BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
867 (Nava)
Hearing Date: 08/27/2009 Amended: 07/23/2009
Consultant: Dan Troy Policy Vote: ED 8-0
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 867 would authorize the California State
University (CSU) to award a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.
The program would focus on the preparation of clinical faculty
to teach in postsecondary nursing education programs and may
also train nurses for advanced nursing practice or leadership.
If CSU creates a degree pursuant to this bill, it would be
required to report annually on the status of the program to the
California Postsecondary Education Commission, the Legislative
Analyst's Office, and legislative budget subcommittees.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
DNP Several hundred thousand to
over General
over a million, when program
is fully
implemented
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
Current law defines the primary mission of CSU as providing
undergraduate instruction and graduate instruction through the
master's degree level. Current law also provides that CSU may
offer doctoral programs jointly with the University of
California or independent postsecondary institutions with the
approval of the California Postsecondary Education Commission.
CSU is currently authorized to offer a Doctor of Education
degree focused on preparing administrative leaders for K-14
public schools.
This bill would authorize CSU to award a Doctor of Nursing
Practice degree. The primary intent of the degree is to prepare
faculty to teach in postsecondary nursing programs and thus help
address California's nursing shortage. The bill provides that
funding shall be within the enrollment growth provided in the
annual Budget Act and would not alter the ratio of graduate
instruction to total enrollment, and shall not diminish
enrollment growth in undergraduate programs.
There are a variety of reasons for the shortage, according to a
June 2008 study by the California Institute for Nursing & Health
Care (CINHC). While the CINHC indicates that a lack of
educators is a problem, the study notes that entry level
teaching salaries are only about half of what can be earned as
clinical nurse with 20 years of experience. While the report
identified seven critical areas for strategic nursing education
redesign, additional DNP programs were not part of the
recommendations. Similarly, a report by the California Board of
Registered Nurses identifies a lack of clinical sites and
uncompetitive faculty salaries as the significant barriers to
nursing program expansion.
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AB 867 (Nava)
While many details would not be worked out prior to an actual
implementation date, CSU has indicated that when fully ramped up
there may be as many as 90 to 100 students in the program over
three campuses. These students would cost approximately
$800,000 in enrollment growth, if funded at the marginal cost
rate. As doctoral education is generally more costly than
undergraduate education, and nursing education is more expensive
than many other areas, this estimate would understate the actual
cost to the system, though. The relatively high costs to the
system of serving these students will result in a shift from
other programs. Additionally, CSU will likely incur startup and
administrative costs that will lead to either higher
expenditures or a shift from current program resources.
Similar legislation, SB 1288 (Scott, 2008), was held by this
committee last year.