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Student Enrollment Rises
in U.S. Nursing Colleges and Universities for the 6th Consecutive
Year
Despite this increase,
more than 32,000 qualified applicants were turned away
from nursing programs in 2006 due to a shortage of nurse educators
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 5, 2006 – The
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) today released
preliminary survey data which show that enrollment in entry-level
baccalaureate nursing programs increased by 5.0 percent from
2005 to 2006. Though this increase is welcome, surveyed nursing
colleges and universities turned away more than 32,000 qualified
applicants due primarily to a shortage of nurse educators.
AACN is very concerned about the high number of qualified
students being turned away from nursing programs each year
given the national nursing shortage, which is expected to
intensify through the year 2020.
“Nursing schools nationwide are effectively
answering the calls to expand student capacity given the growing
need for nursing services in the U.S.,” said AACN President
Jeanette Lancaster. “With limited resources available
to nursing schools and a dwindling population of nurse faculty,
future enrollment increases may not be possible without a
significant boost in federal and state funding needed to prepare
new faculty, enhance teaching resources, and upgrade nursing
school infrastructure.”
In a report released in April 2006, the Health
Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) projects
that nursing schools must increase the number of graduates
by 90 percent in order to adequately address the nursing shortage.
With an18.0 percent increase in graduations from baccalaureate
nursing programs this year, schools are falling far short
of meeting this target. By the year 2020, HRSA projects that
more than one million new Registered Nurses (RNs) will be
needed in the U.S. healthcare system to meet the demand for
nursing care.
Trends in Nursing School Enrollments
AACN’s annual survey is the primary source
for actual (versus projected) data on enrollment and graduations
reported by the nation’s baccalaureate and graduate degree
programs in nursing. This year’s 5.0 percent enrollment
increase is based on data supplied by the same 433 schools
reporting in both 2005 and 2006. This is the sixth consecutive
year of enrollment gains with 9.6, 14.1, 16.6, 8.1, and 3.7
percent increases in 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, and 2001, respectively.
Prior to the six-year upswing, baccalaureate nursing programs
experienced six years of declining enrollments from 1995 through
2000. For a graphic depicting enrollment changes in baccalaureate
nursing programs from 1994-2006, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/ppt/94-06EnrChgs.ppt.
The AACN survey also found that the number
of graduates from entry-level baccalaureate programs increased
by 18.0 percent from 2005 to 2006. The recent rise in graduations
follows 13.4, 14, 4.3 and 3.2 percent increases in the number
of graduates in 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2002, respectively. This
upward trend was preceded by a six-year period of graduation
declines from 1996 through 2001.
Qualified Students Turned Away Despite
Nursing Shortage
Though interest in nursing careers is strong,
access to professional nursing education is becoming more
difficult. AACN’s preliminary findings show that 32,323
qualified applications to entry-level baccalaureate programs
were not accepted in 2006 based on responses from 449 schools.
The number of qualified applications turned away each year
from these programs remains high with 37,514; 29,425; 15,944;
and 3,600 students turned award in 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2002,
respectively. The primary barriers to accepting all qualified
students at nursing colleges and universities continue to
be insufficient faculty, clinical placement sites, and classroom
space. For a graphic showing the number of qualified applications
turned away from baccalaureate nursing programs over the past
five years, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/ppt/02-06TurnedAway.ppt.
To help address the shortage of nursing faculty,
AACN is leveraging its resources to secure federal funding
for faculty development programs, collect data on faculty
vacancy rates, identify strategies to address the shortage,
and focus media attention on this important issue. This work
includes:
- Collaborating with other nursing groups
to mobilize support for more federal funding for nursing
education, including support for the Nurse Faculty Loan
Program and the creation of new legislation such as the
Nurse Faculty Education Act and the Nurse Education, Expansion
and Development Act introduced in the 109th Congress.
- Leading the effort to expand the Graduate
Assistance in Areas of National Need program administered
by the U.S. Department of Education to include nursing.
