INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State University (WVSU) has been awarded $1 million through West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s Nursing Workforce Expansion Program, which is designed to address the state’s nursing shortage through a multifaceted approach to attract, train, and retain nurses in the Mountain State.
Representing a fundamental part of this approach, an award program was established to fund nursing program expansion projects at colleges, universities, schools of nursing, and career technical education centers across West Virginia.
Through West Virginia State University’s award, the Department of Nursing plans to increase enrollment and retention of students in the traditional Bachelor of Science Nursing program. The award will provide financial support for students and an academic readiness and success program for Nursing students that begins upon entry; technological upgrades to the Nursing Simulation Center; expansion of library resources; and additional professional development opportunities for faculty. The investment is expected to support up to 20 new nursing students at WVSU.
“We are thankful to Gov. Jim Justice for this funding to help expand our nursing program and provide additional opportunities for our students,” said WVSU Interim President Ericke Cage. “Nurses are a critical need in our state and region and this funding will help West Virginia State University play a key role in helping to address that shortage and to support the health and wellbeing of our state’s citizens.”
The nursing program expansion awards are administered by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and Community and Technical College System. Twenty-six funded projects across the state
were announced by Justice on March 17. Approved projects were required to be focused on increasing enrollment in pre-licensure nursing programs through innovative approaches focused on timely degree completion and licensure for graduates.
“We are tremendously grateful to Gov. Justice for providing this historic funding to support the expansion of nursing education programs across West Virginia,” said Dr. Sarah Armstrong Tucker, West Virginia’s Chancellor of Higher Education. “Through these new projects, our postsecondary education community will be better positioned to help shore up West Virginia’s nursing workforce – which, in turn, will help support our nurses working tirelessly on the front lines right now.”
Justice announced the West Virginia Nursing Workforce Expansion Program in December 2021 by dedicating $48 million to support new and expanded initiatives that will train new nurses, fully fund the West Virginia Nursing Scholarship Program, value nurses already practicing in the state, and recruit nurses into West Virginia.
WVSU launched its bachelor’s degree in nursing in fall 2020. For more information about the program visit
www.wvstateu.edu/nursing.
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West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi-generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service, and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.