12VAC5-545-10. General information.

This chapter has been prepared to familiarize scholarship applicants, Deans/Directors of nursing programs, and Financial Aid Officers with the Virginia Nurse Educator Scholarship Program. The appropriations act empowers the State Board of Health to promulgate regulations.  All scholarships are awarded without regard to race, color, religion, sex or national origin. 

All scholarship awards will be made by the Commissioner, after receiving recommendations from a Nursing Scholarship Advisory Committee appointed by the Board.

These regulations set forth the basis for determining scholarship.  The Committee will review applications against the set of criteria set forth in these regulations and recommend the scholarship recipients, with due regard given to scholastic attainment, financial need, character, and adaptability to the nurse educator profession.

12VAC5-545-20. Definitions.

The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Board" or "Board of Health" means the State Board of Health.

"Commissioner" means the State Health Commissioner.

"Committee" means a group of selected Deans/Directors of nursing programs that advise the Commissioner on the awarding of the nurse educator scholarships.

"Interest" means the prime lending rate as published in the Wall Street Journal on the last day of the month in which the recipient is determined to be in default, plus two percentage points.

"Penalty" means an amount of money equal to one times the amount of all monetary scholarship awards paid to the scholarship recipient.

"Recipient" or "scholarship recipient" means an eligible registered nurse who enters into a contract with the commissioner and receives one or more scholarship awards via the Virginia Nurse Educator Scholarship Program.

"Restitution" means the amount of monetary reimbursement, including repayment of all pertinent scholarship awards plus penalty and applicable interest that will be owed to the Commonwealth of Virginia by a scholarship recipient who is in default of his contractual obligation.

"Teaching service" means to teach as a nurse educator in a Virginia nursing school for two years for each year of a scholarship award.

12VAC5-545-30. Administration.

The Commissioner of Health shall act as fiscal agent for the Board in administration of the scholarship program.  The Commissioner shall make scholarship awards after receiving the recommendations of the Committee.

The Committee shall consist of five members: four faculty members representing nurse practitioner, nurse midwife, or nurse educator education programs, and one former scholarship recipient.  If an appointed member is unable to serve, then the Board shall appoint a replacement.  Committee appointments shall be for two years and members may not serve more than two consecutive terms.

12VAC5-545-40. Eligible applicants.

To be considered eligible for the Virginia Nurse Educator Scholarship Program, all applicants must meet the following criteria:

1. Be a U.S. citizen;

2. Be a Virginia resident;

3. Be a full/part-time student in a master's or doctoral level nursing program in Virginia, who will complete the degree requirements within two years or less;

4. Have submitted a completed application;

5. Have submitted all other required materials (such as, transcript, curriculum vitae, letters of reference); and

6. Have signed and submitted a written contract agreeing to serve via teaching in a school of nursing in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Priority shall be given to master's degree candidates who will teach at one of the colleges within the Virginia Community College System.

Failure to comply with any of the above will cause the applicant to be ineligible to participate in the Virginia Nurse Educator Scholarship Program. Applicants will be evaluated and ranked by the Committee.  The Committee will forward the names of the recommended award recipients to the Commissioner for review and final decision.

12VAC5-545-50. Scholarship amount.

The amount available each year for Virginia nurse educator scholarships shall be as provided by the Virginia General Assembly in the Appropriations Act.  Scholarships shall be awarded to the recipients upon or following the recipient's execution of a contract with the Commissioner for scholarship repayment.

12VAC5-545-60. Distribution of scholarships.

The Committee shall inform nursing schools of the availability of the nurse educator scholarships through staff to the Committee by March 1st of the same year the scholarship will be awarded.  The Committee shall convene annually for the purpose of reviewing applications and making recommendations on the awarding of scholarships as funding allows.  Scholarship recommendations shall be based upon majority vote of the committee and awards will be made by the Commissioner. 

Persons dissatisfied with the award or denial of an application to become a scholarship recipient must notify staff to the Committee (identified in application materials) within 14 days of receiving notification of the award or denial of an application.

12VAC5-545-70. Contract provisions.

Prior to the payment of money to a scholarship awardee, the Commissioner shall enter into a contract with the recipient. The contract shall:

1. Provide that the recipient will pursue a nurse educator program of the designated school until graduation and will begin full-time (as determined by the institution) teaching service as a nurse educator within one year (12 months) following completion of training and for a period of two years per annual scholarship award.  Employment must be at a Virginia nursing school program.

2. Provide that the recipient will not voluntarily obligate himself/herself for military service prior to completion of the repayment period.

3. Provide that the recipient shall notify the Commissioner in writing of his/her proposed teaching location within 30 days of their employment at a teaching location.

4. Provide that the recipient may request approval of a change of teaching location.  The Commissioner in his/her discretion may approve such a request.

