AACN and Certiphi Screening Launch New Scholarship Program for Pre-licensure Nursing Students

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 2, 2025 – The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and Certiphi Screening^®, the nation’s leading provider of screening solutions for health profession students, are pleased to announce the launch of a new scholarship program to support the preparation of new nurses. Open to pre-licensure nursing students in traditional and direct-entry programs at AACN member schools, this program will award three $5,000 scholarships each year through the Foundation for Academic Nursing.

“Supporting the next generation of registered nurses to meet patient care needs is critical to keeping the nation healthy and thriving,” said Dr. Deborah Trautman, AACN President and Chief Executive Officer. “AACN applauds our partners at Certiphi for their commitment to preparing practice-ready nurses through its support of undergraduate nursing education.”

The Certiphi-AACN Scholarship is open to prelicensure nursing students enrolled in programs offered by AACN member schools. Applicants must have at least a 3.2 GPA and submit a 500-word essay describing how they plan to make a meaningful contribution to nursing or address a unique challenge facing the profession. For more details on eligibility and application requirements, see scholarship webpage. Scholarship applications are being accepted now through November 3, 2025.

AACN and Certiphi Screening

In June 2025, AACN announced a new partnership with Certiphi Screening, the association’s preferred partner for criminal background checks, drug screenings, and record tracking services. Specializing in the health professions, Certiphi currently has similar partnerships in place with the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American Dental Education Association, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and other national associations across disciplines. AACN negotiated an up to 30% discount on background checks and other compliance tracking services for students from AACN member schools.

Nursing schools interested in finding out more about Certiphi’s services are encouraged to view a free on-demand webinar and contact account manager Suzi Arant at 888-260-1370, ext. 2012 or sales@certiphi.com.

Partnering to Support Nursing Students

AACN actively seeks opportunities to partner with corporate sponsors and other stakeholders to provide discounted services and scholarship programs to nursing schools and students in baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs. The association currently administers scholarship programs in conjunction with the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, Hurst Review Services, Liaison International, QGenda, Scrubin Uniforms, Uniform Advantage, and Wolters Kluwer. Those interested in establishing a scholarship program and/or partnering with AACN are encouraged to contact Foundation Director, Dr. Katie Fioravanti, at kfioravanti@aacnnursing.org.

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The Foundation for Academic Nursing is the philanthropic arm of AACN that raises funds to support new innovations in nursing education and practice. The Foundation serves as a focal point for AACN’s fundraising efforts while elevating the importance of academic nursing and our member schools in the philanthropic community.

Certiphi Screening, Inc., a member of the Vertical Screen, Inc. family of applicant screening companies, provides customized applicant and student background screening services to leading colleges, universities, hospitals and healthcare organizations, including background screening, fingerprinting, OIG/EPLS searches, drug testing and occupational health screening. For more information, call 888-260-1370 or visit the website.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is the voice for academic nursing representing more than 875 member schools of nursing at public and private institutions nationwide. AACN works to establish quality standards for nursing education; assists schools in implementing those standards; influences the nursing profession to improve health care; and promotes public support for professional nursing education, research, and practice.