FLORENCE, AL - The Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions on the University of North Alabama campus has been awarded a Health Resources and Services Administration Health Workforce grant which will allow them to operate the Nurse Faculty Loan Program, or NFLP.

The purpose of the NFLP is to increase the number of qualified nursing faculty by providing loans to full-time and part-time students enrolled in UNA's Masters of Science in Nursing Teaching-Learning Track. Upon graduation, 85 percent of the total NFLP loan is forgiven during a consecutive four-year period of full-time employment as a nurse faculty at an accredited school of nursing. Faculty positions may be in any state and at any accredited nursing program.

"We put a team together that got the grant written while justifying the need for workforce development," said Dr. Wendy Darby, a nursing professor who helped write the grant as part of her role with the ACONHP's graduate programs. "Ultimately, a student who applies for and receives this money will pay for just 15 percent of the total cost of his or her education."

A shortage of nurses nationwide has helped increase enrollment at UNA's Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions; nursing educators are needed so that graduates are prepared to enter the workforce and help fill the gaps.

"We will be able to accept applications an approve 20 qualified applicants to participate in the NFLP," Dr. Darby said. "We will follow them throughout the program to keep the University in good standing with the granting agency. I will serve as a mentor and career coach for them to facilitate their success."

Teaching Learning Track students are eligible to apply, if they meet the following criteria:

• Committed to becoming full-time nurse faculty post-graduation.

• Enrolled as a full-time or part-time student in the Teaching-Learning Track. Priority will be given to those who have received UNA NFLP support, full-time students, and those who do not have funding from another source.

• Remain in good academic standing by maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.0.

• A U.S. citizen or a non-citizen national or a foreign national having in his or herpossession a visa permitting permanent residence in the United States, the District of Columbia, 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.

• Enrolled for a minimum of two consecutive semesters, either full-time or part-time, during the academic year while a recipient of NFLP loan support.

• Complete the NFLP Application and return to nflp@una.edu.

• Complete a FAFSA at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsaat nflp@una.edu.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs through the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Human Sciences, and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professionals. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of the NCAA Division I's ASUN Big South Conference. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: www.una.edu and www.una.edu/unaworks/

The first cohort of students in this program is expected to begin this fall, according to Dr. Darby. Applications are open for students who meet these criteria to apply. More details may be found