Eligibility and Program Requirements

Michigan’s Nurse Loan Repayment Program (NLRP) assists employers in the recruitment and retention of nurses who provide nursing services within Michigan. NLRP will assist selected nurses by providing up to $300,000 in tax-free funds to repay their educational debt over a period of up to 10 years and up to $300,000 over four years for nurses working at state psychiatric hospitals. Applicants compete for consecutive two-year NLRP agreements requiring them to remain employed full-time for no less than 45 weeks per year at eligible nonprofit practice sites providing nursing services. Nurses employed by public schools or eligible Schools of Nursing, must be considered full-time but may have alternate hours per week and weeks per year. Periods during which nurses are "on call" do not count toward their full-time requirement. Nurses must remain with the employers who sponsor them during their two-year agreements, and employers must continue to employ the nurses they sponsor during their two-year service obligations.

Nurses and employers should read this section to determine nurse and practice site eligibility before applying to NLRP.

Nurses must:

• Be U.S. citizens. Nurses with green cards must complete the naturalization process to become U.S. citizens before applying to the program.
• Be an actively licensed nurse by start of application cycle.
• Be committed to providing nursing services in an underserved community, priority site or teaching at a Michigan School of Nursing.
• Have an agreement of employment at a non-profit practice site, with a start date no later than October 1 following the current application period, before applying for NLRP.
• Confirm their employers will support their agreements since employers are required to continue employing the applicant during their two-year agreement.
• Remain with their current employer throughout their two-year loan repayment agreement.
• Be willing to learn the material in the Participant Information and Requirements section of this website and remain in compliance with program requirements.

Nurses Not Eligible for NLRP:

• Nurses who have defaulted on federal loans.
• Nurses who are currently enrolled in any other loan repayment program other than the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF).  

Nurses May:

• Participate in NLRP and the PSLF at the same time.

Eligible NLRP Nurse Types:

Nurses must hold an active nursing license eligible for NLRP.

• Registered Nurse (RN)
• Licenses Practical Nurse (LPN)

Types Not Eligible for NLRP:

• Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA)
• Registered Temporary
• Registered Medical Assistant (RMA)

Employers Must:

• Continue to employ the nurses they sponsor throughout their two-year loan repayment agreements.
• Be willing to learn the material in the Participant Information and Requirements section of this website and remain in compliance with program requirements.
• Not use NLRP payments to offset participants' salaries or other components of their compensation packages. NLRP payments must be in addition to participants' salaries, which must be based on prevailing rates in their practice areas.

Practice Site Requirements:

• Nonprofit Status or Nursing School: Nurses must work at nonprofit practice sites or a Michigan School of Nursing to be awarded NLRP loan repayment agreements.
• Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) Designation: Nurses who do not meet other priority requirements (see Selection Criteria) must work at a non-profit practice site with a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designation. Practice sites can review their HPSA designation at the following url: http://datawarehouse.hrsa.gov/GeoAdvisor/ShortageDesignationAdvisor.aspx. A practice site may be in a county with no HPSA designation but be eligible for loan repayment if it has a HPSA facility designation. You can search for practice sites with HPSA facility designations by clicking on 'HPSA by State & County' on the same page where you can search by practice site address.
• Certification of Practice Site Compliance with Program Requirements and Employment Regulations
  Nurses and employers must also review the Practice Site Application to make sure their practice sites meet all program requirements described under Certification of Practice Site Compliance with Program Requirements and to ensure providers will be in compliance with all requirements listed under Employment Regulations. This section will also answer questions about requirements for hours of employment per week, hours of direct clinical service, and limits on compressed provider schedules. The Practice Site Application is located under Application Periods, Forms, and Process on this website.

Typical eligible practice sites include:

• Certified Rural Health Clinics (HPSA)
• Community health centers
• Community mental health clinics
• Federally qualified health center ‘look-alikes'
• Hospital-affiliated primary care clinics
• Local health departments
• Not-for-profit hospitals
• Other not-for profit primary care clinics
• Private/not for profit primary care clinics
• State psychiatric hospitals
• State/federal correctional facilities
• State-funded primary care clinics
• Tribal-affiliated primary care clinics
• Urgent care sites
• Schools of nursing
• Free clinics

Practice Sites Not Eligible for NLRP

• Veterans’ Administration practice sites
• Any for-profit practice sites