What you’ll learn in this article…
- South Carolina had only 72% of needed nurses in 2024.
- Nine doctoral nursing fellows now teach full-time across USC, Clemson, MUSC.
- The BlueCross BlueShield Foundation funded expansion toward 300 more nurses by 2030.
What happens to nursing school admissions when a nursing faculty shortage leaves too few faculty to teach admitted students?
In South Carolina, the answer is already visible: as of 2024, the state had only 72% of the nurses it needed, and workforce adequacy is projected to reach just 80% by 2035 without significant intervention.
Each unfilled faculty line cuts clinical training capacity, deepening the bedside shortage and undermining nurse faculty retention. USC's Nursing Faculty Pipeline places doctoral nursing students into full-time faculty roles before graduation; Bowie State is building similar doctoral-to-educator paths. The binding constraint is not interest in teaching, but delayed income and limited early teaching experience.
The Scope of the Nurse Educator Shortage in 2026
The numbers make the stakes clear: nursing schools cannot expand capacity during a nursing faculty shortage. In South Carolina, that gap is already visible. As of 2024, the state had only 72% of the nurses it needed, and without intervention that figure is projected to reach just 80% by 2035, according to Liam Hein, associate professor at the USC College of Nursing and co-principal investigator of the Nursing Faculty Pipeline, as reported by Spectrum News on September 5, 2026.
The National Picture
South Carolina is not an outlier. For the 2025-2026 academic year, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) reports 1,588 full-time faculty vacancies across 863 nursing schools, a national vacancy rate of 7.2%. That is down slightly from 7.9% the prior year, but the 10-year average remains 7.64%. Schools also identified a need for 150 additional faculty positions to meet student demand, and 80.9% of vacancies prefer a doctoral degree.
Why the Gap Keeps Growing
Three forces reinforce each other. Many current faculty are nearing retirement, doctoral programs are not graduating enough educators to replace them, and clinical salaries pull nurses away from teaching, widening the nurse educator pay gap. Current AACN data does not offer nurse educator vacancy rates by state, but regional comparisons point to the West and South as the most strained, while the Midwest is lowest. For nursing leaders, the consequence is direct: each unfilled faculty line limits the number of qualified applicants a program can accept, even as applications continue to rise.
Inside USC's Nursing Faculty Pipeline Program
The first phase of the University of South Carolina's Nursing Faculty Pipeline program placed eight fellows at USC's College of Nursing. The core model places doctoral students into full-time faculty roles while they finish their degrees, so fellows teach and study at the same time instead of waiting until graduation to become a nursing educator.become a nursing educator
How the Model Works
The program embeds doctoral candidates directly in USC's College of Nursing. Fellows carry real teaching responsibilities, build classroom reps, and develop faculty portfolios as part of their training. Rather than treating teaching as a side task, the program makes it a core part of doctoral preparation, with mentorship built into the role. This early exposure shortens the gap between doctoral completion and classroom readiness.
A Fellow's Path
Kevin Tolasch illustrates how wide the pipeline can reach. He began his career as a nurse technician and then earned associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees before entering the doctoral program. As a pipeline fellow and instructor at USC, he is now pursuing his doctorate while teaching. Spectrum News reported in September 2026 that Tolasch is one of the fellows working inside the program's structured teaching pathway.
Classroom-Ready After Graduation
The end goal is direct: prepare fellows to step immediately into nurse educator jobs after graduation.nurse educator jobs Rather than leaving doctoral programs with limited classroom time, graduates emerge with hiring-ready faculty skills. The approach addresses a common bottleneck: doctoral graduates often need additional years to become effective educators. The program bets that direct handoff will help expand nursing education capacity.
Going Statewide: Clemson, MUSC, and the Bluecross Blueshield Partnership
A Statewide Cohort, Not a Solo Pilot
The University of South Carolina's model did not stay confined to Columbia. The Nursing Faculty Pipeline program now includes Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina, bringing together nine doctoral nursing students across the three schools. That is a small number on paper, but the design matters: fellows are embedded in full-time faculty roles while completing their doctorates, so each student is already building teaching capacity inside a partner institution.
Named Funding, Measurable Outcome
The statewide expansion was underwritten by the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation, a nursing education grant funding source that gives the program a concrete sponsor instead of vague institutional goodwill. USC also tied the effort to a specific workforce target: the expanded pipeline could help produce roughly 300 additional nurses by 2030. A named funder plus a numeric goal sets this apart from typical faculty development initiatives that stop at workshops and mentoring circles.
A Template Other States Can Follow
Clemson, MUSC, and USC are not simply sharing a grant. They are coordinating a pathway that prepares doctoral students to step directly into teaching positions after graduation. The partnership structure, with a philanthropic funder, participating schools, and a public output target, offers a replicable template for other regions trying to widen their nursing workforce pipeline without waiting for a state policy overhaul.
Why Clinical Nurses Hesitate to Teach: The Salary Gap
A key reason experienced nurses hesitate to move into nurse educator roles is the pay difference. In 2025, nursing instructors and teachers in postsecondary settings had a median annual wage of $80,250, while registered nurses earned a median of $97,550 and nurse practitioners earned $132,300. The table below compares national wage estimates for these roles.
| Occupation | Total employment | Mean annual wage | 25th percentile annual wage | Median annual wage | 75th percentile annual wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | 221,270 | $147,570 | $75,690 | $107,310 | $210,370 |
| Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary | 77,960 | $86,410 | $63,510 | $80,250 | $101,090 |
| Registered Nurses | 3,379,720 | $101,420 | $80,330 | $97,550 | $112,350 |
| Nurse Practitioners | 323,040 | $137,300 | $117,990 | $132,300 | $156,700 |
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USC's model places doctoral nursing students in full-time faculty roles before graduation, building teaching capacity instead of just recruiting from an already thin pool. It's a pipeline, not a pool.
Closing the nurse faculty gap requires nurse educator shortage solutions that build pipelines, not just recruiting drives. USC's paid, full-time teaching fellowships and Bowie State's education-focused doctoral path both prepare nurses for the nursing educator role before graduation. The next step is actionable: start with one clinical partner and one funding source, then scale only after the first cohort teaches. That is how a local pilot becomes a statewide fix.
