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Trellis Foundation and UpSkill America Launch Inaugural Implementation Cohort for Streamlining Success in Nursing Programs in Texas

Austin, TX, September 22, 2025 – The Trellis Foundation, in collaboration with UpSkill America at the Aspen Institute, is thrilled to launch the inaugural cohort of implementation partners for the Streamlining Success in Nursing Programs in Texas project. This three-year initiative will strengthen partnerships between universities, community colleges, workforce boards, and local employers to remove barriers for nursing students in Texas.

 “Trellis Foundation understands the importance of investing in the meaningful work nursing programs are doing across Texas,” Jenny Achilles, Senior Program Officer at Trellis Foundation, said. “Supporting nursing students so they can get their degree without facing extra hurdles is vital to our healthcare workforce.”

One objective of this cohort will be to gain a better understanding of existing barriers to learners being paid for their clinical hours. Additionally, customized technical assistance, regular learning community convenings, and annual in-person seminars will be provided for participating partners. Members of the inaugural cohort include:

Kilgore College – Through formalized partnerships with Christus Health System and regional healthcare providers, Kilgore College is launching an innovative Nursing Apprenticeship Model designed to address critical gaps in nursing education and workforce development. 

Lamar State College Port Arthur – Project Upward Mobility Jasper will expand Lamar State College-Port Arthur’s nursing program to the Jasper, Texas, region, admitting 20 students annually. This initiative aims to increase access to local nursing education, addressing critical workforce shortages and providing career advancement opportunities in an underserved area.

McMurry University – McMurry University’s Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing’s project, Bridging the Demands: Enhancing Completion of Working Nursing Students through Targeted Support, will increase completion and transitions into nursing roles for working and low-income nursing students by implementing a work-based learning partnership with Hendrick Health. 

San Antonio College – The Project Clinical Learn and Earn will work with San Antonio College’s School of Nursing (Alamo Colleges District) and will target students within the Career Mobility Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) or military combat medic to Registered Nurse (RN) programs.

Texas A&M Corpus Christi – Project SNIPS aims to develop a model where selected nursing students in TAMU-CC’s pre-licensure BSN clinical courses are paid for direct patient care clinical hours by 1) increasing the relevance of the academic clinical objectives and 2) potentially increasing the hospital partner’s activity in student selection for the project’s clinical group. 

University of Texas, Houston – The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, – Cizik School of Nursing (CSON) Project “Developing a Work-Based Clinical Model to Streamline Success in Nursing” will create academic-practice partnerships for undergraduate nursing students, because integrating paid clinical employment with academic credit supports student success, workforce readiness, and long-term nursing workforce development.

Workforce Board of West Central Texas – The proposed project will evaluate the return on investment (ROI) of Hendrick Medical Center’s paid clinical program, refine and develop a replicable framework, and expand the model to rural partner hospitals to benefit students across multiple regional institutions, because increased access to paid clinical experiences supports stronger healthcare workforce pipelines in West Central Texas.

Workforce Solutions Rural Capital – Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area’s Rural Nursing Initiative will convene business and education partners to begin the hard work of changing healthcare policies and practices that currently prevent institutions of higher education from effectively enrolling, retaining, and graduating nursing students and employers from hiring and retaining nurses in the nine counties they serve.

“Creating an intentional community where academic institutions, community organizations, and hospital partners can come together and learn from one another is essential to success for each participant,” Haley Glover, Senior Director of UpSkill America, said. “These implementation partners are leaders in their community whose innovative solutions will help other communities understand what is feasible for their hospital partners.”

If you’re interested in learning more or have questions about the implementation cohort, please email [email protected] 

UpSkill America

UpSkill America supports employers and workforce organizations to expand and improve high-quality educational and career advancement opportunities for America’s front-line workers. We advance collaborative solutions that work for employers, employees, and communities, recognizing that shared value for workers, communities, and business bottom-line is the best strategy for long-term success — we believe in “doing well by doing good.”

We seek to create a movement of employers, civic organizations, workforce intermediaries, and policymakers working collaboratively to implement education, training, and development strategies that result in better jobs and opportunities for workers, more competitive businesses, and stronger communities. UpSkill America is an initiative of the Economic Opportunities Program at The Aspen Institute.

Trellis Foundation 

Trellis Foundation is a grant-making public charitable organization focused on improving postsecondary attainment for low-income students and students of color in Texas. Our approach is highly collaborative and prioritizes catalytic investments, focused on changing or informing change to policy, practice, and systems.