Grant Opportunities

Division of Student Affairs Grants

First-Generation Student Success Grant

  • West Virginia public two-and four-year colleges and universities, or research corporations thereof, may apply for First Generation Student Success Grants to sponsor initiatives that can be categorized by one or more of the following:
    • Implementation of extraordinary campus-based initiatives, events, services, or supports designed to address the unique needs of First-Generation college students and bridge gaps in cultural capital, thereby promoting positive educational outcomes for First-Generation college students;
    • Implementation of events, initiatives, or services committed to supporting recruitment and/or retention of First-Generation students on college campuses within West Virginia;
    • Development or enhancement of research, evaluation, assessment and data collection strategies and practices for the purpose of improving institutional First-Generation initiatives and/or increasing institutional buy-in.
  • Application deadline for FY25 has passed. Check back in Spring 2025 for details regarding the FY26 application process.

Division of Health Sciences

Competency Based Nursing Education Grant Program

  • Competency-based nursing education is a system of instruction, assessment, feedback, self-reflection, and academic reporting that is based on the learner’s ability to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and attitudes appropriate to their level of education. It involves shifting focus away from the inputs of education and towards the outcomes and what the learner can do with the information they learn. Nationally, nursing education has begun to transition towards competency-based education, and the purpose of this funding opportunity is to allow West Virginia’s pre-licensure ASN and BSN nursing programs to plan, develop, and adopt competency-based curriculum within their academic programs.
  • This grant opportunity will be provided to one qualified applicant. That singular applicant will be responsible for working collaboratively with other ASN and BSN pre-licensure programs in the state to plan, develop, and adopt competency-based curriculum as well as seeking input from nursing employers to ensure the curriculum developed reflects the skills needed for entering the workforce.
  • Applications submitted under this opportunity must meet the following goals:
    • Provide instruction and training on what competency-based nursing education is to all ASN and BSN pre-licensure programs who want to participate.
    • Collaboratively work with pre-licensure programs and nursing employers to identify skill needs for nurses entering the workforce to focus on for curriculum development.
    • Develop and disseminate curriculum common among both ASN and BSN programs that may be utilized by any nursing program in the state.
    • Develop evaluation metrics to ensure programmatic activities meet the stated goals of the project developed.
  • Qualified applicants must develop a structured timeline for accomplishing these goals within the grant period.
  • Applications not meeting the above criteria may be subject to additional requirements or denial.
  • View further details on the RFA and the Grants Portal User Guide.
  • Applications must be received by 5 p.m. May 2, 2025.

West Virginia Nursing Academy Grant Program

  • In 2004, the West Virginia Center for Nursing (now known as the West Virginia Office of Nursing Education and Workforce housed within the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission) was created in response to a legislative action. The goal is to address nursing workforce needs within West Virginia. West Virginia’s need for highly trained and engaged nurses continues to grow. We believe connecting with students in middle school and early high school gives the students and their parents an understanding of high school courses needed to best prepare them for entrance into a rigorous nursing career path. By providing students with a clear understanding of a nursing career pathway, we can help to assure West Virginia will continue to have well trained nurses in the future.
  • A Nursing Academy Program benefits may include:
    • Provide students with the knowledge required to select the correct, preparatory high school classes.
    • Expose students to an array of nursing career experiences.
    • Provide students with support and incentive to excel in their high school education.
    • Increase a student’s self-esteem and confidence.
  • Organizations eligible to apply for this funding include hospitals, West Virginia schools of nursing, or partnering organizations with sufficient support to provide the experience of a Nursing Academy.
  • View further details on the RFA.
  • Application deadline is April 18, 2025.

Workforce and Campus Mental Health Impact Grants- Electronic Health Record Stipend- Round 2

  • This funding opportunity will support student mental health and campus counseling centers by providing campuses with an Electronic Health Record System (EHR). Funding will be provided to campus counseling centers that do not currently have an Electronic Health Record System (EHR).
  • Funding will be awarded to help provide increased HIPAA and confidentiality regulations and standards and streamline student scheduling of appointments and session documentation.
  • The applicant institution will not receive funds but will complete a Memorandum of Understanding with the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, who will include the institution in a statewide contract with the selected vendor and pay for the service on the school’s behalf for a one-year period.
  • View details on the RFA
  • Application deadline: June 30, 2025, by 5:00 p.m.

Maternal Mental Health Grant

  • The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission was awarded funds from the West Virginia Perinatal Partnership to develop and execute grant opportunities for behavioral health training programs to integrate training to prepare graduates to provide mental health care to pregnant and postpartum persons.    This opportunity is made available through those funds.
  • This funding opportunity will support maternal mental health by providing behavioral health training programs with funds to provide students curriculum, training, and internship experiences that focus on maternal/perinatal mental health.  This helps to support the behavioral health workforce and perinatal mental health by increasing knowledge, training, and certification among current behavioral health students and new behavioral health professionals across the state.
  • This support is made available as a one-year pilot program with the goal of evaluating effectiveness and return on investment on behalf of the participating institutions.

Eligibility and Funding Requirements

A behavioral health training/academic program at a public or private 4-year higher education institution in West Virginia in the fields of psychology, counseling, or social work. The behavioral health training/academic program can be bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral level. If you have a question about whether your institution is eligible, please contact behavioralhealth@wvhepc.edu.