Nursing Workforce Development (NWD) - Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech) proposes RN Compass: Advancing Registered Nursing Student Success, Educational Progression, and Workforce Readiness to increase nursing education opportunities, persistence, graduation, licensure readiness, workforce entry, and continued academic progression for Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) and Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)-to-ADN Bridge students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The project will provide coordinated academic, financial, Basic Needs, mentoring, clinical readiness, workforce transition, and educational progression supports to help eligible nursing students from disadvantaged backgrounds persist, graduate, pass the NCLEX-RN, enter the registered nursing workforce, and continue toward Bachelor of Science in Nursing education. Kansas continues to experience strong demand for registered nurses, and WSU Tech projects 960 total ADN and Bridge student headcount from Fall 2026 through Fall 2030, including 700 ADN students and 260 Bridge students. During the same period, WSU Tech projects 1,555 nursing applications, including 950 ADN applications and 605 Bridge applications. WSU Tech institutional cohort data show substantial need across recent ADN and LPN-to-ADN Bridge cohorts, with 80% to 100% of students in several cohorts meeting at least one economic, educational, or environmental disadvantage criterion. Economic disadvantage reached 70% in ADN cohorts and 56% in Bridge cohorts, while educational disadvantage reached 80% and 83% respectively. These data support the need for coordinated financial, academic, Basic Needs, mentoring, and workforce supports that improve persistence, completion, licensure readiness, and workforce entry. RN Compass will use an Integrated Student Success Framework to coordinate outreach, eligibility screening, Student Success Plans, scholarships, Basic Needs support stipends, coaching, tutoring, mentoring, early-alert intervention, simulation-supported learning, NCLEX-RN preparation, career readiness, employer engagement, and RN-to-BSN progression advising. WSU Tech anticipates providing direct project-funded participant support to approximately 60 eligible students from disadvantaged backgrounds over the four-year period of performance, while also reaching prospective and current students through 84 recruitment and pathway activities. RN Compass is aligned with HRSA’s required program goal and three required objectives. The project will strengthen registered nursing pathways for eligible students from disadvantaged backgrounds; provide coordinated academic, social, financial, Basic Needs, mentoring, career readiness, NCLEX-RN, and RN-to-BSN progression supports; strengthen faculty, preceptor, simulation, clinical training, and workforce partnerships, including 15 total grant-supported skills laboratory mannequins; and support implementation quality through governance, participant tracking, evaluation, HRSA reporting, Rapid Cycle Quality Improvement, fiscal stewardship, and sustainability planning. RN Compass will be implemented through coordinated partnerships among nursing leadership, faculty, student support offices, Financial Aid, Basic Needs, Career Services, Institutional Research, clinical partners, healthcare employers, community organizations, the Wichita Black Nurses Association, and educational progression partners. The project will prepare practice-ready registered nurses for hospitals, public health agencies, community health providers, behavioral health organizations, long-term care settings, veterans’ healthcare settings, and other employers serving medically vulnerable populations in south-central Kansas. By improving persistence, graduation, first-time licensure success, workforce entry, and educational mobility among students from disadvantaged backgrounds, RN Compass will strengthen WSU Tech’s nursing education infrastructure and contribute to a more prepared regional nursing workforce.