As a result, nursing in now recognized as an area of national
need and new funding for PhD programs in nursing is available.
- Creating a new minority faculty scholarship
program with The California Endowment to increase the number
of nurse educators from underrepresented groups.
- Offering a new Faculty Development Institute
in February 2007 to help prepare and retain new nursing
faculty at schools nationwide.
- Highlighting statewide initiatives and other
best practices related to addressing the faculty shortage
via issue bulletins, white papers, media articles and Web
resources.
For more detail on the nurse faculty shortage
and AACN’s response, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/FactSheets/FacultyShortage.htm.
Interest Runs High in Professional Nursing
Careers
The robust interest in professional nursing
careers can be attributed in part to successful outreach efforts
guided by the nation’s nursing schools. Strategies employed
to increase student capacity this year included forming alliances
with hospitals and other practice sites to address faculty
and clinical space constraints. Some schools have expanded
or opened new accelerated programs for second-degree seekers
looking to transition into nursing while others have taken
advantage of state and federal funding aimed at strengthening
the nursing workforce. In addition to these school-based initiatives,
both Johnson & Johnson and the Nurses for a Healthier
Tomorrow coalition continued their national media campaigns
to encourage careers in nursing.
Given the demands of today’s health care
system, the greatest need in the nursing workforce is for
nurses prepared at the baccalaureate and higher degree levels.
With the government calling for baccalaureate preparation
for at least two thirds of the nursing workforce, the evidence
clearly shows that higher levels of nursing education are
linked with lower patient mortality rates, fewer errors, and
greater job satisfaction among RNs. Last year, the American
Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), the national voice
for nurse leaders in the practice arena, began calling for
baccalaureate preparation for all RNs in the future. The growing
complexity of patient care and the increase in patient acuity
require that nurses have the best entry-level preparation
available.
“To stabilize the nursing workforce, the
federal government and other stakeholders must focus on increasing
nursing school enrollments at the baccalaureate level,”
said Dr. Lancaster. “Besides adding to the RN workforce,
graduates of baccalaureate nursing programs are much more
likely to pursue graduate education and achieve the credentials
needed to serve as nurse educators. “
About the AACN Survey
Now in its 26th year, AACN’s Annual Survey
of Institutions with Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Nursing
Programs is conducted each year by the association’s
Data and Research Center. Information from the survey forms
the basis for the nation's premier database on trends in enrollments
and graduations, student and faculty demographics, and faculty
and deans' salaries. AACN data reflects actual counts reported
in fall 2006 by nursing schools, not projections or estimates
based on past reporting.
The annual AACN survey is a collaborative effort
with data on nurse practitioner programs collected jointly
with the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties
and data on clinical nurse specialist programs collected with
the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists. Complete
survey results are compiled in three separate reports, which
will be available in February 2007:
- 2006-2007 Enrollment and Graduations in
Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing
- 2006-2007 Salaries of Instructional and
Administrative Nursing Faculty in Baccalaureate and Graduate
Programs in Nursing
- 2006-2007 Salaries of Deans in Baccalaureate
and Graduate Programs in Nursing
More information about the upcoming data reports
will be posted soon on the AACN Web site at http://www.aacn.nche.edu/IDS/datarep.htm.
Editor’s Note: News media may obtain selected
tables from these data reports by contacting Robert Rosseter
at rrosseter@aacn.nche.edu
or 202-463-6930, extension 231. Requests for regional data
and local enrollment success stories are also welcome.
The American Association
of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is the national voice for university
and four-year college education programs in nursing. Representing
more than 600 member schools of nursing at public and private
institutions nationwide, AACN's educational, research, governmental
advocacy, data collection, publications, and other programs
work to establish quality standards for bachelor's- and graduate-degree
nursing education, assist deans and directors to implement
those standards, influence the nursing profession to improve
health care, and promote public support of baccalaureate and
graduate nursing education, research, and practice. www.aacn.nche.edu
# # #
CONTACT: Robert Rosseter
(202) 463-6930, x231
rrosseter@aacn.nche.edu
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