Nursing Workforce Development (NWD) - Aurora University proposes the Aurora Nursing Success and Workforce Pathway Program to increase enrollment, retention, graduation, and workforce readiness among Bachelor of Science in Nursing students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The project will strengthen Aurora’s existing BSN pathway by expanding academic, financial, social, clinical, and workforce transition supports for students who experience barriers to nursing degree completion and entry into practice. Aurora’s BSN pathway serves a substantial population of students with financial, educational, transition-related, and geographic barriers. Fall 2025 data show 693 undergraduate BSN pathway students, including 117 pre-nursing students and 576 BSN nursing students. Among these students, 380, or 54.8 percent, were Pell-eligible; 314, or 45.3 percent, were first-generation college students; 204, or 29.4 percent, were transfer students; and 37, or 5.3 percent, came from rural communities based on student ZIP code. Regional health and workforce data also demonstrate the need for additional BSN-prepared nurses who are prepared to serve medically underserved, public health, rural, and high-need community-based settings. The project will serve HRSA-eligible BSN students from disadvantaged backgrounds through a tiered student support model. Tier 1 services will strengthen universal BSN student success supports through Aurora’s existing School of Nursing infrastructure. Tier 2 services will provide targeted academic and success interventions for students identified through Early Alert referrals, faculty referrals, Academic Success Plans, student self-referral, or academic risk indicators. Tier 3 services will provide intensive support for students with significant financial, educational, or personal barriers. Proposed services include proactive case management, Navigate360-supported early alerts and student engagement tracking, academic coaching, tutoring, supplemental instruction, faculty and peer mentoring, clinical readiness programming, scholarships, emergency assistance, childcare assistance, clinical travel support, technology support, workforce readiness activities, graduate follow-up, and transition-to-practice support. The project will also strengthen faculty engagement, preceptor development, clinical placement capacity, and community-based learning experiences that prepare students to practice in medically underserved, public health, rural, and high-need settings. Aurora University will use a documented participant selection process and standardized rubrics to allocate grant-funded supports based on financial need, educational disadvantage, academic risk, personal or social barriers, rural background, and project participation. Race, ethnicity, and sex will not be used as selection criteria. A Participant Review Committee will review requests for scholarships, emergency assistance, childcare assistance, clinical travel support, and other intensive services. The project will use performance management, continuous quality improvement, and evaluation to track implementation and outcomes across the student pathway. Key outcomes will include increased enrollment and persistence of BSN students from disadvantaged backgrounds, improved retention and graduation, increased use of student success supports, expanded clinical and workforce readiness experiences, strengthened preceptor and partner engagement, and improved transition to employment or graduate education after graduation.
