that field of the summary record and would need to be confirmed in the full announcement or program guidance). Overall, the NFLP is designed as a capacity-building mechanism for nursing education: it supports institutions in financing graduate students who will become educators, and it uses significant loan cancellation incentives to encourage graduates to take and remain in full-time faculty roles, ultimately increasing the number of nurses that schools can train.

• The Health Resources and Services Administration in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Nurse Faculty Loan Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.264.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2015-09-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2015-11-30. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 100 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for HRSA 16 065

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