A provincial tuition grant program to increase the number of practising nurses in Windsor and other under-serviced regions will be offered for the 2023-24 academic year at the University of Windsor.

Beginning in the spring, potential students in Bachelor of Science, Nursing (BScN); Master of Science, Nursing (MScN); Masters of Nursing (MN); and graduate diploma in the Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner programs will be eligible to apply for an Ontario Learn and Stay Grant, which offers upfront funding for tuition, books, and other direct educational costs in return for graduates working and caring for people in the region where they studied for a minimum term of six months for each year of funded education.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for interested students to not only remove the financial burden of funding a nursing education but to contribute to measurable improvements to their community through their nursing practice,” says Chris Busch, the University’s associate vice-president, enrolment management.

The three-year, $61 million program was announced in March 2022 and is intended to connect healthcare workers with more than a dozen underserved and growing communities province-wide.

“The pandemic has demonstrated what we’ve always known to be true — nurses are a vitally important part of keeping our communities healthy and safe,” says Debbie Sheppard-LeMoine, dean of the Faculty of Nursing.

“The Learn and Stay program has the potential to open the nursing field to many more dedicated, talented individuals whom the cost of nursing education may have previously hindered. I encourage anyone interested in pursuing nursing as a professional calling to use this unique opportunity.”

Updates and information on the online application process will be available by spring at Ontario Learn and Stay Grant | ontario.ca.