AACN: Nursing school enrollment down 1.4%

Editor's Note

For the first time in 20 years, enrollment in entry-level baccalaureate nursing programs dropped 1.4% last year, according to a May 2 report on the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s (AACN’s) annual survey of nursing schools.

There also were declines in master’s and PhD programs, and 78,000 qualified applications were not accepted largely because of a lack of faculty and clinical training sites.

The findings raise “serious concerns about how this will impact the nation’s nursing supply,” notes AACN President and CEO, Deborah Trautman, Phd, RN, FAAN.

The AACN survey contains data reported by 974 schools of nursing, for a 90.6% response rate.