THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 239

Author: Salas (D)

Introduced: 1/18/19

Vote: 21

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/5/19

AYES: Leyva, Wilk, Chang, Durazo, Glazer, McGuire, Pan

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/24/19

AYES: Portantino, Bates, Bradford, Durazo, Hill, Jones, Wieckowski

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 72-0, 3/28/19 (Consent) - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Community colleges: registered nursing programs

SOURCE: California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office

DIGEST:

This bill extends, by five years from January 1, 2020, to January 1, 2025, the sunset on the authorization granted a community college to admit students to a registered nursing program that determines that the number of applicants exceeds its capacity in accordance with the prescribed procedure.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Sets forth the missions and functions of the public institutions of higher education in the state, which includes the California Community Colleges (CCC), the California State University (CSU), and the University of California (UC). (Education Code (EC) § 66000, et seq.)
2. Authorizes CCC districts to use any diagnostic assessment tools that are commonly used in registered nursing programs and approved by the CCC Chancellor and, if, after using an approved diagnostic tool, the CCC registered nursing program determines that the number of applicants to the program exceeds its capacity, the program is authorized to use additional multi-criteria screening measures. Current law, additionally prohibits a CCC district from excluding an applicant to a registered nursing program on the basis that the applicant is not a resident of that district or has not completed prerequisite courses in that district; and, from implementing policies, procedures, and systems, including, but not limited to, priority registration systems, that have the effect of excluding an applicant or student who is not a resident of that district from a registered nursing program of that district. (EC § 78261.3)
3. Authorizes, further, until January 1, 2020, a community college to admit students to a registered nursing program that determines that the number of applicants to the program exceeds its capacity, in accordance with any of the following procedures:
   1. Administration of a multi-criteria screening process, as authorized in EC § 78261.3, that includes, but is not limited to; 1) academic degrees or diplomas held by the applicant; 2) grade point average in relevant coursework; 3) any relevant work or volunteer experience, and; 4) life experiences or circumstances, such as disabilities, income status, veteran status, proficiency in languages other than English, and additional criteria such as personal interviews, letters of recommendation, or personal statements.
   2. A random selection process.
   3. A blended combination of random selection and multi-criteria screening process. (EC § 78261.5)
4. Requires the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) to submit a report on or before March 1, 2015, and annually thereafter to the Legislature and the Governor that examines and includes, but is not necessarily limited to, both of the following:
   1. The participation, retention, and completion rates in CCC registered nursing programs of students admitted through a multi-criteria screening process, disaggregated by the age, gender, ethnicity, and the language spoken at the home of those students.
   2. Information on the annual impact, if any, the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act had on the matriculation services for students admitted through the multi-criteria screening process. (EC § 78261.5 (d))

This bill extends, by five years from January 1, 2020, to January 1, 2025, the sunset on the authorization granted a community college to admit students to a registered nursing program that determines that the number of applicants exceeds its capacity in accordance with a random selection process or a blended combination of random selection and a multi-criteria screening process when the number of applicants exceeds program capacity, as specified.

Comments

1. Need for the bill. According to the author, “AB 239 will extend the sunset on current law to allow CCCs nursing programs to continue utilizing multi-criteria screen tools (MCST) for admissions, which will address the impact on admissions by assessing a candidate’s qualifications and decrease attrition rates by ensuring that entrants into the program are adequately prepared to undertake the course requirements.”

“The CCC graduates over 4,000 nurses each year. Seventy percent of the nurses in California received their education from community colleges. The CCCs developed the MCST to address the impact on nursing admissions. MCST allows the nursing programs to evaluate an applicant’s academic performance, work or volunteer experience, foreign language skills, life experiences and special circumstances, while maintaining diversity and assessing candidate qualifications.”

1. Related report. AB 548 (Salas, Chapter 203, Statutes of 2014), similar to this bill, extended the sunset until January 1, 2020, for nursing program admission process. AB 548 additionally, required the CCCCO to annually submit a report to the Legislature and the Governor that examines, the participation, retention and completion rates in California community college registered nursing programs of students admitted through a multi-criteria screening process and information on the annual impact to the Student Success Act had on the matriculation services for students admitted through the multi-criteria screening process. The report notes that since this extension, the CCCCO has collected data that demonstrates a reduction in attrition for programs that use the multi-criteria screening tool and more nursing programs are using the multi-criteria screening tool currently than in 2014. There are 71 nursing programs in CCCs, 41 use the multi-criteria screening tool. Additionally, the 2018 report finds that colleges who use multi-criteria screening graduate more students, on average, than colleges who do not use it and using the multi-criteria is associated with decreasing the percentage point gap in the retention rates for all subgroups in age and ethnicity/race. The results showed no disproportionate impact by gender.

