HAMMOND | An online program being developed by Purdue University Calumet is intended to break down barriers that keep nurses from pursuing advanced degrees.

"We're looking at trying to eliminate time and distance barriers," said Charlene Gyurko, an assistant professor who helped obtain a $436,000 federal grant to develop online courses for the nursing school at the Hammond campus.

The goal is to increase the number of nurses needed to fill a projected nationwide shortage of as many as 1 million by the end of the decade, and the advanced-degree faculty needed to educate them.

Nearly 31,000 qualified applicants were turned away from entry level baccalaureate nursing programs in the U.S. in 2007, with insufficient faculty listed as one of the barriers, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

The online program being developed by the Hammond campus is expected to increase enrollment by 20 students a year, above the 110 currently in the master's degree program, School of Nursing Dean Peggy Gerard said.

Money awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will free up time for faculty members to develop online courses in each of the graduate nursing options: family nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist in adult health and critical care nursing, as well as post-masters certificates, Gerard said.

Online courses require different teaching strategies and, in some cases, new course material, Gerard said.

Initial courses will be offered in the fall, with others to be added by early next year.

Development of the online courses grew from student demand.

"When we surveyed potential students, their desire was for more flexible options and more distance learning options," Gyurko said.

"This will allow us to deliver our masters education at a time that's convenient to them and that fits their lifestyle," she said.