Nursing School Enrollments Now Down

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

The nation celebrates nurses this week. Yet sadly, all is not well with the profession. Last week, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing released some concerning nursing school enrollment data.

• The number of students in entry-level baccalaureate nursing programs decreased by 1.4% in 2022, ending 20 years of enrollment growth in programs designed to prepare new registered nurses (RNs).
• The number of RN to BSN degree-completion program students decreased significantly (16.4%) for the fourth consecutive year.
• At the graduate level, students in master’s programs decreased by 9.4% (13,965 fewer students) since 2021, marking the second year of enrollment decline.
• Enrollment in Ph.D. nursing programs declined, with a 4.1% decrease (183 students) from 2021 to 2022. Since Ph.D. program enrollment began to dip in 2013, enrollments have decreased by 14.8%, from 5,145 students in 2013 to 4,381 students in 2022.
• Last year, Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs showed virtually no growth, with a less than one percent increase (0.6% or 242 students) in enrollment.
• Even though enrollments were down across program levels last year, thousands of qualified students were turned away from four-year colleges and universities. In 2022, 78,191 qualified applications (not applicants, students may apply to more than one program) were not accepted at nursing schools nationwide – largely due to a massive national faculty shortage.

Why This Matters

While a drop of 1.4% in the number of BSN students may seem small, current workforce shortage projections are based on sustaining enrollments at or above current levels. The long-term effects of progressive declines in the number of graduates have cumulative effects that will worsen an already severe nursing shortage. Expanded pathways into nursing will be essential to meet future workforce needs.

Equally concerning are the declines in graduate enrollments. Graduates from MSN, DNP, and Ph.D. programs are future faculty, advanced practice nurses, leaders, and researchers. Not discussed in the report is the trend of Ph.D. program enrollment coming largely from international students – some of whom have no US work experience and may not stay in the country.

As I read this report, I reflected on my entry to graduate education. Unlike nurses today, most of us who attended graduate programs in the 1980s and 1990s were the beneficiaries of a government-funded Advanced Nursing Training Act. This act not only funded tuition in both public and private universities but also provided living stipends to allow students to attend school full-time. Most nurse educators and leaders of my generation exited their programs with zero student loan debt.

Nurses today exit their undergraduate programs with an average of $30,000 in student loan debt and are reluctant to take on more loan debt to fund graduate education. Sadly, the ROI on graduate nursing education is often not worth it as staff nurse salaries have continued to accelerate, and nursing faculty make far less than their students.

The AACN findings are a call to action for nursing. The trends described above may have a slight impact in the short run. Still, the problems will compound as more Baby Boomer and Generation X nurses, advanced practice nurses, educators, and leaders retire.

© emergingrnleader.com 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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