FAQ: Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) Fiscal Year 2021

Funding Opportunity Number: HRSA-21-015

• Eligibility
• Application
• Program Specific Forms
• Borrower & Program Requirements

Eligibility

1. Are BS to PhD students eligible?

   Yes. Students enrolled in a BSN to PhD nursing program are eligible for NFLP support if they enroll in a graduate-level program.

Application

2. If you were a Nurse Faculty Loan Program participant 10 years ago, what type of application should we select on the SF 424?

   Indicate ‘Continuation’ on the SF-424 R&R form if you received NFLP funding in the past.

   Indicate ‘New’ on the SF-424 R&R form if you are applying for the first time.

3. If a school has enough funds in their revolving account (payback account) to cover awards to students for the next academic year, would submitting a proposal would be automatically declined?

   Please do not apply for FY2021 funds if you have enough NFLP funds to provide support for the 2021-2022 project period.

4. Which PhD programs are eligible for NFLP support?

   PhD programs must have appropriate approvals recognized by the institutional boards/committees and regional associations of higher education accreditation.

   Note: You must submit an official letter of approval for all doctoral programs included in the project. (See NOFO (PDF - 607 KB) p. 14 for more information).

Program Specific Forms

5. Are funds awarded but not disbursed considered ‘available’ in the institution's NFLP loan fund account? Can they be distributed the year after?

   Schools should attempt to use the loan funds during the current academic period.

   Schools are permitted to retain unused (not disbursed) NFLP funds in the institutional loan fund account without fiscal year restriction for making additional loans in future academic periods.

6. For Unobligated Funds, does this refer to only funds awarded in this particular award period, or all funds that are in the student loan fund account the University uses to collect loan payments?

   Unobligated funds include the institution’s remaining balance from all previous NFLP awards that were not disbursed. It also includes all payments and collections received, which have not been earmarked to support students.

   Continuing applicants must estimate the unobligated balance they will have remaining in their loan fund account by June 30, 2021 when completing Part 3/Section D1 of the Program Specific Form.

   Amount should be based on a projected calculation of student loans disbursed/to be disbursed, repayments, interests, etc.

7. What if we have different tuition for in person (on ground) or online?

   You must enter the average amount for one term with fees/expenses based on the required full-time credit hours if your institution has more than one tuition (in person or online).

   Ensure that the amount entered will be adequate to cover the cost for all of your student borrowers.

8. Can you please verify how to enter the tuition for part time enrollment?

   You must enter the Full-time and/or part-time tuition cost, which should include fees and other reasonable expenses (such as Student Nurse Educator Development Activities), per one term (not per single credit hour) when completing Part 4/Section F/Tuition of the Program Specific Form.

   Note: For Part-time entries, the system will only allow you to enter an amount not exceeding $3,500. If your institution’s total Part-Time tuition cost is more than $3,500, please use the Loan Disbursement Plan Template (attachment #4) and add a comment listing the actual cost.

9. When completing the Program Specific Data Form, what dates are required for reporting graduates and graduates employed as nurse faculty under Section 3 of the data form?

   Select the current fiscal year date (2021) at the top of the form under Part 1, section A when competing the Program Specific Data Form.

   Dates will auto-populate within the form for all the sections after the current fiscal year date is selected.

   Note: All data fields must be completed for current NFLP awardees as applicable. Graduate and graduate employment information should be collected from the most recent NFLP Annual Performance Report. Enter “0” if not reporting data in the fields.

10. An applicant requests $300,000 in Federal Capital Contribution Funds (FCC) for next year. Do we enter the full $300,000 under C. Federal Funds Requested even if we estimate we will have $75,000 entered in D.1 NFLP Loan Fund Balance/Unused Accumulation as of 6/30/2021?

    Yes. Enter the full requested amount ($300,000.00) under Part 2: Funding Information, section C. Federal Funds Requested field. Current grantees reapplying are required to provide information for all the students they intend to support in academic year 2021-2022 with both the new requested amount and any remaining loan fund balance in Part 3/sections E1, E2 and E4.

    Example: You need $100,000 to support seven students, and you have $20,000 remaining to support three continuing students. You should request for $100,000 in Part2/section C. You should then provide information for the ten students (new and continuing) to be supported in 2021-2022, in section E1, E2 and E4.

