{"id":6582,"date":"2023-12-04T16:04:35","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T21:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/?page_id=6582"},"modified":"2026-03-31T11:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:40:10","slug":"the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia’s Earn to Learn Program"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t

\"\"During FY 24, the Virginia General Assembly directed the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to utilize Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA SLRF) to establish the Virginia\u2019s Earn to Learn (ETL) Nursing Education Acceleration Program. The ETL program provides funding to educational institutions in the Commonwealth that offer Virginia Board of Nursing-approved nursing education programs for pre-licensure Registered Nurses (RN) and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) to foster collaborative clinical training arrangements between grant recipients, hospitals, and health providers. Through these partnerships, RN and LPN students participate in a paid clinical apprenticeship that enables them to earn a wage comparable to their current level of practice while training to obtain a higher certification level.<\/p>\n

The ETL model is based in a growing body of evidence that suggests that better workforce program outcomes come from programs that incorporate hands-on, work-based trainings alongside academic training, and include access to one-on-one career navigation assistance and other wraparound services. For healthcare professionals, there are several ELT models around the country. The California Department of Health Care Access and Information<\/a> has an ETL program that offers grants to organizations that provide education and paid job experience to students getting Substance Use Disorder certified in California. The American Hospital Association has spotlighted the ELT efforts at the University of Virginia Medical Center<\/a>, as well as Germanna Community College\u2019s and Mary Washington Healthcare\u2019s Nursing Assistant pilot program<\/a> \u2013 both created after the COVID-19 pandemic to address the lack of sufficiently trained and licensed applicants to fill the healthcare workforce vacancies seen post-pandemic. Their experience and others have been captured in an Earn While You Learn Clinical Education Model Toolkit<\/a> published by the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMap of Reach\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFunding Opportunities \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSpotlight\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>
\n\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAbout Us\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

During FY 24, the Virginia General Assembly directed the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to utilize Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA SLRF) to establish the Virginia\u2019s Earn to Learn (ETL) Nursing Education Acceleration Program. The ETL program provides funding to educational institutions in the Commonwealth that offer Virginia Board of Nursing-approved nursing education programs for pre-licensure Registered Nurses (RN) and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) to foster collaborative clinical training arrangements between grant recipients, hospitals, and health providers. Through these partnerships, RN and LPN students participate in a paid clinical apprenticeship that enables them to earn a wage comparable to their current level of practice while training to obtain a higher certification level.<\/p>\n

The ETL model is based in a growing body of evidence that suggests that better workforce program outcomes come from programs that incorporate hands-on, work-based trainings alongside academic training, and include access to one-on-one career navigation assistance and other wraparound services. For healthcare professionals, there are several ELT models around the country. The California Department of Health Care Access and Information<\/a> has an ETL program that offers grants to organizations that provide education and paid job experience to students getting Substance Use Disorder certified in California. The American Hospital Association has spotlighted the ELT efforts at the University of Virginia Medical Center<\/a>, as well as Germanna Community College\u2019s and Mary Washington Healthcare\u2019s Nursing Assistant pilot program<\/a> \u2013 both created after the COVID-19 pandemic to address the lack of sufficiently trained and licensed applicants to fill the healthcare workforce vacancies seen post-pandemic. Their experience and others have been captured in an Earn While You Learn Clinical Education Model Toolkit<\/a> published by the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVirginia Earn to Learn Awardees\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n
\n

2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College<\/p>\n

Piedmont Virginia Community College\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

2024<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Blue Ridge Community College<\/span><\/p>\n

Galen College of Nursing \u2013 RVA<\/span><\/p>\n

Germanna Community College<\/span><\/p>\n

James Madison University<\/span><\/p>\n

Laurel Ridge Community College<\/span><\/p>\n

Marymount University<\/span><\/p>\n

New River Community College<\/span><\/p>\n

Northern Virginia Community College<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul D. Camp Community College<\/p>\n

Rappahannock Community College<\/span><\/p>\n

Southside Virginia Community College<\/span><\/p>\n

Virginia Commonwealth University<\/span><\/p>\n

Virginia Western Community College<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tContact \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n
\n
\"\"<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Veronica Cosby, MAHS, MS<\/strong><\/div>\n
Earn To Learn (ETL)<\/span><\/div>\n
Office: (804) 864-7361<\/div>\n
Fax: (804) 864-7440<\/div>\n
veronica.cosby@vdh.virginia.gov<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/h2>\n

<\/h1>\n
\"\"<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Jasmine Martinez<\/strong><\/div>\n
Project Coordinator, Earn To Learn (ETL)<\/span><\/div>\n
Office: (804) 807-1753<\/div>\n
jasmine.martinez@vdh.virginia.gov\u00a0<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During FY 24, the Virginia General Assembly directed the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to utilize Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":326,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6582","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nVirginia's Earn to Learn Program - Health Equity<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Virginia's Earn to Learn Program - Health Equity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"During FY 24, the Virginia General Assembly directed the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to utilize Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Health Equity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-31T15:40:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/ETL-logo-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1176\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"740\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/health-equity\\\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/health-equity\\\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\\\/\",\"name\":\"Virginia's Earn to Learn Program - Health Equity\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/health-equity\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/health-equity\\\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/health-equity\\\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/76\\\/ETL-logo-1-300x189.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-04T21:04:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-31T15:40:10+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/health-equity\\\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/health-equity\\\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/health-equity\\\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/76\\\/ETL-logo-1-300x189.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/76\\\/ETL-logo-1-300x189.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/health-equity\\\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/health-equity\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Virginia’s Earn to Learn Program\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/health-equity\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/health-equity\\\/\",\"name\":\"Health Equity\",\"description\":\"Virginia Department of Health - Health Equity\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\\\/health-equity\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Virginia's Earn to Learn Program - Health Equity","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Virginia's Earn to Learn Program - Health Equity","og_description":"During FY 24, the Virginia General Assembly directed the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to utilize Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\/","og_site_name":"Health Equity","article_modified_time":"2026-03-31T15:40:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1176,"height":740,"url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/ETL-logo-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\/","url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\/","name":"Virginia's Earn to Learn Program - Health Equity","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/ETL-logo-1-300x189.jpg","datePublished":"2023-12-04T21:04:35+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-31T15:40:10+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/ETL-logo-1-300x189.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/ETL-logo-1-300x189.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/the-commonwealths-earn-to-learn-program\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Virginia’s Earn to Learn Program"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/","name":"Health Equity","description":"Virginia Department of Health - Health Equity","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/326"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6582"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9295,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6582\/revisions\/9295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/health-equity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}