Rivier University has been awarded a two-year grant from the Lloyd B. Balfour Foundation to help it develop an early intervention program for at-risk nursing students.
The $80,000 grant will support the Nashua school’s newly launched Assessment and Supportive Connections for Early Nursing Development (ASCEND) program, an initiative that aims to improve nursing students’ success, retention and graduation rates, and to help reduce the current nursing shortage.
“With a high number of job vacancies for registered nurses in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Rivier is uniquely positioned to alleviate this shortage through its program offerings,” said Dr. Paula Williams, Rivier’s dean of nursing and healthcare professions. “The ASCEND program will implement academic advising and retention strategies to fill these openings with distinguished Rivier graduates.”
Rivier undergraduate nursing students will benefit from ASCEND’s proactive learning assessment and early intervention practices. Enhanced faculty-student engagement and relationships will connect students with appropriate support services including math tutoring, peer tutoring and foundational skills development.
“Students often delay engagement with academic support services until it’s too late,” said Dr. Brian Ernsting, vice president for academic affairs. “Proactively identifying and supporting at-risk students before academic struggles arise is critical to graduating more nurses.”
Williams said the grant will cover costs associated with the creation of assessment and intervention modules, as well as the development of best practices in engaging at-risk students to improve academic success. After the program is developed, Rivier will share ASCEND results and the model with other college and university nursing programs, she said.
The award comes at the same time that Rivier is adding new online graduate programs to its nursing degree offerings.
The university will be launching online programs offering a master of science in nursing and a post-master’s acute care nurse practitioner certificate in adult gerontology.
“As the U.S. population ages, the need increases for nurse practitioners who specialize in adult acute care,” said Williams, adding that the programs “will prepare a new generation of practitioners to fill this need and enable current nurse practitioners to expand their certifications and practices.”
