WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Grand Valley 's Kirkhof School of Nursing 's enrollment jumped 33 percent this year, topping the nation, according to the results of an annual survey released by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN),
The Kirkhof School of Nursing enrolled 218 new students this fall, which represents a 33 percent increase over the previous year.
The figures mirror a national trend -- enrollments in entry-level bachelor 's degree 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.
Phyllis Gendler, dean of the Kirkhof School of Nursing, attributes the increase to several factors.
There are many aspects of our school that have affected an exceptional increase in enrollment. Faculty, students, and staff promote the image of nursing and the school in many different ways by building on an excellent reputation in the region, Gendler said.
She also pointed to an ongoing initiative with a director of academic support services and student support staff who are responsible for marketing and respond to every potential student either in person or by phone in a timely manner.
Gendler added that Grand Valley 's two nurse-managed centers -- one on the Allendale Campus serving students, faculty, and staff and another in an underserved area in downtown Grand Rapids -- provide visibility to the program and showcase nurses in the provider role.
Offering some classes year-round has also helped the enrollment situation, she said.
We have always had more applicants to the undergraduate program than we could accommodate. In the summer of 2000, we decided to offer all our undergraduate courses year round, Gendler said. By offering nursing courses in the summer, qualified students were not turned away. Being able to take classes year round was very popular with students, since they were able to graduate earlier; and that information rapidly became known.
Last year, Gendler facilitated the development of the Nursing Shortage Summit, which has been meeting monthly on Grand Valley 's campus. Representatives from the West Michigan region include service organizations and nursing education programs as well as Michigan Nurses Association. Four major strategies are being addressed: improving the image of nursing; recruiting activities in schools with teachers, counselors, and students; working with the media, and data collecting.
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.
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.
The ACCN 's survey revealed that the central administration at many institutions recognized the need to expand nursing programs this year in light of the nursing shortage, and that legislation in some parts of the country have provided more funds for nursing schools to expand their programs and reach out to new students.
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.
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.
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.
