CONTACT: Robert Rosseter
(202) 463-6930, x231
rrossete@aacn.nche.edu

For Immediate Release

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 560 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.

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