More than 250 nurses who applied for a state-run loan forgiveness program will not receive any money this year from the underfunded program, which only had sufficient funds to partially reimburse 56 nurse educators who applied. The Iowa College Student Aid Commission said in a release Monday that 309 nurses applied for funds for 2014-15, a 19 percent increase from the previous year. However, the $80,852 authorized by the Legislature was allocated to 56 nurse educators who were given priority for the program, leaving no funds for the remaining 253 nurses who applied. The nurse educators will receive an average award of $1,850 this academic year. The program was created in 2007 to offer loan repayment assistance to registered nurses employed in the state and nurse educators teaching at eligible colleges and universities in Iowa. Demand for degrees is increasing as more hospitals and health care facilities are requiring nurses to have bachelor’s degrees or higher.