California Edition 2014-2015 > Financial Policies and Information > Financial Aid Programs > Norma Ford Memorial Scholarship (LVN to BSN students only)

Norma Ford Memorial Scholarship (LVN to BSN students only)

Please see the Norma Ford Memorial Scholarship Addendum for updated information.

Norma Ford spent her career assisting college students in securing funding for their education. She was an expert in federal student aid programs, and helped schools to meet the requirements to participate in those programs, resulting in thousands of students having access to aid, and the ability to complete their chosen educational programs. In her final years, she worked with West Coast University to make sure its students had those same opportunities to engage in higher education. Norma was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007 and fought the disease for three years before passing away in April 2010. During her final months, she asked that West Coast University offer a scholarship to nursing students who are committed to working in long-term hospice/end of life care, or who plan to specialize in oncology, as a tribute to the great nurses who helped Norma during the last months of her life.

Awards

Each West Coast University campus will provide one scholarship to the chosen applicant, per BSN program “start”. A Scholarship Committee will review all applications for each semester and choose one awardee per campus. Awards will be granted in installments of $10,000, one installment awarded at the end of each semester, reflected as a tuition reduction on the awardee’s student account, as long as s/he continues to meet the criteria outlined below. The maximum amount a student may be awarded is $70,000, assuming the student does not have sufficient transfer credit to reduce the total semesters below seven (7) semesters. This award has no cash value.

Please Note: Students who withdraw or are terminated for any reason will have a prorated amount of the scholarship applied to their account for the time attended, but only if the student was meeting the requirements of the scholarship program during that time. Any unearned or unused scholarship dollars will be returned to the fund for future awards.

To be eligible to apply for the WCU Norma Ford Memorial Scholarship, students:

1. Must be a US citizen or have permanent residence.
2. Must be enrolled in the LVN to BSN program with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
3. Must provide a copy of his/her LVN license, employment records and letter of reference from current or former employer to verify work experience in required fields.
4. Must submit a personal statement describing his/her work with terminally ill cancer patients and how completion of a Bachelor Degree in Nursing, and RN license, will help continue his/her work in this field. *Note: The essay must be typed and be between two and three pages.
5. Must maintain good standing academically, financially, and through strict compliance with the University’s Code of Conduct, Drug and Alcohol policy, Academic Honor Code and any other policy applying to the University’s students. *Note: Professional and respectful behavior is required on campus, at any clinical location, and in situations where students are serving as representatives of the University.
6. Must have an attendance record requirement of 90%. A 90% attendance record means that a student may not have more than one absence in each class; such as one absence in theory and one absence in clinical is the maximum allowed.

Applicants must complete and submit the application with all required documents to the Financial Aid Office at least three weeks before the start of his/her BSN program.