New state bill could allow San Diego City College to offer bachelor’s in nursing

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — As a bill allowing California community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees in nursing awaits its fate on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, San Diego City College is preparing for the possibility that it could be among the first to introduce the expanded program.

Senate Bill 895, introduced by state Sen. Richard Roth (D-Riverside), builds off a law passed two years ago that opened up the door for state community colleges to offer bachelor’s programs, granted they are not duplicative of existing programs at the state’s public four-year universities.

Under the new bill, this stipulation barring repetition of public colleges’ baccalaureate programs would be amended to allow a handful of community colleges with existing associate’s in nursing the ability to expand it to add a full bachelor’s.

San Diego City College, which was one of the first schools to introduce a bachelor’s degree with the previous change for community colleges, is hopeful it will again be able to lead the charge on the expansion into baccalaureate nursing programs, should Newsom sign SB 895.

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Proponents of the bill laud it as a potential gamechanger for nursing education, making it more accessible to low-income students while bolstering the number of working nurses at local hospitals in an effort to address longstanding staffing shortages.

“For San Diego City College, when they gain their associate’s degree, they are prepared to be safe, novice, entry-level nurses,” Dr. Erelyn Binegas, chair of the nursing department, said in an interview with FOX 5/KUSI.

“When they do get back, they go back for their leadership and public health license or certificate so they can actually work in the community as public health nurses,” she continued. “That opens up a lot of opportunities for them.”

However, opponents, including the California State University system, argue it could create unnecessary competition between existing public nursing programs and place constrains on their resources, such as faculty and clinical placements.

“Community colleges lack the infrastructure needed to administer baccalaureate nursing degree programs,” the California Association of Colleges of Nursing wrote to the legislature opposing SB 895, adding that it could strain the already limited resources available for nursing programs.

“CACN believes that we can increase the number of nursing students in our state faster by partnering with our community colleges and not duplicating efforts,” the association continued.

Nursing as an educational route is currently one of the most expensive and impacted degrees at universities across California.

State-imposed restrictions on class sizes often complicate community college students’ efforts to make the jump from their associate degree program.

Given limited spaces in public universities’ nursing programs, many nursing students are forced to turn to the higher-cost programs at private or independent instructions — educational settings that charge significantly more in tuition, pricing out lower-income students.

As CalMatters reported last year, private institutions on average cost nursing students about $130,000, compared to about $39,000 at CSU or University of California schools. A community college bachelor’s degree would be an even smaller fraction of that cost.

“My wife is a nurse,” said Julius Lozada, a second-year nursing student at City College. “She graduated with the ADN but she had to go through a private college [to get her BSN], which is an exorbitant amount of money.”

And yet holding a bachelor’s degree in nursing has become a growing necessity for local nursing students, especially if they want to remain in San Diego.

While registered nurses are not legally required to hold a degree and those who go through associate programs leave with their license, a number of health care facilities have also begun to prioritize hiring nurses that have or are in pursuit of a bachelor’s — a prerequisite typically enforced to obtain and maintain Magnet Recognition.

“The hiring process has changed,” said Chris Crane, associate professor of nursing at City College. Crane is also an alumni of the college’s nursing program. “It is required at this point that these students obtain a BSN.”

“When I graduated with my ADN, I was unable to get a hospital job because the local hospitals were prioritizing BSN-prepared, registered nurses — even though we take the same exam and we are capable,” Crane continued. “This program, if we’re allowed to implement it, would allow these students to quickly and easily transition into that BSN role.”

This streamlined process, supporters say, could create a more feasible pathway for students to obtain a bachelor’s, find a nursing job and “hit the ground running” at a time when the healthcare industry is facing significant staffing shortages.

Some estimates put this shortfall at about 36,000 licensed nurses across the state, but it is expected do grow even more by 2030.

“Having more nurses that are able to get their bachelor’s degree, especially at an affordable rate compared to the CSU options, that’s just going to overall increase the amount of nurses that are in the pool,” said Joelle Chavez, another second-year nursing student at City College.

Whether SB 895 creates more competition for programs remains an open question. While it could create some short-term resource pressures, proponents say SB 895 could ultimately boost the number of clinical placements and qualified nursing faculty.

“I feel like we are partners. We’re working together, we’re working collegially to expand this nursing shortage,” said Dr. Dometrives Armstrong, associate dean of nursing at City College. “We’re supposed to be partners and we still work together as a team. That’s what nurses do.”

City College also argues the bill would not result in community colleges siphoning off students who would otherwise prefer to attend a four-year public university.

“UCs and CSUs support or provide education to different students and community colleges,” City College public information officer Cesar Gumapas said. “We serve our underrepresented, underserved students in our communities.”

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Gov. Newsom has until Oct. 30 to either sign or veto the bill. Should it sign it into law, there would be an application process for community colleges to participate in the program.

If City College is selected, the earliest it would be able to welcome bachelor’s of nursing students would be in the fall of 2025, Armstrong said. Before then, the curriculum would need to be worked out and the school would need to secure resources for the program.

The school’s brand-new cyber defense and analysis degree, the school’s first bachelor’s program in its over 110-year history, would serve as a roadmap for expanding its nursing program.

“I do think that it is a blueprint for us, so we’re not going in blind. We have something that has already been built,” Crane said. “I know that it will be a wonderful resource for us as we build our program.”

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