Enrollments
Rise at U.S. Nursing Colleges and Universities
Ending a Six-Year Period of Decline
Enrollment
Increase Insufficient to Meet the Projected Need for New
Nurses
WASHINGTON,
DC, December 20, 2001 - According to the results of an annual
survey released today by the American Association of Colleges
of Nursing (AACN), enrollments in entry-level baccalaureate
programs in nursing increased in fall 2001 ending a six-year
period of decline. This increase comes at a time when the
need for nurses with baccalaureate and graduate degrees is
expanding in the U.S. health care system. Though this increase
ends a downward trend, the number of students in the educational
pipeline is still insufficient to meet the projected demand
for a million new nurses over the next 10 years.
AACN
findings are based on responses from a total of 548 (80.8
percent) of the nation's nursing schools with bachelor's-
and graduate-degree programs that were surveyed in fall 2001.
The survey found that total enrollment in all nursing programs
leading to the baccalaureate degree was 106,557 in 2001. By
comparison, the total enrollment in 1995, the year enrollments
began to dip, was 127,683 for all baccalaureate programs.
Findings
from the AACN survey show that enrollments in generic (entry-level)
baccalaureate programs were up 3.7 percent in fall 2001 compared
to fall 2000. Two-year comparisons are based on data from
the same schools reporting in both 2000 and 2001.
Data
show that nursing school enrollments are up in all regions
of the United States with the greatest increase realized in
the South with a 4 percent rise in enrollments in entry-level
baccalaureate programs. Other regions reported the following
increases from fall 2000 to fall 2001: North Atlantic schools
were up by 3.5 percent; Midwest schools were up by 3.5 percent;
and schools in the West were up by 3.4 percent.
"Nursing
schools across the country have stepped up their recruitment
efforts in response to the nursing shortage," explained
Dr. Carolyn A. Williams, AACN President and Dean of the College
of Nursing at the University of Kentucky. "Schools are
experiencing a limited measure of success, but we still have
a long way to go to meet the projected demand for nurses."
Though
generic baccalaureate programs saw enrollment increases this
year, programs that enable registered nurses (RN) prepared
with a diploma or associate's degree to earn a bachelor's
degree continued to decline. From 2000 to 2001, enrollments
in RN-to-baccalaureate programs declined 3.9 percent, continuing
the downward slide identified last year when enrollments fell
7.2 percent from 1999 to 2000.
Enrollment
levels in graduate and higher degree programs in nursing are
struggling to remain at current levels with master's degree
programs down 0.1 percent and doctoral programs up 1.5 percent
from 2000 to 2001. Conversely, post-doctoral programs saw
a significant increase of 39.2 percent representing a jump
from 51 to 71 students.
Why Are Enrollments Up?
The
nation's emerging nursing shortage has underscored the need
for schools to amplify their student recruitment efforts.
The central administration at many institutions recognized
the need to expand nursing programs this year in light of
the nursing shortage. Legislation in some parts of the country
have provided more funds for nursing schools to expand their
programs and reach out to new student populations. Faculty
shortages are being addressed through partnerships between
schools and health care facilities that allow their personnel
to serve as teachers and clinical support.
Schools
of nursing also have redirected their marketing efforts to
include partnering with local school systems, advocating for
legislative support for nursing education, launching aggressive
marketing campaigns, and seeking out new ways to expand diversity
in nursing programs.
Indiana
University's School of Nursing successfully increased undergraduate
enrollments at seven of its eight campuses. "We attribute
our increase to a recruitment campaign that focuses on nursing
as the gateway to a lifetime of career opportunities,"
said Dr. Angela Barron McBride, Distinguished Professor and
University Dean. "We are pleased with our growth, but
now find the school strapped for nursing faculty to teach
clinical sections that any further expansion would require."
Officials
at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore attribute the 16
percent increase in undergraduate nursing program enrollments
this fall to Web site enhancements (site traffic is up four-fold)
and the expansion of the student recruitment staff. "I
think it is important to find recruiters who have a passion
for nursing and can articulate the pivotal role nurses play
in providing direct care," explained Dr. Martha N. Hill,
Dean of the School of Nursing. "We look for recruiters
from diverse backgrounds who can reach a variety of potential
students, especially second degree students who now comprise
75 percent of our student population."
At
Loma Linda University School of Nursing in California, undergraduate
enrollments surged by 18 percent this year due in part to
a vigorous recruitment campaign and a federally funded outreach
project targeted at underrepresented groups in nursing. "Like
many private schools, we still have excess capacity in our
nursing program," said Dr. Helen E. King, Dean of the
School of Nursing. "To continue to expand our nursing
program, we need more scholarships and grants to reduce the
cost of a nursing education and make it more affordable for
students."
"Texas
schools were granted financial incentives this year to increase
student capacity through the Nursing Shortage Reduction Bill
enacted by the state legislature," explained Dr. Janet
D. Allan, Dean of the University of Texas Health Science Center
School of Nursing in San Antonio. "Though our fall 2001
undergraduate enrollments are up a healthy 23 percent (78
students), we turned away 79 qualified students because of
a shortage of nursing faculty and clinical sites."
Though
enrollments are up at the majority of nursing schools this
year, more than a third of schools (40 percent) with baccalaureate
or higher degrees in nursing have reported no change or declines
in student enrollments. The incremental increase in this year's
student population is not significant enough to satisfy the
health care workforce needs in the years to come.
Student
Enrollments and the Nursing Shortage
"We
are pleased to see enrollments go up this year, but recognize
that we are falling far short of meeting the present and future
demand for well-educated nurses," explained Dr. Geraldine
Bednash, AACN's Executive Director.
According
to the November 2001 Monthly Labor Review released
by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, one million new nurses
will be needed by the year 2010. Surveys and studies conducted
by the General Accounting Office, American Hospital Association,
health care consulting groups, and academic researchers all
confirm that a new nursing shortage is impacting the delivery
of health care in the U.S. The shortage is expected to intensify
over the next decade as baby boomers age and a large percentage
of the current nursing workforce retires.
"We
need to mobilize resources now to improve nursing school infrastructures,
boost faculty recruitment efforts, define the roles of the
professional nurse, and reach out to diverse student populations
if we are to see a real forward momentum," added Williams.
"AACN will continue to direct its efforts toward supporting
schools of nursing by lobbying for legislation that benefits
nursing education, sharing best practices with the full body
of nursing schools, and forming collaborations to seek solutions
to this health care crisis."
About
the AACN Survey
AACN's
21st Annual Survey of Institutions with Baccalaureate and
Higher Degree Nursing Programs is conducted each year by the
association's 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. Complete survey results are
complied in three separate reports, which will be available
in February 2002:
- 2001-2002
Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate
Programs in Nursing
-
2001-2002 Salaries of Instructional and Administrative
Nursing Faculty in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs
in Nursing
-
2001-2002 Salaries of Deans in Baccalaureate and Graduate
Programs in Nursing
Editor's Note: News media may obtain selected tables
from these data reports by contacting Robert Rosseter at (202)
463-6930, extension 231.
The American Association
of Colleges of Nursing is the national voice for university
and four-year-college education programs in nursing. Representing
more than 580 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.
###
CONTACT: Robert Rosseter
(202) 463-6930, x231
rrosseter@aacn.nche.edu
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