It was established in 1969, and represents more than 875 member schools of nursing at public and private universities nationwide.

Members-at-Large: President and Chief Executive Officer (ex officio): Deborah E. Trautman The American Association of Colleges of Nursing offers a number of different scholarships to nursing students around the country for outstanding academic performance, students who aspire to leadership positions in academic nursing, and/or those who are committed to making a positive impact on the nation's health and health care.

They have partnered with companies like Liaison,[2] Uniform Advantage,[3] and Hurst Review[4] to provide thousands of dollars in scholarships each year to students that apply and meet the requirements.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, they have also started a scholarship program to help students that need financial support in order to complete their nursing programs and/or meet life expenses.

It offers the Sister Bernadette Armiger award, one of the most prestigious in nursing.