GRANTS TO INCREASE NUMBER OF GRADUATES: APPLICATION PROCESS.

(a) The board by rule shall establish a process under which a public or private institution of higher education that offers a professional nursing program may apply for a grant under this subchapter and the commissioner of higher education, contingent on appropriations of money for the grants, selects one or more applicants to receive a grant based on criteria established by board rule. The criteria must include the institution's agreement that the institution's professional nursing program will enroll additional students or graduate additional students prepared for initial licensure as registered nurses.

(b) The process established under Subsection (a) may authorize the commissioner of higher education to accept a joint application from multiple institutions that agree to cooperate on a regional or joint basis for their professional nursing programs to enroll additional students or graduate additional students prepared for initial licensure as registered nurses.

(c) The application for a grant under this section must require the institution applying for a grant to:

(1) state the number of additional students that the institution's professional nursing program intends to enroll or graduate;

(2) identify benchmarks for determining adequate progress toward enrolling or graduating those additional students;

(3) state the amount of grant money requested; and

(4) describe a proposed payment schedule for distribution of the grant money to the institution seeking the grant.

(d) The commissioner of higher education may negotiate changes to the application before approving the application.

(e) If a professional nursing program fails to enroll or graduate the number of additional students stated in the approved application or does not meet a benchmark identified in the approved application, the commissioner of higher education may:

(1) require the institution offering the professional nursing program to return any unearned grant money awarded to the program under this subchapter;

(2) withhold future grant awards that would otherwise be made under this subchapter in accordance with the approved application;

(3) renegotiate the terms of the approved application; or

(4) rescind approval of the application.

(f) The board may appoint an advisory committee to advise the commissioner of higher education and the board on implementation of this section. The board may assign to the committee the responsibility for evaluating applications and recommending to the commissioner applications for approval.