Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP)

 

NFLP supports accredited schools of nursing who recruit and train faculty, thereby increasing the number of qualified nursing faculty teaching and growing the nursing workforce.

General information about this opportunity
Last Known Status
Active
Program Number
93.264
Federal Agency/Office
Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services
Type(s) of Assistance Offered
A - Formula Grants
Program Accomplishments
Fiscal Year 2018 In Academic Year 2017-2018, 80 schools received new NFLP awards. Awardees supported 2,172 nursing students pursuing graduate level degrees as nurse faculty. This outcome is slightly below the FY 2017 target of 2,200 students, primarily as a result of an increased focus on training doctoral students who are not as vast in number as master’s students. In addition, with increasing tuition costs across schools, fewer individual awards are being made. The majority of students (84 percent) who received loans during the academic year were pursuing doctoral-level nursing degrees (e.g., PhD, DNP, DNSc/DNS, or EdD). By the end of the Academic Year, 800 trainees graduated, 94 percent of whom intended to teach nursing
Authorization
Sections 846A (42 U.S.C. 297n-1) and Section 847(f) (42 U.S.C. 297o(f)) of the Public Health Service Act.
Who is eligible to apply/benefit from this assistance?
Applicant Eligibility
Eligible applicants are accredited public or private collegiate schools of nursing or departments within an academic institution, that offer graduate degree nursing education programs (master's or doctoral) that will prepare the graduate student to serve as nurse faculty. The school must be located in the 50 States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau. Funding priority is given to applicants with doctoral-level advanced degree nursing programs.
Beneficiary Eligibility
Eligible nursing students must: (1) be a citizen or national of the United States, or a lawful permanent resident of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau; (2) be enrolled in an advanced degree program in nursing to become qualified nursing faculty; (3) not be in default on a Federal debt; and (4) maintain good academic standing.
Credentials/Documentation
Applicants should review the individual HRSA Notice of Funding Opportunity issued under this CFDA program for any required proof or certifications which must be submitted with an application package.
What is the process for applying and being award this assistance?
Pre-Application Procedure
Preapplication coordination is not applicable.
Application Procedure
2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. HRSA requires all applicants to apply electronically through Grants.gov. All eligible, qualified applications will be forwarded to an objective review committee. Based on the The NFLP Program is a formula-based grant program that does not undergo a formal Objective Review Process. All eligible, qualified applications are reviewed and assessed internally. Notification is made in writing by a Notice of Award
Award Procedure
The NFLP Program is a formula-based grant program that does not undergo a formal Objective Review Process. All eligible, qualified applications are reviewed and assessed internally. Notification is made in writing by a Notice of Award.
Deadlines
Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines
Approval/Disapproval Decision Time
Approximately 120 - 180 days from receipt of application
Appeals
Not applicable.
Renewals
Applications must be submitted annually.
How are proposals selected?
Applications will be reviewed for completeness and accuracy, and to determine if applicant schools meet minimum program requirements. All eligible applicants are considered in a formula for determining awards. Eligible applicants must meet all applicable Federal guidelines and/or graduates must be eligible for national nursing organization certification, and/or programs must meet other national organizational guidelines, as appropriate, in the nursing field of study.
How may assistance be used?
NFLP grantees must establish a distinct NFLP loan fund for the purpose of making NFLP loans to eligible students enrolled in advanced degree nursing programs who are committed to become qualified nurse faculty and for the costs associated with collection of these loans. Institutions may award a maximum loan amount of $35,500 per student for an academic year to support the cost of tuition, fees, books, and other reasonable education expenses, not to exceed five years of NFLP loan support to a single student. Upon completion of the program and following graduation, an amount up to 85 percent of the loan (principal of and interest on) may be cancelled by the institution as follows: 20 percent upon completion of the first, second, and third years of full-time faculty employment in an accredited school of nursing; and 25 percent upon completion of the fourth year of full-time employment as faculty in an accredited school of nursing.
What are the requirements after being awarded this opportunity?
Reporting
Not applicable.
Auditing
In accordance with the provisions of 2 CFR 200, Subpart F - Audit Requirements, non-Federal entities that expend financial assistance of $750,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Non-Federal entities that expend less than $750,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in 2 CFR 200.503. NFLP awardees report date of audit on the NFLP Annual Performance Report (APR) annually and is to be within the last 2 years of reporting date.
Records
Recipients are required to maintain grant accounting records for 3 years If any litigation, claim, negotiation, audit or other action involving the award has been started before the expiration of the 3 year period, the records shall be retained until completion of the action and resolution of all issues which arise from it, or until the end of the regular 3 year period, whichever is later.
Other Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching is voluntary. Schools that participate in the loan program must contribute to the loan fund an amount equal to, but not less than, one-ninth of the Federal capital contributions awarded.

This program has MOE requirements, see funding agency for further details. Additional Information: NFLP is a formula based loan program that considers (a) the amount of unused NFLP funds from previous awards, (b) whether the institution has made NFLP loans over recent periods, and (c) the institution's NFLP loan default rate from the past reporting period. Competing continuation (renewal) applicants with an NFLP loan default rate in excess of five percent and applicants who fail to take necessary action to correct excessive NFLP loan default rate may be deemed ineligible for future funding and may be subject to additional penalties, up to and including involuntary termination of the NFLP award. The recipient must agree to maintain non-federal funding for grant activities at a level which is not less than expenditures for such activities during the fiscal year prior to receiving the award.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
This funding opportunity provides support for a one-year project period. Recipients must draw down the full NFLP award amount from PMS within sixty (60) days of receipt of the award and deposit the funds into an interest-bearing student loan fund established by the institution. Institutions must conduct all loan activity through the student fund, rather than by multiple drawdowns from the PMS account. Recipients drawdown funds, as necessary, from the Payment Management System (PMS), the centralized web based payment system for HHS awards.
Who do I contact about this opportunity?
Regional or Local Office
None/Not specified.
Headquarters Office
Edward Wroblewski, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Workforce, Division of Nursing and Public Health
5600 Fishers Lane, 11N104B
Rockville, MD 20857 US
ewroblewski@hrsa.gov
Phone: (301) 443-4301
Website Address
https://www.hrsa.gov
Financial Information
Account Identification
75-0350-0-1-550
Obligations
(Formula Grants) FY 18$26,825,131.00; FY 19 est $11,922,689.00; FY 20 est $0.00; FY 17$24,715,373.00; FY 16$24,405,295.00; -
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
FY 18: Range is $16,380 to $2,140,611; average is $335,315 FY 19: Range is $64,620 to $1,113,268; average is $259,188 FY 20 est: $0
Regulations, Guidelines and Literature
All administrative and audit requirements and the cost principles that govern Federal monies associated with this activity will be subject to the Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200 as codified by HHS at 45 CFR 75. HRSA awards are also subject to the requirements of the HHS Grants Policy Statement (HHS GPS) that are applicable based on recipient type and purpose of award. The HHS GPS is available at http://www.hrsa.gov/grants/hhsgrantspolicy.pdf.
Examples of Funded Projects
Not applicable.

 


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