In 2003, nursing schools turned away more than 11,000 qualified students for the fall semester, according to a new survey by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). The main reasons that schools turned students away were lack of faculty, clinical placement sites, and classroom space. Even so, entry-level baccalaureate program admissions for the fall 2003 semester increased by a record 16.6% compared with admissions from the fall of 2002.
This is the third year that baccalaureate admissions have increased. Enrollment is up in all areas of the United States, with the greatest increases in the North Atlantic states (22%) and the South (17%). But the AACN considers the potential for continued growth in baccalaureate nursing programs to be limited without increased federal support.
The survey included responses from 564 of U.S. nursing schools offering baccalaureate and graduate degree programs (about 83%). For more information, visit the "What's New" section of the AACN's Web site at http://www.aacn.nche.edu.