Governor Greg Abbott announced more than $5.6 million in grants to eight Texas colleges and universities through the Nursing Innovation Grant Program, according to an Aug. 7 news release published by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The awards fund innovative prelicensure educational programs for nursing students and expand healthcare workforce capacity across the state.
“Texas builds the healthcare workforce of tomorrow with strategic investments in nursing education,” Governor Abbott said in the release. “These grants fund innovative programs that prepare more nurses for service in communities across the state. A robust pipeline of well-trained nurses strengthens patient care across Texas and delivers the skilled professionals our communities need.”
Higher Education Commissioner Wynn Rosser said the program strengthens the state’s education infrastructure for medical professionals. “Providing quality healthcare and increasing access to care require a strong infrastructure of education for nurses and other medical professionals,” Rosser said. “Grants from the NIGP contribute to that framework by encouraging and funding new approaches and flexibility in existing programs.”
Funded projects may include new competency-based nursing curricula, additional clinical sites or preceptors, and new pathways in nursing education, including stackable credentials that run from certificates for nursing aides through baccalaureate degrees, the coordinating board said. The 2026-2028 recipients are Alamo Community College’s San Antonio College with $748,736, Austin Community College with $750,000, Sam Houston State University with $750,000, Tarrant County College District with $735,134, Texas Women’s University with $749,977, the University of Houston with $750,000, and the University of Texas at Austin with $459,840.
Governor Abbott and the Texas Legislature created the Nursing Innovation Grant Program in 2023 to support innovation in nursing education and provided additional funding in 2025, according to the release. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board manages the program, and eligible projects must align with Texas Board of Nursing education regulations or seek approval for approaches not covered by existing rules. Funding for the new awards runs from Sept. 1, 2026, through Aug. 31, 2028.