This bill continues the practice of reviewing multiple aspects of an applicant’s background and merit in relation to enrollment in a nursing program and not solely relying on strict course or diagnostic requirements, coupled with a possible lottery of slots when demand exceeds program capacity.

1. Nursing shortage? Various studies and reports indicate that the demand for nurses is strong and/or project that the demand for nurses will be greater than supply. The California Employment Development Department projected in January 2017 that between 2014 and 2024, California will have 105,000 openings for registered nurses.

The Bureau of Registered Nursing’s Employment Projections 2012-2022, released in December 2013, notes that registered nursing is among the top occupations for job growth and will require an increase of 19 percent by 2022. Between workforce growth and the need for replacements due to retirements and attrition, the Bureau estimates 1.05 million nurses will be needed by 2022.

As noted in a 2017 Legislative Analyst’s Office analysis on the CSU’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program, “…the large number of nursing graduates in the state (which has held reasonably stable at about 11,000 per year) likely is sufficient to ensure an adequate nursing workforce in the state for decades to come. Some hospital officials still report difficulty, however, with recruiting experienced registered nurses for certain specialized positions and attracting nurses to work in certain regions of the state (such as the Inland Empire and rural areas).”

Regardless of industry changes, the use of the admission tool that is being extended by the provisions in this bill is applicable only in circumstances when there are more applicants that qualify for admission than enrollment slots.

Related/Prior Legislation

AB 809 (Quirk-Silva, 2018) would have required that the priority registration for enrollment for members and former members of the Armed Forces of the United States and for members and former members of the State Military Reserve be applied to nursing programs. AB 809 was amended in the Senate to address cyber security.

AB 548 (Salas, Chapter 203, Statutes of 2014) extended the sunset on the CCC districts' Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) programs admissions process until January 1, 2020; and requires the CCC Chancellor to submit a report annually to the Governor and the Legislature that examines and includes specified information on nursing students admitted through the multicriteria screening process.

AB 1559 (Berryhill, Chapter 712, Statutes of 2007) established procedures and criteria that a CCC district would be required to use should it opt to use multicriteria screening measures to evaluate applicants for its registered nursing programs.

SB 1309 (Scott, Chapter 837, Statutes of 2006) enacted a wide range of responses to the nursing shortage, including authorizing grants to CCC districts to expand enrollment, provide diagnostic assessments, developing and offering pre-entry coursework to prospective nursing students, and requiring colleges with attrition rates above 15 percent to use nationally validated assessment tools that determine the likelihood of success in order to qualify for funds.

AB 2177 (Jackson, 2004) would have required CCC ADN programs to implement merit-based admissions and incorporated the four validated factors in the CCCCO’s study. AB 2177 died on the Assembly Floor.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the CCCCO estimates minor and absorbable costs for community colleges to establish a multicriteria screening process for impacted nursing programs. A majority of colleges offering nursing programs already utilize such a process and therefore are not expected to incur additional costs. Additionally, any costs to the CCCCO to review and summarize district reports on student enrollment and outcomes in nursing programs are expected to be minor and absorbable.

SUPPORT: (Verified 6/24/19)

California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (source)

California Community College Association for Occupational Education

California Teachers Association

City of Arvin

City of McFarland

City of Wasco

Foothill-De Anza Community College District

Kern Community College District

One individual

OPPOSITION: (Verified 6/24/19)

None received

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 72-0, 3/28/19

AYES: Aguiar-Curry, Bauer-Kahan, Berman, Bigelow, Bloom, Boerner Horvath, Bonta, Brough, Burke, Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chen, Chiu, Choi, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Cunningham, Daly, Diep, Eggman, Flora, Frazier, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez, Gray, Grayson, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Kiley, Lackey, Levine, Limón, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson, Petrie-Norris, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Blanca Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Ting, Voepel, Waldron, Weber, Wicks, Wood, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Arambula, Calderon, Dahle, Fong, Cristina Garcia, Kamlager-Dove, Rodriguez, Smith

Prepared by: Olgalilia Ramirez / ED. /

6/26/19 15:38:46

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular Session

AB 239 (Salas) - Community colleges: registered nursing programs

Bill Summary:

This bill extends the sunset date (by five years from January 1, 2020 to January 2025) for the use of multicriteria screening processes by community colleges to evaluate applicants for nursing programs that are impacted.

Fiscal Impact:

The Chancellor’s Office estimates minor and absorbable costs for community colleges to establish a multicriteria screening process for impacted nursing programs. A majority of colleges offering nursing programs already utilize such a process and therefore are not expected to incur additional costs. Additionally, any costs to the Chancellor’s Office to review and summarize district reports on student enrollment and outcomes in nursing programs are expected to be minor and absorbable.