5. Provide that if the recipient defaults while still in his/her nurse educator program, by voluntarily notifying the Commissioner in writing that he/she will not fulfill the full-time teaching service as a nurse educator at a Virginia nursing school program as required by his/her contract, by voluntarily not proceeding to the next year of the nurse educator program, or by withdrawing from the nurse educator program, the recipient shall make restitution to the Commonwealth of Virginia by repayment of all monetary scholarship awards and applicable interest on the amount of the restitution.

6. Provide that if the recipient fails to maintain satisfactory academic progress, the recipient may, upon certification by the Commissioner, be relieved of the contract obligation to engage in full-time teaching service upon repayment to the Commonwealth of the total amount of scholarship funds received plus penalty and applicable interest.

7. Provide that if the recipient is in default due to death or permanent disability so as not to be able to engage in teaching service, the recipient, or his personal representative, may be relieved of the obligation under the contract to engage in full-time teaching service upon repayment to the Commonwealth of the total amount of scholarship funds received plus the judgment rate of interest.  For recipients completing part of the teaching obligation prior to becoming permanently disabled, the total amount of scholarship funds owed shall be reduced by the amount of the annual scholarship award multiplied by the number of years practiced.

8. Provide that individual cases of unusual and extraordinary/hardship may be considered by the Commissioner for forgiveness of payment or service.

9. Provide that if the recipient defaults by failing or refusing to provide teaching services in a Virginia nursing school, the recipient shall make restitution to the Commonwealth of Virginia by repaying all monetary scholarship awards, plus penalty and applicable interest on such restitution.

10. Provide that partial fulfillment of the recipient's obligation shall reduce the amount of restitution plus penalty and application interest due by an amount of money equal to the same percentage of time employed.

12VAC5-545-80. Default.

With respect to default, the contract shall:

1. Provide that a recipient who fails to fulfill his/her obligation to pursue a nurse educator program at a designated school until graduation and  to pursue full-time teaching service as a nurse educator within one year (12 months) following completion of training and for a period of two years per annual scholarship award provided for in this chapter shall be deemed to be in default and shall forfeit all monetary scholarship payments made to him/her, and shall make restitution of those funds to the Commonwealth of Virginia as provided for in subdivisions 2 through 6 of this section.

2. Provide that if the recipient is in default due to death or permanent disability so as not to be able to engage in full-time teaching service at a Virginia nursing school program, the obligation to make restitution may be waived by the Commissioner upon application of the recipient or the recipient's estate to the Commissioner.

3. Provide that any recipient of a scholarship, who defaults by evasion or refusal to fulfill the obligation to teach full-time at a Virginia nursing school program for a period of years equal to the number of annual scholarships received at any time following completion of their nurse educator program, shall make restitution by repaying all monetary scholarship awards, plus penalty and applicable interest on such restitution to the Commonwealth of Virginia. A recipient will be considered to be in such default on the date:

a. The Commissioner is notified in writing by the recipient that he/she does not intend to fulfill the contractual obligation;

b. The recipient has not accepted a placement and commenced the period of obligated practice as provided for in subdivision 2 of this section; or

c. The recipient leaves without the consent of the Commissioner the place of full-time teaching service which the Commissioner has approved for fulfillment of the contractual obligation.

12VAC5-545-90. Repayment of scholarships.

Unless repayment is forgiven as specified in 12VAC5-545-80, all scholarships shall be repaid to the Commonwealth, either by the recipient's teaching as a nurse educator or through cash repayments.

12VAC5-545-100. Reporting requirements.

Reporting requirements of nursing schools and scholarship recipients are as follows:

1.  Each nursing school shall maintain accurate records of the status of scholarship recipients until the recipients graduate.  The schools shall provide a report listing the academic status of each recipient annually to the Committee.

2.  Each scholarship recipient shall, at any time, provide information as requested by the Commissioner to verify compliance with the teaching requirements of the scholarship contract.  The recipient shall report any change of mailing address, change of academic standing, change of intent to fulfill his contractual obligation and any other information which may be relevant to the contract at such time as changes or information may occur.  The recipient shall promptly respond with such information as may be requested by the Commissioner.

3.  The Committee shall report annually to the Board the following: number of applicants for scholarships, number of scholarships awarded, number of minorities and students from medically underserved areas awarded, total funding awarded, the teaching sites of former scholarship recipients, and the number of students making monetary repayment of scholarship with reasons for failure to practice identified.

4.  Monitoring of teaching service by recipients shall be conducted on an on-going basis by department staff.  Teaching service verification forms shall be submitted by the recipient to the department semi-annually (every six months), countersigned by a representative of the teaching location/site certifying continuous full-time service by recipients.