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New Nursing Faculty Fellowships Information

The Nurse Support Program II provides funding for New Nursing Faculty Fellowships to faculty newly hired to expand Maryland's nursing programs. Maryland institutions with nursing degree programs may nominate an unlimited number of newly hired full-time, tenured, tenure-track or non-tenured faculty members for fellowships. Individuals who are offered a full-time, long-term contract to serve as clinical-track nursing faculty also may be eligible. These fellowships will assist Maryland nursing programs in recruiting and retaining new nursing faculty to produce the additional nursing graduates required by Maryland's hospitals and health systems.

MHEC Press Release FY 2023
MHEC Press Release FY 2022
MHEC Press Release FY 2021
MHEC Press Release FY 2020
MHEC Press Release FY 2019

Awards: Funding will be provided to higher education institutions for distribution to their recipients of the New Nursing Faculty Fellowships. The maximum amount of the fellowships will be $50,000, with $10,000 distributed the first year and $10,000 in each of the next four years, assuming continuous employment as faculty in good standing and the availability of funding. The awards may be used to assist new nursing faculty with professional expenses, such as professional development, loan repayment, and other relevant expenses. These funds are salary supplements and must not replace any portion of the nursing faculty fellow's regular salary. If awarded, recipients are required to complete an annual NSP II Faculty Award Survey each Fall for five years to support program evaluation.

Eligibility: Nominees should have an appropriate graduate degree and must be employed in a full-time, tenured, tenure-track, non-tenured or clinical-track nursing faculty position, as certified by the Dean or Director. To be eligible, nominees must have been offered employment after July 1st of the previous year and must begin employment by the Fall semester of the current year. Priority is given to faculty who have been employed for a full AY at the time of nomination. Prior NSP II Faculty award service must be complete to be eligible. Those who have received this award in a prior year at a different college or university are not eligible. Those who have three years or more of full time teaching experience at a Maryland program are not eligible. Those who have received one of the other NSP II Faculty awards in previous years as a full-time faculty are not eligible for two reasons: 1. they were already full time. 2. they must complete the first service obligation before being awarded a second award. Each award has a service obligation period attached. There cannot be duplication or cross over of the service time.

• New Faculty: New full-time faculty may have worked part-time as a clinical instructor, adjunct or in practice part-time, but has not previously been employed in a fulltime role in a Maryland nursing program or is New to Maryland as a Full-time faculty. It is a recruitment and retention incentive.
• NNFF nominations are to be postmarked by August 31st each year. All nominees must have started working full-time prior to the nomination submission.
• No funding for NNFF will be provided to individuals who have previously received funding through the Nurse Educator Doctoral Grants (NEDG) or Hal and Jo Cohen Graduate Nurse Faculty Scholarship (GNF) or Cohen Scholars programs.
• Faculty must hold a minimum of a graduate degree in nursing, defined as a Master's degree with a major in nursing (MSN) or a BSN degree with a Master's in a non-nursing discipline (e.g., MBA) and a post-master's certificate in nursing.
• The applicant must provide a complete and current Professional Curriculum Vitae reflecting all degrees earned with dates and positions held including the current employment at the nursing program submitting the nomination, plus any prior grant awards for educational completion- including prior NSP II faculty awards.
• The application must include all required signatures upon submission (faculty nominee and dean or director of nursing programs).
• The faculty position must be specific to student instruction and not an administrative, administrative support, mentor, student success coach or consultant position. If employed by a SON but not in a teaching role in nursing, then not eligible.
• Nominees must be full-time faculty teaching on-site (not full time virtual teaching on-line)

Nomination Process: Nominations are to be made by the Dean or Director of Nursing, who will identify qualified candidates. Postmarked by August 31st, all required information must be submitted to the Maryland Higher Education Commission. This includes, but is not limited to:

• The name and current curriculum vitae for each faculty being nominated for the New Nursing Faculty Fellowship Program;
• Verification of the date of hire or a statement certifying intention to hire the person;
• Anticipated title and discipline(s) of employment;
• Description of the job functions to be performed by the nominated faculty; and
  
• A narrative that substantiates that each nominated faculty position (1) will increase the enrollment capacity of the institution's nursing degree programs and (2) was historically the type of position that was difficult to fill. The narrative should identify the extent to which nursing enrollments will expand as a result of the position.

The number of nominations is unlimited, but nominations should be submitted in priority order. Nominations for New Nursing Faculty Fellowships will be accepted if postmarked by August 31st.

Selection Method: A selection panel will review all nominations that are submitted. Priority will be given to new nursing faculty positions that historically have been difficult to fill and to campus priority order. The number of awards will be dependent upon the number of nominations and the availability of funding.

The priority use of NNFF funds is to assist with graduate education expenses, such as tuition and loan repayment. When award funding is used to assist with graduate educational expenses, such as tuition and/or loan repayment, the ideal process if for the higher education institution to make payments directly on the student's behalf. This is the preferred method because it reduces the tax burden on NNFF recipients.

Additional allowable uses of funds include:

• To pay for any activities for professional development and continuing education to maintain credentials;
• To pay for conference fees, travel, hotels, food, and expenses for speaking engagements;
• To pay expenses related to dissertation research or capstones, including research assistants, statistical services, travel, and other fees to expedite completion of degrees;
• To pay for licensure and certifications fees in their educator and clinical specialty;
• To pay for computer/laptop, research instruments, statistical and other software;
• To pay for subscriptions to professional journals and books;
• To pay professional dues;
• To conduct research and publish work in peer-reviewed journals;
• To supplement the fellow's salary; and/or
• Any expense that meets the reasonable person criteria for any expense to further a nurse faculty's career;

Funds are available to awardees at the discretion of the higher education institution up to 5 years and as long as the faculty member remains full-time. NNFF recipients who transfer to another institution, go from FT to PT, or resign are not eligible to receive any remaining individual NNFF award funds. NNFF recipients cannot transfer funds to another higher education institution since it is a retention tool for the school where the award is given. In this case, the nominating institution will return any remaining NNFF funds to MHEC. All items purchased by the faculty using these funds remain the property of the faculty as opposed to belonging to the school that assisted them with the acquisition process in accessing or ordering items with their personal faculty award funds.

NNFF Nominee Information Form

Nominations must be postmarked by August 31st to:

Maryland Higher Education Commission
Office of Outreach and Grants Management
Attention: NSP II New Nursing Faculty Fellowships
6 N. Liberty Street, 10th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21201​