Nursing Student Assistance Program

Applicant must be:

• U.S. Citizen
• Legal resident of Oklahoma
• Unconditionally admitted as a student in an OKLAHOMA accredited program of nursing study.  Certification of acceptance or of being a student in good academic standing must be submitted from Director of Nursing Program ONLY. Please note that online nursing programs must be administered by an educational institution based in Oklahoma in order to qualify for HWTC assistance. Nursing Program eligibility is based on the location of the MAIN CAMPUS.
• Must have an overall GPA of 3.0 on most recent transcript.
• Applicants must be willing to practice outside of the OKC/Tulsa MSA. Some state facilities in the OKC/Tulsa MSA will be considered as eligible practice locations.  

*These amounts can be matched by a qualified sponsoring facility.

Payments are made at the end of each semester, upon verification of grades and other qualifying factors. Since our payment schedule works more like a reimbursement, it is important that the student is able to make initial tuition payments on their own, so they can provide transcripts upon request at the end of the semester.

*HWTC is making a change to payments for LPN students starting with the upcoming 2023/2024 academic year. LPN payments will now be issued as a one time payment at the end of the program. This is due to the fact that many LPN programs do not provide grades prior to completion of the program, and also because LPN program dates do not coincide with traditional semester schedules. This change will not affect any LPN students who are already on our program, or who have already applied during the 2022/2023 academic year. This change will effect LPN students who plan to apply for our program during the Spring 2023 open application period and moving forward. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.*

Upon completion of school and licensing, the nurse is obligated to practice nursing, at the degree level for which financial assistance was received, one year for each academic year of financial assistance. The minimum obligation is one year. The obligated work must be in direct patient care in a hospital setting (clinics and private practices do not qualify), or as a full time nursing program educator.

Obligations for LPN and RN level participants must be fulfilled in a rural Oklahoma community outside of the OKC and Tulsa metropolitan areas (some exceptions apply, see below). This is defined by HWTC as at least 25 miles away from OKC or Tulsa.

For those applicants who intend to establish practice as an APRN upon graduation, said practice must be at least 35 miles away from OKC or Tulsa in order to qualify.

*Please note that at this time, Nurse Anesthetists do not qualify for assistance with HWTC*

Lists of non-qualifying communities are provided below. It is recommended that you contact our office if you live or work in a non-qualifying community to ensure that you understand and accept the HWTC rural obligation requirement prior to participation in the Nursing Assistance Program.

HWTC allows some exceptions for our rural obligation requirement. For those working as nurse educators, we allow the obligation to be fulfilled by teaching at any accredited nursing education program in the state of Oklahoma. Obligations can also be fulfilled at the following four metro area facilities: OU Medical Center/OU Children's Hospital (OKC), VA Medical Center (OKC), Griffin Memorial Hospital (Norman), and OSU Medical Center (Tulsa). These exceptions only apply to employment in the hospital itself, any clinics associated with these facilities do not qualify to fulfill an obligation. 

The Matching recipient is obligated to practice nursing at the sponsoring institution.

The Non-Matching recipient can fulfill in the qualified health institution of choice.

Facilities that DO NOT qualify are:

• Industrial nursing
• Physician’s offices
• Private duty practice
• Research or data collecting companies
• School nurse
• Summer camp nursing

Repayment is required immediately if the nurse decides not to fulfill the required work obligation by practicing nursing in the sponsoring community or at a qualifying facility in the State of Oklahoma. The nurse will be required to repay the principal amount, a 5% assessment fee(*) on the unpaid balance, and liquidated damages of up to 100% of the principal. Liquidated damages will be assessed based on the nature of the default.

(*) - 5% fee is calculated on the initial balance and then July 1st of each subsequent year there is an unpaid balance (yearly minimum of $50.00).

In order to apply, you must submit a completed application, an official copy of your most recent transcripts, a letter of acceptance to the nursing program you are attending (conditional acceptance requires verification that the conditions have been met prior to starting) or a letter of good standing if you are already enrolled in a nursing program. Please note that HWTC requires applications with original signatures, and does not accept faxed or emailed applications.