The University of Iowa College of Nursing is a nationally ranked top-10 program, according to U.S. News and World Report, and is eager to grow its impact within the state of Iowa. Beginning in 2018, the College of Nursing began purposeful efforts to grow the number of nurses educated, and enrollments in the college have increased 11% from five years ago to 160 students today. This increase has fully tapped the existing capacity of the college in terms of the instructors needed for educating new students. Increasing faculty ranks is one of the next steps to develop more nurses for Iowa.

As one way to grow the student population, the College of Nursing has designed an innovative program called the Master of Science in Nursing: Entry into Practice. This is a full-time accelerated nursing program that prepares non-nurse college graduates of all academic backgrounds to become practicing nurses, with a post baccalaureate degree, in 15 months. When fully implemented, the college will be able to increase its capacity with the intention to graduate 48 additional nurses per year. This is a 30% boost in the number of nurses the College of Nursing will prepare for entry into the workforce. Therefore, investing in Iowa’s College of Nursing is an investment in nursing care for the state.

To increase enrollment at this scale (from 160 graduates a year to 208 graduates a year), 10 new faculty are needed in the College excluding existing faculty losses due to retention or retirement. Nursing faculty who are innovative and committed to educating the next generation of nurses are in high demand across the Midwest and beyond. This funding will be used to attract 10 exceptional new faculty from across the country, pay them and existing faculty a competitive salary, and provide support for curriculum development, professional development, and clinical research opportunities.