UW–Madison School of Nursing Selected to Receive Major Grant to Support Accelerated Degree Program

Three-year grant of $700,000 from the Helene Fuld Health Trust will help create Endowment Fund for Accelerated BSN Program scholarships

By Megan Hinners

A grant from the esteemed Helene Fuld Health Trust will make a significant impact on scholarship opportunities for students pursuing a degree within the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing.

The $700,000 grant will be utilized exclusively to create an endowment to fund scholarships for students who aspire to become Bachelor-prepared nurses through the accelerated program. Funds from the endowment will provide continuing financial aid to selected students in the program for years to come.

“We are grateful to be selected by such a revered foundation to receive this grant to support students in our ABSN program,” says Dean Linda D. Scott, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FNAP, FAAN. “The financial aid we will award as a result of the Helene Fuld Health Trust will create greater access to nursing education, allowing the School of Nursing to educate more Bachelor-prepared nurses for the workforce. It is an honor to be selected as a recipient school by this respected foundation.”

The Helene Fuld Health Trust is the nation’s largest private funder devoted exclusively to nursing students and nursing education. The trust establishes endowed scholarships for students in accelerated baccalaureate and graduate programs at selected nursing schools through an invitational process, and focuses on supporting and promoting the health, welfare, and education of student nurses.

“As we grow our programs to educate more nurse leaders to meet health and workforce needs, we are grateful to the Helene Fuld Health Trust for helping to make this pathway to the profession financially accessible for students.” —Dean Linda D. Scott, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FNAP, FAAN

Of the total $700,000 grant, $560,000 will be held in an endowment fund. This will allow the School of Nursing to award $140,000 to students over a three-year term, with future scholarships distributed from the endowment to students in the ABSN program.

“As we grow our programs to educate more nurse leaders to meet health and workforce needs, we are grateful to the Helene Fuld Health Trust for helping to make this pathway to the profession financially accessible for students,” added Scott.

Since May of 2018 when the first cohort of 32 students entered the program, the Accelerated BSN program at the UW–Madison School of Nursing has provided an expedited path to professional nursing practice for students who hold a bachelor degree in a different field, and who have met the program prerequisites. The ABSN program runs year-long through traditional academic breaks to prepare students to sit for their licensing exam in just 12 months. Guided by world-class faculty and clinical experts, students gain concept-based knowledge and apply it through hands-on experiences in simulation labs and real-world care settings en route to successfully completing the program.