Goals of this workgroup include expanding the enrollment capacity of area nursing programs which prepare students seeking initial RN licensure, under the assumption that enrolling more qualified students will lead to an increase in nurses who graduate and go to work in Gulf Coast area hospitals. For most programs in our area, enrollment capacity can expand only if faculty resources are increased because of the tremendous shortage of qualified nursing faculty. To these ends, the Education Workgroup provides oversight for the following initiatives: Loaned Faculty Initiative - an ongoing program in which participating hospitals loan qualified staff members to serve as clinical instructors for nursing students in their hospitals Nurse Faculty Salary Initiative - fundraising efforts designed to provide monies for additional nurse faculty positions, improve the salaries of existing faculty and retain faculty nearing retirement. This initiative also provides seed monies for hospitals and nursing education programs to create and fill Joint Hospital Faculty positions which enable qualified individuals to blend careers in education and clinical practice. Nursing Student Retention Grants - a series of grants funded by the Workforce Solutions at eight area nursing programs to implement a variety of activities designed to retain students enrolled and decrease their attrition rates.