The Board of Regents for Higher Education, in consultation with the State Board of Examiners for Nursing and the Commissioner of Public Health, shall administer a scholarship program for nursing education within the state and shall establish a program for the forgiveness of loans provided by the state to residents for nursing education within the state. The loans shall be forgiven if the resident remains in the nursing field in Connecticut for five years. For purposes of this section, “nursing education” includes any program of study and courses taken to enter or to advance in the profession or to upgrade knowledge and skills. The board of regents, in consultation with the State Board of Examiners for Nursing and the Commissioner of Public Health, shall adopt regulations in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to establish procedures to administer the scholarship program for nursing education and the program for the forgiveness of loans provided by the state to residents for nursing education.