Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University will launch a project to boost retention and enrollment rates after receiving a $2.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Project FRANCIS, short for Faithfully Retaining, Advancing, Nurturing and Cultivating Indispensable Students, is supported by a Title III Strengthening Institutions grant, which was deployed Oct. 1. Brian Rash, FranU provost and vice president of academic affairs, said the project will hire staff and launch academic programs to boost the number of students moving from pre-clinical programs to clinical programs, and ultimately graduating.

The goal is to meet the high demand for health professionals. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 189,100 openings for registered nurses each year over the next deca

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