Proposed Bill Would Allow Certain California Community Colleges to Offer 4-Year Nursing Degrees

A proposed bill in California would give the green light to California Community Colleges (CCC) to start offering bachelor’s degrees in nursing.

California Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, introduced Senate Bill 895, which would create a pilot program that allows up to 15 community college districts with existing nationally accredited associate degree in nursing (ADN) programs to offer a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree.

As of April 2019, there were 77 registered nursing programs across the 116-campus community college system. According to a 2022 report, CCC ADN programs account for more than half of the total nursing schools in the state, graduate about half of the state’s nurses, and satisfy just over 20% of the state’s demand for nurses.

The size of the new programs would be restricted to 25% of a college’s existing ADN classes, or 35 students, whichever is greater.

In a Community College League of California press release, Roth said that a key factor in the state’s nursing shortage is that nursing school capacity has not been able to keep up with demand. He referenced a 2018 statistic that more than 85% of hospitals in California reported that the demand for registered nurses was greater than the available supply.

There is a path forward to help solve this problem, and that path cuts right through our California Community Colleges, Roth said. Our SB 895 creates a pilot program allowing community colleges to offer a bachelor’s degree in nursing, which is increasingly the industry standard, and a requirement for employment in our hospitals.

Community college leaders are very supportive of the legislation.

The healthcare staffing crisis is a major area of need for California’s workforce and a priority for the California Community Colleges, CCC Chancellor Sonya Christian said in the release. We look forward to collaborating with the governor and Legislature, our labor and industry partners, educators, and our colleges on this critical issue.

Previously, nursing students would have to transfer to a California State University (CSU) or University of California (UC) campus to earn their BSN.

Only two UC campuses, UC Irvine and UCLA, offer bachelor’s degrees in nursing. The CSU offers BSN programs at 20 campuses, 10 of which offer an ADN-to-BSN program, allowing community college students studying for their ADN to concurrently enroll at one of the CSU nursing programs.

In a statement to BestColleges, the CSU said it has yet to take a formal position on the bill.

In general, the CSU believes that we can increase the number of nursing students in our state faster by partnering with our community colleges and not duplicating efforts and competing for limited resources, including clinical placements and qualified faculty. Amy Bentley-Smith, director of strategic communications and public affairs for the CSU Office of the Chancellor, said.

The CSU has a long and successful track record of working with our local community colleges’ nursing programs, including developing concurrent enrollment programs that align nursing programs and allow students to earn both associate and bachelor’s at an accelerated pace.

CCC and the CSU have gone back and forth over two-year institutions offering four-year bachelor’s degrees.

The CCC Baccalaureate Degree Program began in 2014. The program expanded to up to 30 baccalaureate degree programs, according to the CCC.

The CCC system currently offers 33 different bachelor’s degree programs, including:

CCC must ensure curricula don’t overlap with programs offered at a nearby CSU or UC campus, under Assembly Bill 927.

Last year, the CSU raised concerns that CCC duplicated seven of its programs. Two of the programs, biomanufacturing at Los Angeles Mission College and public safety management at San Diego Miramar College, were approved in October. The remaining five are still pending review.

The year prior, the CSU flagged three proposed CCC programs as duplicates. All of the proposed programs were eventually approved but not before California legislators got involved.