Background:

Existing law authorizes community college districts to use any diagnostic assessment tools that are commonly used in registered nursing programs and approved by the Chancellor and, if, after using an approved diagnostic tool, the registered nursing program determines that the number of applicants to the program exceeds its capacity, the program is authorized to use additional multi-criteria screening measures. Current law, additionally prohibits a district from excluding an applicant to a registered nursing program on the basis that the applicant is not a resident of that district or has not completed prerequisite courses in that district; and, from implementing policies, procedures, and systems, including, but not limited to, priority registration systems, that have the effect of excluding an applicant or student who is not a resident of that district from a registered nursing program of that district

Existing law authorizes, until January 1, 2020, a community college to admit students to a registered nursing program that determines that the number of applicants to the program exceeds its capacity, in accordance with any of the following procedures:

1. Administration of a multi-criteria screening process that includes, but is not limited to; 1) academic degrees or diplomas held by the applicant; 2) grade point average in relevant coursework; 3) any relevant work or volunteer experience, and; 4) life experiences or circumstances, such as disabilities, income status, veteran status, proficiency in languages other than English, and additional criteria such as personal interviews, letters of recommendation, or personal statements.
2. A random selection process.
3. A blended combination of random selection and multi-criteria screening process.

Proposed Law:

This bill extends, by five years from January 1, 2020 to January 2025, the sunset on the authorization granted a community college to admit students to a registered nursing program that determines that the number of applicants exceeds its capacity in accordance with a random selection process or a blended combination of random selection and a multi-criteria screening process when the number of applicants exceeds program capacity, as specified.

Related Legislation:

AB 548 (Salas, Chapter 203, Statutes of 2014) extended the sunset on the community college districts' Associate Degree Nursing programs admissions process until January 1, 2020; and, requires the CCC Chancellor to submit a report annually to the Governor and the Legislature that examines and includes specified information on nursing students admitted through the multicriteria screening process.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Senator Connie Leyva, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular

Bill No: AB 239 Hearing Date: June 5, 2019

Subject: Community colleges: registered nursing programs.

SUMMARY

This bill extends, by five years from January 1, 2020, to January 2025, the sunset on the authorization granted a community college to admit students to a registered nursing program that determines that the number of applicants exceeds its capacity in accordance with the prescribed procedure.

BACKGROUND

Existing law:

1. Sets forth the missions and functions of the public institutions of higher education in the state, which includes the California Community Colleges (CCC), the California State University (CSU), and the University of California (UC) (Education Code (EC) § 66000, et seq.).
2. Authorizes CCC districts to use any diagnostic assessment tools that are

commonly used in registered nursing programs and approved by the CCC Chancellor and, if, after using an approved diagnostic tool, the CCC registered nursing program determines that the number of applicants to the program exceeds its capacity, the program is authorized to use additional multi-criteria screening measures. Current law, additionally prohibits a CCC district from excluding an applicant to a registered nursing program on the basis that the applicant is not a resident of that district or has not completed prerequisite courses in that district; and, from implementing policies, procedures, and systems, including, but not limited to, priority registration systems, that have the effect of excluding an applicant or student who is not a resident of that district from a registered nursing program of that district (EC § 78261.3).

1. Further authorizes, until January 1, 2020, a community college to admit students to a registered nursing program that determines that the number of applicants to the program exceeds its capacity, in accordance with any of the following procedures:
2. Administration of a multi-criteria screening process, as authorized in

EC § 78261.3, that includes, but is not limited to; 1) academic degrees or diplomas held by the applicant; 2) grade point average in relevant coursework; 3) any relevant work or volunteer experience, and; 4) life experiences or circumstances, such as disabilities, income status, veteran status, proficiency in languages other than English, and additional criteria such as personal interviews, letters of recommendation, or personal statements.

1. A random selection process.
2. A blended combination of random selection and multi-criteria screening

process. (EC § 78261.5)

1. Requires California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to submit a report on or before March 1, 2015, and annually thereafter to the Legislature and the Governor that examines and includes, but is not necessarily limited to, both of the following:
   1. The participation, retention, and completion rates in California Community College (CCC) registered nursing programs of students admitted through a multi-criteria screening process, disaggregated by the age, gender, ethnicity, and the language spoken at the home of those students.
   2. Information on the annual impact, if any, the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act had on the matriculation services for students admitted through the multi-criteria screening process. (EC § 78261.5 (d))

ANALYSIS

This bill extends, by five years from January 1, 2020 to January 2025, the sunset on the authorization granted a community college to admit students to a registered nursing program that determines that the number of applicants exceeds its capacity in accordance with a random selection process or a blended combination of random selection and a multi-criteria screening process when the number of applicants exceeds program capacity, as specified.

STAFF COMMENTS

1. Need for the bill. According to the author, “AB 239 will extend the sunset on current law to allow CCCs nursing programs to continue utilizing multi-criteria screen tools (MCST) for admissions, which will address the impact on admissions by assessing a candidate’s qualifications and decrease attrition rates by ensuring that entrants into the program are adequately prepared to undertake the course requirements.”

