Board also received the 2023 Louisiana Health Works Commission Report on Workforce Shortages
BATON ROUGE, La. — More than $12 million in competitive grants and endowment matching funds available through the constitutionally dedicated Board of Regents Support Fund (BoRSF) were approved Wednesday by the Board of Regents.
Earned from the Kevin P. Reilly Sr. Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund, these funds will support 195 projects at 33 public and private campuses across every region of Louisiana. The Support Fund offers ten funding programs, providing significant enhancements to Louisiana institutions across all four areas permitted in the Constitution:
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- Endowment of chairs for eminent scholars;
- Recruitment of superior graduate students;
- Targeted research and development; and
- Enhancement of the quality of academic, agricultural, and research departments and units.
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Since its inception in 1986, the Support Fund has been a major benefit for higher education institutions, to date matching more than 3,500 endowments to support highly productive faculty and students in priority disciplines. Additionally, thousands of research and enhancement grants have invested more than $500 million in high-impact areas like 21st-century manufacturing and materials, biomedical sciences, and cyber, while ensuring that campuses keep pace with innovative research and education technology advances.
Regents has distributed funds through annual competitions, focusing on project quality and impact related to campus and statewide priorities, since 1987. Through FY 2022-23, postsecondary institutions have received more than $981 million to support their academic missions. For FY 2023-24, the total BoRSF budget is $20 million.
“We are pleased that the Support Fund continues to play a critical role in supporting funding opportunities designed to advance Louisiana’s economy and workforce development,” said Regents Chair Gary Solomon, Jr.
The Board also received a presentation on the 2023 Louisiana Health Works Commission Report, which highlights work done to address workforce shortages in health fields and overall health outcomes for Louisianians.
A legislatively created workgroup housed at Regents, the Louisiana Health Works Commission (HWC) serves as a collaborative body charged with coordinating resources relative to healthcare workforce development within various state departments and key organizations.
The 2023 Health Works Commission Report finds increasing demand for and admission of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN), Registered Nurses (RN), and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN).
The five-year data trends (2018-2022) provided in the HWC report show:
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- An 18% increase in the number of APRN graduates;
- A 5% increase in the number of students enrolled in APRN programs;
- A 13% increase in the number of students enrolled in the RN and LPN programs;
- A 27% increase in the number of RN graduates; and
- A 4% decrease in the number of LPN graduates over the last five years.
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“We are seeing an increase in numbers of students enrolling in nursing programs and APRN and RN graduates, but we still aren’t meeting industry demands,” said Solomon, Jr. “That is our goal – to accelerate opportunities to meet the health care needs of our state.”
“Today’s report reinforces the importance of higher education and healthcare providers working collaboratively to solve the nursing workforce shortage,” said Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Kim Hunter Reed. “Our campuses and healthcare partners will look to this set of recommendations and ongoing initiatives to help us reach our goals. We know that the solution is not a siloed approach. Addressing this issue requires innovation and collaboration at scale.”
Click here to read the 2023 Health Works Commission Report.
During the full Board meeting, Deputy Commissioner Dr. Tristan Denley presented an update on the impacts and use of artificial intelligence in higher education. Dr. Denley shared course-based AI applications currently in use as well as a wide variety of AI-based research underway across Louisiana institutions. The Board of Regents is expected to establish an AI standing committee in the coming months to address the significant opportunities and challenges that lie ahead as institutions navigate the application of AI in dynamic learning environments.
Contact
Dr. Chris Yandle, Associate Commissioner for Public Affairs
chris.yandle@laregents.edu • 985-373-5845