The Wyoming Investment in Nursing program provides funds for students who are accepted into graduate nursing programs at a university or an undergraduate program at the University of Wyoming or one of the Wyoming community colleges. The funds assist with educational expenses as determined by the financial aid office at each institution. Financial assistance through WyIN is determined by the completed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The loans are repaid by working as a nurse or nurse educator in Wyoming for a length of time. Wyoming Statute 21-18-202
WyIN Undergraduate Student
Who Qualifies for WyIN?
- Applicants shall be residents of the State of Wyoming or graduates of a Wyoming high school.
- Applicants shall be accepted into a nursing education program at a Wyoming community college or the University of Wyoming
- Applicants must also apply for federal financial assistance and any employer-based financial assistance for which the applicant may be eligible.
Steps to Apply
- Contact the nursing department at one of the Wyoming community colleges or the University of Wyoming.
- Contact the Financial Aid office to begin the process of applying for federal financial aid as soon as possible. The FAFSA is used to determine the amount of WyIN assistance.
- Follow up with the financial aid office and Align® to ensure that all the paperwork has been completed.
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Call Align® to request paperwork at:
1-877-322-5446
How much will WyIN pay?
- If you qualify for the WyIN program you may be eligible for a loan to pay the unmet need of attendance for a licensed practical nursing education program or a registered nursing education program leading to an associate's or baccalaureate degree.
- The loan shall not exceed the cost of attendance of the approved program, reduced by the amount of any Pell or other federal grant and any employer-based financial assistance received by the applicant.
Loan Payback
- A recipient of a WyIN loan may repay the loan without cash payment by working in Wyoming as a nurse or nurse educator. There are specific timelines for repayment to be met. For specifics on the tracking and updating of loan payback, contact Align®.
- Align® is the loan servicing agent for WyIN loans. To contact them directly please call: 1-877-322-5446 or email WCCC@TheAlignTeam.org
WyIN Graduate Student
Who Qualifies for WyIN?
- Applicants shall be residents of the State of Wyoming or graduates of a Wyoming high school.
- A registered nurse with a baccalaureate degree who holds an unencumbered license with the Wyoming Board of Nursing, and who is accepted into a nursing program at the University of Wyoming (UW) leading to a master's/doctoral level degree in nursing or nursing education may be eligible for a loan to pay the unmet need of attendance.
- If the applicant is not accepted into the nursing education program at UW, the applicant may attend an accredited nursing education program at a university located outside the state. Loans awarded for applicants accepted into programs outside of Wyoming shall not exceed the loan amounts available for programs at UW.
Steps to Apply
- Contact the nursing department at UW, or if attending a school outside of Wyoming contact Align®.
- Contact the Financial Aid office to begin the process of applying for federal financial aid as soon as possible. The FAFSA is used to determine the amount of WyIN assistance.
- The FAFSA will need to be completed and returned to Align® if attending a school outside of Wyoming.
- You must intend to teach at a Wyoming college or UW.
- If enrolling in an institution other than UW, a student must submit a letter to Align® from UW stating that the program they are electing to enroll in is either full or not offered at UW.
- Follow up with the financial aid office and Align® to ensure that all the paperwork has been completed.
- Graduate level students can only apply in the fall as that is when the allocation for these students is available, but it is advised to contact Align® in the spring to start the process.
- All graduate students will need to complete and return the WOLFS Vendor Management Forms to receive reimbursement. This process can be slow so we must get this from you as soon as the state grants your approval.
- Applications are only available annually, every April 1st - contact Align® for application packet.
- To contact Align's® toll free number is 877-322-5446 ext 9019 or 307-772-9019.
Qualified Nursing Programs
- A graduate level applicant must be accepted to a UW nursing education program. If he/she is not accepted into a program at UW, the WCCC can approve and pay for him/her to attend another school, but only at the tuition and course fee rate that would have been paid had he/she attended a similar program at UW.
- If UW does not offer the graduate program the faculty member wishes to pursue, then he/she may apply to another regionally accredited institution offering nursing education programs, but will only be reimbursed at the tuition and course fee rate that would have been paid had he/she attended UW.
Loan Payback
- A recipient of a WyIN loan may repay the loan without cash payment by working in Wyoming as a nurse or nurse educator. There are specific timelines for repayment to be met. For specifics on the tracking and updating of loan payback, contact Align®.
- The faculty member and/or applicant may elect to work full-time while also getting his/her master's/doctoral level degree. Time worked while concurrently enrolled will go toward a portion of the forgivness of the loan. The faculty member and/or applicant must continue to work one year past the graduation date of the program at a community college or UW in order to repay a master's level loan in full, and must work two years past the graduation date of the program to repay a doctoral-level loan in full. If the faculty member and/or applicant does not work concurrently while enrolled, work must continue at least two years past the graduation date and could be longer depending on the amount of money borrowed.
- Any default on the work repayment of the loan will result in cash repayment of the loan plus interest.
- There are specific timelines for repayment to be met. For specifics on the tracking and updating of loan payback we ask that students contact Align®.
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Align® is the loan servicing agent for WyIN loans. To contact them
directly please call:
1-877-322-5446 or 307-772-9019
or email at WCCC@TheAlignTeam.org