Compounding the problem is a lack of faculty to train nurses. Many nursing professors are nearing retirement. The average age for nurses was 46 in 2008, according to the federal Division of Nursing in the Department of Health and Human Resources.
Sue Blanshan, director of academic affairs for the Maryland Higher Education Commission, said "there has certainly been an increase in program proposals."
"We've seen an increase in both types of educational nursing programs — the clinical side of nursing and those to expand the teaching nursing work force," she said.
She also noted that colleges can review proposals for new programs at other schools and object if they think there is no need. Some proposals have spurred controversy as competitor colleges and universities argue against others duplicating their programs.
But there haven't been any objections to new nursing programs, Blanshan said.
Some of the new nursing programs are adopting curriculum models to better accommodate students.
Many nurses find it difficult to go back to school once they have started working in the profession, health experts said. Their shift-work hours can make it hard to take classes, or like anyone else, they get caught up with the constraints of everyday life.
Stevenson, which established its nursing program in 1991, is trying to address the time crunch for working nurses with its first master's program for those in the profession. The online program — with concentrations in education and leadership — is an accelerated program with eight-week semesters that allow students to get a degree in half the time it would normally take. It began accepting students this fall.
"We all think we do too much and keep too many balls in the air," Feustle said. "The idea of taking eight weeks for coursework is much more palatable to people."
Nursing is a second career for Gina Yurek of Ellicott City, who entered the profession in 1993. Yurek, a Greater Baltimore Medical Center nurse who cares for patients after surgery, just entered the Stevenson master's program and hopes to teach after graduating. Yurek said nurses work long hours and often find it hard to go back to school. Financial hurdles also exist.
"This program is very flexible," she said of the Stevenson degree.