11. Please provide a template for the Sample Work Plan.

    You can access the Sample Work Plan (PDF - 65 KB) on page 5 of the NOFO (PDF - 607 KB).

12. Under project sustainability section, what are your expectations for this item?

    Describe your plan and the actions you will take to sustain the Nurse Faculty Loan Program, after the period of federal funding ends.

    Example: Describe the capacity that the school is willing to assist in supporting students with obtaining employment following graduation from the nursing program. State challenges that are likely to be encountered in sustaining the program and approaches that will be used to resolve such challenges.

13. Can you describe the nature of the academic partnership you are seeking, and if these are essential?

    Academic and Academic Practice Partnerships are not required, however they are highly encouraged. The Statement of Collaborative Academic/Academic- Practice Partnership (attachment 6) is only required for applicants who plan to enter into such partnerships.

    (See NOFO (PDF - 607 KB) p. 4, 5 for more information.)

    Note: attachment 6 is only required as applicable.

14. Organizational Information, Resources and Capabilities (p. 14): Can you give more information on the “training-focused emergency preparedness plan” (also briefly mentioned on p. 10)? Do you have any examples? How detailed is it required to be?

    You must be ready to respond in the event of a public health emergency – both those that are expected and unexpected. A training-focused emergency preparedness plan is critical for HRSA-funded projects and helps ensure you are:

    • Ready to respond
    • Coordinate effectively
    • Have plans for recovery

    Develop a flexible training-focused emergency preparedness plan to ensure continuation of programmatic and training activities. You are required to provide a brief statement describing the training-focused emergency plan.

15. Under Performance Reporting Measures in the NOFO, you list nurse faculty preparation strategies and nurse educator development activities. What is the difference between the two?

    Nurse educator development activities and qualified nursing faculty preparation strategies are the same. Describe your capacity to collect and report data on the numbers and types of these activities.

16. What are the definitions for teaching in rural and underserved settings?

    Visit ‘Am I Rural’ at Rural Health Information Hub or Bureau of Health Workforce Glossary.

17. Are you asking us to describe our capacity for collecting the data listed in the subheadings, but not supply the actual data? Example - Do you want the titles, position descriptions and processes for collecting all the data?

    Describe your capacity to collect and report on data. You are not required to provide information for each subheading and actual data is not required.

    Note: Performance measures are provided so that you are familiar with the data to be collected for reporting to HRSA. (See NOFO (PDF - 607 KB) p. 13, 14 for more information.)

18. If the attachment is not applicable, are we required to submit a page that says ‘Not Applicable’ or should we not submit anything?

    You should NOT include information that is not applicable. Do not submit a blank page or a page that states ‘Not Applicable’. Submission of blank pages may put your application at risk of exceeding the 40-page limit.

Borrower & Program Requirements

19. Page 5 of NOFO states that preceptor partnerships must be for APRN students. Can it also apply for BSN or MSN students?

    The institution, which provided NFLP support to a borrower make the determination about meeting Full-time employment requirement (See NOFO (PDF - 607 KB) p. 5 for more information).

20. For the preceptor option, are schools required to obtain a copy of the formal agreement to confirm the NFLP graduate's eligibility for FT employment and cancellation?

    Yes. This designation must be denoted through a formal agreement documenting the individual as nurse faculty.

    Institutions are responsible for establishing a loan cancellation process for NFLP Borrowers, to include:

    1. Certification of Employment (sample form EXHIBIT D)
    2. Request for Postponement of Installment Payments (sample form EXHIBIT G)
    3. Request for Partial Loan Cancellation (sample form EXHIBIT E)

    (See NOFO (PDF - 607 KB) p. 5, 6 for more information.)

21. Does the 24-month employment extension apply to graduates through May 2021 or December 21? Are we authorized to grant forbearances during this period?

    Requirement to obtain full-time nurse faculty employment within 12 months of graduation has been extended to 24 months for NFLP beneficiaries with graduation dates during the AY 2019- 2021. This is part of the COVID-19 emergency relief measures.

22. What if the student has another service obligation due to another federal loan?

    Service obligation of NFLP is separate and distinct from any other service obligation a student may incur under another federal loan program. Both service obligations must be served and may not be served simultaneously.

23. Is the SOP a required document?

    NFLP Standard Operating Procedure is a required document for all awardees. However, it is not required to submit it with your application. (See NOFO (PDF - 607 KB) p. 10 for more information.)