BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1295
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 6, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 1295 (Fuller) - As Amended: April 16, 2009
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:9-0 (Consent)
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the establishment of an articulated transfer
pathway for nursing programs between the California Community
Colleges (CCC) and the California State University (CSU).
Specifically, this bill:
1.Defines an "ADN to BSN student" as a person who has earned an
Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) from a CCC in a program
approved by the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN), is licensed
to work in California as a registered nurse, and is applying
to CSU to earn a Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree.
2.Requires the Chancellor's Offices of the CCC and the CSU,
respectively, to appoint representatives to coordinate and
implement articulated nursing degree transfer pathways prior
to the commencement of the 2012-13 academic year and to ensure
CSU does not require an ADN to BSN student to:
a. Undertake coursework that was required by the BRN for
licensure when the student has already satisfied those
requirements by earning the ADN and becoming licensed as a
registered nurse (RN), and
b. Take a nursing prerequisite course if the student has
already taken the same course or course content at the CCC.
3.Requires the Legislative Analyst's Offic e (LAO) to report to
the Legislature and the governor on the status of
implementation plans by March 15, 2011.
FISCAL EFFECT
AB 1295
Page 2
Minor absorbable costs for CCC and CSU representatives to
develop and implement the transfer pathways and for the LAO
report.
Potential savings to the segments and students by eliminating
duplicative course requirements for ADN to BSN students.
COMMENTS
Purpose . According to the author, there are significant
benefits to the state for increasing the number of BSN
graduates, including responding to industry demand, increasing
the number of RNs with broader skills, and increasing the number
of students who will ultimately complete their masters degrees
in nursing and fill nursing faculty positions. It is estimated
that currently only 20% of CCC ADN students continue on to
obtain a BSN. The author notes that at CSU there is little
standardization for recognizing ADN curriculum content and
crediting a RN with an ADN for that knowledge. The lack of a
common transfer pathway results in students having to take
duplicative and/or unnecessary coursework that prolongs their
time to degree and increases degree costs to both the student
and the state. The author asserts that, by streamlining the
transfer process for ADN to BSN students, this bill will reduce
the time to degree for these student by as much as a year,
thereby reducing state and student education costs and ensuring
more focused and appropriate coursework for BSN students.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081