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CCBA Colleagues & Friends:

On behalf of the National Community College Baccalaureate Association (CCBA) Board of Directors, I am writing in response of Governor Newsome’s veto of SB 895 and AB 2104, which would have granted 10 of the California Community College Districts the opportunity to pilot Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing degree (BSN) programs.

This decision represents a missed opportunity, for an already suffering field, that will significantly impact California’s healthcare systems, workforce and, most importantly, the citizens impacted by inconsistent care. HRSA (March 2024) projects that California will have a severe RN shortage by 2036 with a vacancy rate of 26 percent which equates to a need of more than 106,000 nurses. These astounding numbers could be addressed with the passage of SB 895 and AB 2104. It’s a matter of public health for all Californians.

This veto sends a message to the colleges and students that the state is not interested in expanding access to these critically needed programs and addressing the current and projected nursing shortages. University education has deep debt implications for California’s most disproportionately impacted students and families. Additionally, the veto jeopardizes the growing and highly effective national community college baccalaureate (CCB) movement, as it makes a statement to institutions across the country that follow this issue and look to California to set standards and pave the way for new and important directions in higher education.

Making a case to support California’s community college BSN programs is easy when the facts are examined:

• BSN programs educate nurses in health promotion, community health, and systems management. Studies show that BSN-prepared nurses contribute to improved patient outcomes, including lower mortality rates, fewer readmissions, and shorter hospital stays. This is why hospitals and medical centers seek out nurses with BSNs. In fact, many facilities require nurses to have BSN degrees.

• Not enough BSN programs are available to meet demand. In San Diego County, for example, just two public universities offer a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program: San Diego State University, with an annual enrollment of 200 students, and California State University San Marcos, with an annual enrollment of 689 students. Tuition and fees for a full-time student at both schools completing the program in four years total more than $32,000. And many students need to go out of state and pay an even higher cost. Securing a bachelor’s degree at your local community college would cost, in total, less than $15,000.

• The state’s community colleges are more than up to the responsibility of offering BSN programs in line with Senate Bill 895. Two local colleges, San Diego City College at No. 2 and Grossmont College at No. 6, are ranked on the RegisteredNursing.org list of best nursing programs in California, ahead of most four-year colleges and universities in the state. Programs at Imperial Valley College, Palomar College, Southwestern College and MiraCosta College also fall within the top 100 schools in the state. Most recently, nursing graduates from Palomar College, San Diego City College and Imperial Valley College boasted a 100 percent pass rate on the rigorous NCLEX-RN exam required for graduates to become a licensed registered nurse. Additionally, 90 percent of graduates at every other local community college’s nursing program in the region also passed the exam.

• National and state data shows that CCB students who are over age 30 and working adults, DO NOT match the same demographic as traditional university students, thus eliminating the perceived and unsubstantiated competition the universities have politicized.

• Fifty-six percent of students who graduated from California’s piloted CCB programs said they would not have pursued a bachelor’s degree if it hadn’t been offered at their local community college.

• California community college bachelor’s programs help keep graduates in their rural communities and eliminate physical obstacles like 270 miles and a five and a half hour drive and financial barriers students face when pursuing labor-ready bachelor degrees and careers.

• California’s CCBs reduce equity gaps. Sixty-three percent of students in the pilot cohorts were students of color, and 75 percent belonged to one or more underrepresented groups including first-generation college students, those struggling financially or experiencing homelessness and others with disabilities or geographic limitations.

These numbers speak volumes about the success of California’s Community College bachelor’s programs and the profound potential impact additional workforce-focused degrees will deliver to local communities and families. The CCBA supports California’s Community Colleges as they aim to invest in future generations by offering quality higher education opportunities to more residents.

It is time for California to prove to its citizens, healthcare systems, and students, especially underrepresented populations, that they are at the forefront of the state’s higher education system and more valuable than politics by supporting community colleges and their mission to provide access to all, not when it is convenient but now when it is needed most. It’s a matter of public health.

Sincerely,
Dr. Angela Kersenbrock
President, Community College Baccalaureate Association