WASHINGTON, DC, October 27, 2010 – CertifiedBackground.com, a leading provider of background checks to health professions students, is partnering with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) to launch a new scholarship program for nursing students in baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs. CertifiedBackground.com is committing $200,000 over five years to this new program that will distribute eight scholarships in the amount of $5,000 each year from 2011 through 2015.

“We have enjoyed partnering with AACN for the past five years to provide services that meet the needs and support the mission of nursing schools nationwide,” said Joe Finley, CertifiedBackground.com President. “The opportunity to provide scholarships to students, which will help enhance their educational experience, represents an exciting next step in our commitment to nursing education.”

The new scholarship program will provide $5,000 in support to outstanding nursing students in baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs at AACN member institutions. Eligible applicants must be admitted or enrolled in a nursing school affiliated with CertifiedBackground.com or have submitted an application through nursing’s centralized application service, NursingCAS (see  https://portal.nursingcas.org). To apply for scholarship funding, students must complete an application that requires a brief 250-word essay on their goals and career aspirations in nursing. Winners will be announced within 60 days of each submission deadline, which are set for January 31, April 30, July 31, and October 31 each year. This scholarship is non-recurring and will be awarded to individual students for one semester only. Visit http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/doc/CBScholarshipApp.doc to download the application and review the scholarship criteria.

"AACN welcomes the opportunity to expand our long-term partnership with CertifiedBackground.com by creating this new scholarship opportunity for students at member schools of nursing,” said AACN President Kathleen Potempa. “Given the nation’s projected nursing shortage and the calls for more highly educated nurses, we hope this new partnership will serve as a model for other businesses and agencies looking to join with AACN to support the next generation of professional registered nurses.”

For more details on AACN’s partnership with CertifiedBackground.com to provide discounted criminal background checks to nursing students and a student immunization tracker service for schools of nursing, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/MemberServices/CertifiedBackground.htm.

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CertifiedBackground.com provides student background screening, immunization tracking and drug testing solutions for colleges and universities nationwide. CertifiedBackground.com works with more than 1,200 schools and 3,000 departments, providing background checks for students studying in health care fields. CertifiedBackground.com is a preferred provider of background checks to the AACN and a member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners. www.certifiedbackground.com

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is the national voice for university and four-year college education programs in nursing. Representing more than 650 member schools of nursing at public and private institutions nationwide, AACN's educational, research, governmental advocacy, data collection, publications, and other programs work to establish quality standards for bachelor's- and graduate-degree nursing education, assist deans and directors to implement those standards, influence the nursing profession to improve health care, and promote public support of baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, research, and practice.

CONTACT:
Robert Rosseter, 202-463-6930, ext 231
rrosseter [at] aacn [dot] nche [dot] edu