The nursing shortage pain faced by North Carolina hospitals could become more acute as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill aims to cut its nursing student enrollment 25 percent due to state budget cuts.
The School of Nursing undergraduate enrollment is now 208 students. With the cut, enrollment will drop to about 152. The reduction starts on May 9 when admissions for the summer semester begin.
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Last month, UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp instituted campus-wide cuts to meet a 5 percent state budget reduction that takes effect on July 1. The university said the nursing school enrollment cuts are necessary now because postponing them until January 2012 would not allow enough savings to meet budget requirements. The university has offered the 174 students who applied for the May 2011 Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program the option of having their materials considered for admission in January. Those who choose to withdraw their applications may receive a refund.
“Given the nursing shortage, it is truly unfortunate to find ourselves reducing enrollments to the levels we realized 10 years ago,” School of Nursing Dean Kristen Swanson said in a prepared statement. “However, we cannot sacrifice the quality or safety of nursing education, so our difficult choice was to reduce the number of students.”
With fewer students, the university will also trim its non-tenured faculty. School of Nursing spokeswoman Nancy Lamontagne said that the university expects a reduction equivalent to five or six full-time faculty positions. These cuts will be achieved by not renewing the contracts of some faculty members.
