Project Director: Debra J Barksdale, PhD, FNP, RN, FAAN Applicant Institution Name: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing Address: 1100 East Leigh Street Richmond, Virginia 23298 Phone: (804) 828-3224 Fax: (804) 827-5334 Email: djbarksdale@vcu.edu Web Site Address: http://www.nursing.vcu.edu Project Abstract Budget Request: $274,786 The purpose of this competing continuation project is to secure additional funding for nursing doctoral (Ph.D and DNP) students who plan to embark on careers in academia Like most states, Virginia continues to have a shortage of nursing faculty, which affects the number of students that can be educated to address workforce shortages and the growing health care needs of citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing (VCUSON) has both online PhD and DNP programs VCUSON remains committed to recruiting, training and retaining students in both the PhD and DNP programs who will become qualified, highly competent and productive nursing faculty Towards that end, VCU is committed to developing and offering education courses for NFLP recipients and other students interested in learning the academic teaching role Additionally, doctoral students may also take courses through the NEXus collaborative that are related specifically to nursing education Doctoral graduates who focus on these courses are prepared to assume roles as novice educators at the conclusion of their programs All doctoral students are encouraged to take the education course offerings available to them as electives Students who receive NFLP funding specifically will be required to incorporate six credits of education courses into their programs of study and to participate in other activities to enhance their teaching skills For practical experience, VCUSON currently supports four graduate teaching assistant positions Students in the NFLP will be given priority for these positions Since VCUSON offers online and hybrid Masters’ options and an online RN to BS option, there will be teaching opportunities for those in the online doctoral programs Since the VCUSON received NFLP funding in 2017, 12 students have taken advantage of NFLP funding Current funds were depleted in Fall 2019, with only $27 left The VCUSON has had insufficient funds to meet student demands for funding We have elected to apply for NFLP funding for doctoral students only, which is consistent with the funding priority We anticipate that the VCUSON will support at least seven fulltime and seven part-time students Although the majority of doctoral students are part-time, more will likely become full-time with the availability of more funding Along with the Project Director, the doctoral programs coordinator will work with VCUSON Business and Administration Office, the Office of Financial Aid, the Office of Student Success and the Academic Evaluation and Analytics Specialist (AEAS) to assist with administering and tracking the distributed funds and NFLP students The AEAS will track measures used to evaluate the success of the program including an evaluation of the number of eligible students, the number of students that apply for funds, the number of students who receive funds, the number of funded students who complete the program, and the detail of their faculty positions after graduation Funding priority requested due to doctoral program focus