The Official Web Site of the State of South Carolina

Higher Education Nursing Initiative

Nursing education program at MUSC.

As the nation struggles with a shortage of nurses, South Carolina policymakers have designated funding to support the recruitment and retention of nursing faculty at colleges and universities across the state. During the 2022-23 legislative session, the South Carolina General Assembly allocated a total of $10 million to the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education to help recruit and retain nursing educators. The 2023-24 legislative session saw continued support for the Nursing Initiative, authorizing an additional $10 million to be allocated in the same manner as the 2022-23 funding.

Tuition Reimbursement

For nurses interested in pursuing further credentials to become nursing faculty, $10 million in tuition reimbursement was allocated to support the BOLD (Better Outcomes, Less Debt) Career Pathways Nursing Faculty Loan Program. Participating students must enroll in in regionally accredited, not-for-profit, South Carolina based, public and private institutions graduate-level Master of Science (MSN) programs, Doctor of Nursing Practice, Ph.D., or other like programs appropriate to prepare individuals for faculty roles and agree to assume a faculty role in a public nursing education program after graduation, for a minimum of two years for each year they receive financial support.

Although the initial year (2023-24) of the program was open to public institutions only, please note that as of the Fall 2024 semester, students in programs at the following independent institutions are now eligible to participate:

  • Anderson University (MSN and DNP only)
  • Charleston Southern University (MSN only)
  • Claflin University (MSN only)
  • Coker College (BSN to MSN Bridge Program)
  • Limestone University (MSN only)

Further details of this program as well as application instructions are available at: https://www.scstudentloan.org/career-pathways/bold-nursing-faculty-program. 

Nursing Faculty Salary Supplements

Half of each $10M annual allocation has been designated as a temporary supplement to salaries of existing full-time faculty and the hourly rates of part time faculty, or the salaries of clinical nursing faculty at accredited nursing programs at South Carolina’s public colleges and universities. The CHE disbursed $5M to institutions in FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24. The FY 2024-25 $5M distribution is being targeted for Fall of 2024.

Frequently Asked Questions - Salary Supplement Allocations

How are the salary supplement allocations to institutions determined?

As directed by the legislature, the CHE identified those institutions with accredited nursing programs and calculated the amount for each school based on the average number of students enrolled in nursing programs during Academic Year (AY) 2019-2020, AY 2020-2021, and AY 2022-23. AY 2021-2022 was omitted due to enrollment fluctuations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Allocation Distribution Table

Are these Nursing Initiative funds recurring or a one-time source of funds?
  • The Nursing Initiative funds are one-time funds made available to the CHE from the Education Lottery Account as part of the General Appropriations Bill for FY 2022-23, FY 2023-24, and FY 2024-25.
  • The Nursing Initiative is found in Section 3 - Lottery Expenditure Account of the 2024-25 Appropriation Act. Please read here to see the full text for the bill.
If this is one-time funding, how can schools comply with the provision to supplement salaries without using a one-time bonus?
  • Schools should determine the specific mechanism or method that best meets the institutional goal of supplementing the salaries of existing full-time faculty and the hourly rates of part-time faculty, or the salaries of clinical nursing faculty.
  • If an institution so chooses, Nursing Initiative funds may be used for a temporary salary increase and may return to the existing salary structure after the funds extinguish.
  • The CHE does not endorse or mandate any particular method for distributing Nursing Initiative funds.
  • The CHE will transmit institutional requests for reporting on how many faculty were served in the fall of 2024 to comply with statutory reporting requirements.
Can an institution use Nursing Initiative funds to supplement salary for nursing faculty hired after June 30, 2022?
  • All nursing faculty members (full-time, part-time or clinical) employed at an institution with an accredited nursing program as of June 30, 2022, should be considered eligible to receive a salary supplement using the Nursing Initiative funds.
  • CHE interprets eligibility under the legislation language to include faculty on annual contracts, so long as the staff member worked at the same institution during the 2021-22 academic year.
  • The salary supplement should be deemed assigned to the individual person specifically rather than the position generally based on the current language of the proviso.
Can the Nursing Initiative funds be used to cover the new cost of additional fringe benefit expenses resulting from the salary supplement?  
  • In recognizing that additional fringe benefits only result from the new salary supplement, the CHE reiterates its strong stance that these Nursing Initiative funds be obligated and used for salary supplements.
  • However, if an institution’s operating budget is constrained and lacks sufficient “wiggle room” to absorb these fringe benefit expenses, then Nursing Initiative funds may also be used for such additional fringe benefit expenses directly associated with the salary supplement if necessary.
How did the CHE calculate the allocation for each institution?
  • The CHE used IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and CHEMIS reporting to calculate a rolling average of past three years for students enrolled in nursing programs with the four-digit code prefix 51.38.
  • This data was cross referenced with the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) to identify accredited diploma and degree programs.
  • The list of programs includes Diploma (LPN) and Associates degree programs at South Carolina technical colleges as well as Bachelors, Masters, Post Masters and Doctoral programs at public South Carolina comprehensive and research institutions.
  • The breakdown of the student enrollment figures for each public college or university with an accredited nursing program as well as the Nursing Initiative dollars allocated to each such institution was also published on the CHE website for the purpose of transparency.

When should schools expect to receive their Nursing Initiative allocations?

  • Similar to other distributions to schools from the Lottery Expenditure Account, Nursing Initiative salary supplement funding will be distributed to eligible institutions on a quarterly basis as the CHE receives the dollars.
  • Eligible schools should expect to receive their first distribution of Nursing Initiative funds no later than November 1.
  • The CHE reserves the right to ask for an accounting of Nursing Initiative funds from each participating institution and nursing program. Schools should maintain detailed records related to the receipt, obligation and expenditure of these funds in the case the agency asks for these records later.
Why aren’t all South Carolina schools with nursing programs receiving Nursing Initiative funds?
  • Nursing Initiative funds are limited to the regionally accredited, not-for-profit, South Carolina based, public and private institutions graduate-level Master of Science (MSN) programs, Doctor of Nursing Practice, Ph.D., or other like programs appropriate to prepare individuals for faculty roles.  Eligible institutions identified on the CHE website.