A new nursing scholarship could provide the state of Michigan with $4 million that could potentially offset the shortage of nurses statewide.

Last week, Gov. John Engler signed two bills that could give a substantial amount of scholarship money to students across the state.

However, money to support the scholarship would come from the Michigan Merit Award Trust Fund, which is up for grabs on the Nov. 5 ballot.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen in November,” said Anne Wohlfert, director of the Office of Information and Resources for the state.

If Proposal 4 passes, the state might have to find the money for the scholarship program elsewhere.

Proposal 4 would allocate 90 percent of the money received from the Michigan tobacco settlement to anti-smoking programs and health care.

But nursing students are concerned with the availability of the scholarship within their university.

Each student who meets the criteria for the scholarship would receive $4,000 each academic year.

But for each year a student received the scholarship, that student would then have to commit to working as a nurse within the state of Michigan, Wohlfert said.

The scholarship is not need based, she said.

If for any reason students did not finish their nursing program, or failed to work in the state after graduation, the money they received would be turned into a loan, and would have to be repaid.

But nursing programs across the state are in a holding pattern, Wohlfert said.

Some general criteria have been set for the scholarship by the state, but since no money has officially been transferred into the program, students will not be eligible to receive the scholarship this fall, Wohlfert said.

If Proposal 4 does not pass, students will be able to apply for the scholarship to their accredited nursing program in the spring semester.

Pre-nursing sophomore Naomi Brown said she will most likely apply for the scholarship if it becomes available in the spring.

She said she has no plans of moving out of state after graduation, so the scholarship would benefit her.

Marilyn Rothert, dean of the College of Nursing, said if the scholarship becomes available, it will be added to the packet of financial aid for nursing students.

Although the scholarship would not cover all tuition needs for students, “it certainly is substantial,” Rothert said.

The scholarship would promote recruitment and higher retention rates for the rigorous MSU nursing program, she said.

“Hopefully it will be a help to students.”