Nursing Workforce Development (NWD) - Bethune-Cookman University (B-CU), a private Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Daytona Beach, Florida, proposes the WildCat Nursing Student Success Project, a four-year Nursing Workforce Development project to recruit, retain, and graduate BSN students from disadvantaged backgrounds and prepare them to practice in medically underserved communities across Central and North Florida. B-CU’s nursing programs serve a student body where 84% of undergraduates qualify for Pell Grants. In AY 2024–25, 135 students applied to the BSN program, 52 were admitted, and 6 graduated. More than 200 students are enrolled in pre-nursing coursework, but the College lacks the support infrastructure to retain them through the clinical curriculum. Students leave for financial reasons, gaps in science preparation, and barriers that go beyond what faculty can address on their own. The NCLEX-RN pass rate recovered to 100% in AY 2024–25 after a difficult prior cycle, but on a cohort of only six graduates. The communities B-CU serves face serious health challenges: Putnam County, where students complete clinical rotations, ranks last among all 67 Florida counties in health factors, with a poverty rate of 23.4%, a diabetes prevalence of 12.1%, and federal designation as a Medically Underserved Area. The WildCat project funds six grant activities: a high school pipeline program (WildCat Saturday Academy) that brings 30–40 students per year from economically and educationally disadvantaged communities onto campus for simulation lab experience, academic preparation, and admissions support; a full-time WildCat Student Success Coach providing individualized academic coaching, early intervention, and retention services across the pre-nursing population; a WildCat Peer Tutoring Program in prerequisite science courses and gateway clinical courses (biology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology, Fundamentals of Nursing, and Medical-Surgical Nursing) modeled on the UMKC Supplemental Instruction framework; and a WildCat Exam Prep Program providing entrance exam preparation and fee assistance for approximately 200 pre-nursing students. Annual faculty and preceptor professional development training on trauma-informed mentorship and equitable advising, and a Preceptor Readiness and Excellence Program (PREP Academy) that provides structured training, stipends, and recognition to recruit and retain clinical preceptors, round out the six activities. The project also provides scholarships for 11–16 nursing students annually. The project’s actionable framework is the Social Determinants of Learning (SDOL) Framework, which addresses the financial, emotional, and structural barriers that drive attrition among disadvantaged students. By Year 4, the project targets a graduating class of approximately 50 BSN-prepared nurses per year, with NCLEX-RN pass rates at or above 85%. B-CU partners with HCA Florida Putnam Hospital (federally designated MUA), AdventHealth Daytona Beach, and Halifax Health Medical Center for clinical training in varied settings. An independent evaluator from B-CU’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness will conduct a program evaluation. B-CU has never received NWD funding and qualifies for Funding Priorities 1 and 2, as well as a Funding Preference, through clinical rotations at a site in a federally designated Medically Underserved Area.
