Pilot partnership with Illinois Education Foundation will help staunch nursing shortage
CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL - Forty nursing students at south suburban Prairie State College will get a helping hand financially and academically thanks to a $28,000 grant issued this week by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) to the Illinois Education Foundation for its trailblazing Nursing Retention Program.
The pilot program - also supported with a $36,500 "Healthy Communities" grant from the Aetna Foundation - is designed to boost the graduation rate among nursing students from the current range of 50 to 60 percent up to a target of 75 percent. The project - set to begin in the Fall 2008 semester - will include tutoring, mentoring and financial assistance for such items as transportation or day care.
"The nationwide nursing shortage is deepening when more patients will be needing health care," said Andrew Davis, ISAC Executive Director. "If a program like this can boost nursing school retention rates even a few percentage points, the benefits to the people of Illinois will be felt for decades. It's a terrific investment. And since ISAC and Prairie State are both celebrating our 50th anniversaries, this is a terrific partnership."
The Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council estimates that by the year 2020, Illinois will have a shortage of 21,000 registered nurses. The shortage is due to increased nurse retirements and greater demand.
The grant will be especially helpful to student nurses who may be single-parents or work a part-time job.
"The Illinois Education Foundation has customized our standard academic support services in order to most effectively assist nursing students at Prairie State College," said Eric Davis, Executive Director of the Illinois Education Foundation (IEF), a not-for-profit group which broadens opportunities for Illinois high school students by providing last-dollar scholarships and academic assistance to low-income, high-potential students. "We have tailored a program that provides a summer bridge preparation course, weekly academic tutoring, career-relevant mentoring and life-skills training."
Prairies State College officials welcomed the chance to serve as a pilot for this innovative initiative. "We have many academically talented students who are unable to successfully complete the nursing program due to external variables that do not allow them to fully utilize the college's resources or commit the time required to master the material," said Gwen M. Dean, Dean of Health Professions and Director of Nursing at Prairie State College. "This project is aimed at paving over those ‘speed bumps' and that is very exciting."
Located in Chicago Heights with an additional site in Matteson, Prairie State College has about 90 freshman slots in its nursing program.
The initiative will focus on increasing a student's chances of successfully completing Nursing 101 and Nursing 102, building upon a framework recommended in Marianne Jeffrey's landmark 2004 study, "Nursing Student Retention: Understanding the Process and Making a Difference."
In addition to living expenses, the grant will also support workshops, summer bridge programs and tutoring. Each student nurse in the program will be assigned an academic advisor and undergo 15 hours of skills development coaching on topics ranging from study habits to professional communication. The IEF mentoring program will allow students to develop trusting relationships with nursing professionals - including those recruited from Prairie State alumni - to raise students' awareness of campus resources and boost self-confidence. Mandatory tutoring will be required for all students. The project will build upon the successes of the IEF in its work with low-income community college students, most of whom hail from African-American and Hispanic backgrounds.
This is an example of an unusual partnership which can serve as a blueprint for other initiatives, ISAC's Davis said. "We brought together a not-for-profit, a state agency, a major corporation and a community college to combine creative and financial resources in the public interest," Andrew Davis said.
"Aetna is proud to be a part of this unique public-private initiative with IEF and ISAC to diversify the ranks of the nursing professions," said Martin Castro, Aetna Vice-President of External Affairs. The Aetna Foundation has been the philanthropic arm of Aetna, Inc., since 1972.
During the initial pilot phase, all PSC students accepted into the nursing program will have the opportunity to qualify for an IEF scholarship. A random sample of students will be awarded scholarships so the effects of IEF's support can be better assessed. The pilot selection process will yield an understanding of how to help students overcome key risk factors that commonly derail academic performance, such as ESL, single-parenting, transportation, employment, and access to health and dental care.
For its other similar programs. the IEF student success rate hovers around 80 percent, highlighted by 90 percent last semester, according to IEF's Davis. "This means that eight out of 10 of our scholars are reenrolling semester after semester, graduating with Associates', Bachelors' Degrees, and certificates, and entering the workforce prepared to contribute," Eric Davis said.
"Nurses are retiring faster than we can train the next generation," Dean said. "The Prairie State Nursing Student Retention Program can be a model for nursing schools around the nation so we can address this problem effectively and comprehensively."
The Prairie State initiative is just one of several undertaken by ISAC to staunch the nursing shortage, including the Illinois Nurse Educator Scholarship Program and Illinois Veterans' Home Nurse Loan Repayment initiative.
"Nursing is a tough profession which requires people with compassion and patience," ISAC's Davis said. "Thanks to this and other initiatives, the State of Illinois is taking concrete steps to increase and improve our nursing workforce."
For more information, visit IEF's website at www.iledfoundation.org or ISAC's site: www.collegezone.com.
About ISAC
Created in 1957, ISAC is the state's central provider of college aid. The agency oversees the successful Monetary Award Program (MAP), as well as the Illinois Veteran Grant program and service-related programs to encourage more students to pursue careers in teaching or nursing. Last year, ISAC issued 185,000 grants totaling $400 million. Its 529 prepaid tuition program - College Illinois! - has allowed Illinois families to prepay more than $1 billion in tuition and fees.
About IEF
The IEF seeks to broaden opportunities available to Illinois high school graduates by providing last-dollar community college scholarships to low-income, high-potential students. The IEF combines financial assistance with a comprehensive set of academic support services, such as tutoring and mentoring, to enable more students to succeed in community college programs. The IEF targets students who cannot afford or are not yet academically prepared for four-year universities. By harnessing the power of the community college system in Illinois, the IEF is providing a critical option for students who want to further their educational and personal development. The IEF is increasing the quality and readiness of the Illinois workforce, and contributing to a more robust state economy.
Posted 03/25/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Posting of press releases is done as a service to Members and does not imply endorsement or support by NASFAA. NASFAA does not review this information for content or accuracy.
