A new report provides lessons that states may emulate when addressing nursing shortages, based on the Pennsylvania model that has proven successful.
Published by the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania, the AICUP 2026 Nursing School Survey is a follow-up to its 2024 survey and details how independent nonprofit nursing schools helped change a prediction of scarcity into a story of success.
Background: In 2024, news stories and industry reports predicted that Pennsylvania would have the worst nursing shortage among all 50 states by 2026. One consulting firm stated bluntly, “The largest projected shortages of nursing talent will be in Pennsylvania.” But two years later, that just didn’t happen. Instead, signs now point to a positive direction for nursing and hospital staffing in Pennsylvania.
This change is due in large part to the 43 AICUP nursing schools that helped redirect a dire prediction of doom into a manageable challenge. These schools, which educate 69 percent of four-year nursing degree students in Pennsylvania, worked together and worked with industry partners and legislators to build bold, creative solutions.
“We needed more nurses, it’s as simple as that. Two years ago, we were looking at a potentially life-threatening logistical nightmare for local hospitals. The AICUP nursing schools stepped up when Pennsylvania needed them,” said AICUP President Tom Foley. “We have more work to do, but we can still take a moment to celebrate this astonishing success, and share what worked.”
The 2026 AICUP report reviews the results of schools’ actions detailed in the 2024 AICUP report, which laid out the plans and innovations of the 43 AICUP nursing schools in their effort to supply more nurses and bridge the nursing cliff.
AICUP nursing schools shared their plans to:
1) Encourage nontraditional age groups to consider a career in nursing,
2) Scale up facilities, increase offerings, and build new spaces for more nursing students,
3) Expedite graduation time, through new dual enrollment and accelerated programs, and
4) Assist students in making nursing school affordable and accessible through transfer agreements and grants.
This statewide, collaborative effort of the AICUP nursing schools in 2024 to help solve the anticipated nursing shortage was highlighted across Pennsylvania in news stories.
“We hope our peers in other states can learn from the Pennsylvania model, and see what worked for us,” Foley said. “Legislators, employers and education leaders need to be working together if we’re going to meet workforce needs. This is no time for egos or silos.”
