Dive Brief:
- As demand for nurses with bachelor’s degrees grows, community colleges with existing nursing programs have investigated expanding their programs, garnering support from hospitals and health systems but strong opposition from four-year colleges.
- The Wall Street Journal reports a 2014 California bill created an opening for community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees but specifically restricted nursing programs even though California State University has more applicants than it can accept and hospitals are increasingly demanding nurses with bachelor’s degrees, a conflict that plays out in many other states.
- The four-year schools argue they have to turn students away because they don’t have enough qualified instructors, clinical sites, or classroom space, and if community colleges add bachelor’s programs they will create new competition for resources that will ultimately force a spike in tuition.
Dive Insight:
The conflict within nursing education has so far locked many community colleges out of bachelor’s degrees in the field. The Wall Street Journal reports, of 17 states that have or are close to having bachelor’s degrees at community colleges, only 9 allow such programs in nursing. The extra two years often are limited to nonclinical coursework, including classes in community health, research evaluation, and a range of general education topics.
While the argument about avoiding higher tuition costs for BSNs because of greater competition is compelling, community colleges offer a cheaper, more flexible alternative for people who may want to increase their credential from an associate to a bachelor’s while still working full-time. Limiting that access may be worse for the country, overall.