“The CCC graduates over 4,000 nurses each year. Seventy percent of the nurses in California received their education from community colleges. The CCCs developed the MCST to address the impact on nursing admissions. MCST allows the nursing programs to evaluate an applicant’s academic performance, work or volunteer experience, foreign language skills, life experiences and special circumstances, while maintaining diversity and assessing candidate qualifications.”

1. Related report. AB 548 (Salas, Chapter 203, Statutes of 2014), similar to this bill, extended the sunset until January 1, 2020 for nursing program admission process. AB 548 additionally, required the California Community College Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) to annually submit a report to the Legislature and the Governor that examines, the participation, retention and completion rates in California community college registered nursing programs of students admitted through a multi-criteria screening process and information on the annual impact to the Student Success Act had on the matriculation services for students admitted through the multi-criteria screening process. The report notes that since this extension, the CCCCO has collected data that demonstrates a reduction in attrition for programs that use the multi-criteria screening tool and more nursing programs are using the multi-criteria screening tool currently than in 2014. There are 71 nursing programs in CCCs, 41 use the multi-criteria screening tool. Additionally, the 2018 report finds that colleges who use multi-criteria screening graduate more students, on average, than colleges who do not use it and using the multi-criteria is associated with decreasing the percentage point gap in the retention rates for all subgroups in age and ethnicity/race. The results showed no disproportionate impact by gender.

This bill would continue the practice of reviewing multiple aspects of an applicant’s background and merit in relation to enrollment in a nursing program and not solely relying on strict course or diagnostic requirements, coupled with a possible lottery of slots when demand exceeds program capacity.

1. Nursing shortage? Various studies and reports indicate that the demand for nurses is strong and/or project that the demand for nurses will be greater than supply. The California Employment Development Department projected in January 2017 that between 2014 and 2024, California will have 105,000 openings for registered nurses.

The Bureau of Registered Nursing’s Employment Projections 2012-2022, released in December 2013, notes that registered nursing is among the top occupations for job growth and will require an increase of 19 percent by 2022. Between workforce growth and the need for replacements due to retirements and attrition, the Bureau estimates 1.05 million nurses will be needed by 2022.

As noted in a 2017 LAO analysis on the California State University’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program, “…the large number of nursing graduates in the state (which has held reasonably stable at about 11,000 per year) likely is sufficient to ensure an adequate nursing workforce in the state for decades to come. Some hospital officials still report difficulty, however, with recruiting experienced registered nurses for certain specialized positions and attracting nurses to work in certain regions of the state (such as the Inland Empire and rural areas).”

Regardless of industry changes, the use of the admission tool that is being extended by the provisions in this bill is applicable only in circumstances when there are more applicants that qualify for admission than enrollment slots.

1. Prior legislation. AB 809 (Quirk-Silva, 2018) would have required that the priority registration for enrollment for members and former members of the Armed Forces of the United States and for members and former members of the State Military Reserve be applied to nursing programs. AB 809 was amended in the Senate to address cyber security.

AB 548 (Salas, Chapter 203, Statutes of 2014) extended the sunset on the California community college (CCC) districts' Associate Degree Nursing (AND) programs admissions process until January 1, 2020; and, requires the CCC Chancellor to submit a report annually to the Governor and the Legislature that examines and includes specified information on nursing students admitted through the multicriteria screening process.

AB 1559 (Berryhill, Chapter 712, statutes of 2007) established procedures and criteria that a CCC district would be required to use should it opt to use multicriteria screening measures to evaluate applicants for its registered nursing programs.

SB 1309 (Scott, Chapter 837, Statutes of 2006) enacted a wide range of responses to the nursing shortage, including authorizing grants to CCC districts to expand enrollment, provide diagnostic assessments, developing and offering pre-entry coursework to prospective nursing students, and requiring colleges with attrition rates above 15 percent to use nationally validated assessment tools that determine the likelihood of success in order to qualify for funds.

AB 2177 (Jackson, 2004) would have required CCC ADN programs to implement merit-based admissions and incorporated the four validated factors in the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office study. AB 2177 died on the Assembly floor.

SUPPORT

California Community College Association for Occupational Education

California Community Colleges, Chancellor's Office (Sponsor)

City of Arvin

City of McFarland

City of Wasco

Foothill-De Anza Community College District

Kern Community College District

One individual

OPPOSITION

None received

-- END --

Date of Hearing: March 20, 2019

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 239

Author:(Salas) – As Introduced Ver:January 18, 2019

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill extends the sunset from January 1, 2020 until January 1, 2025 for California Community Colleges (CCC) to use multi-criteria screen tools in associate degree nursing (ADN) program admission decisions.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Minor ongoing absorbable costs for the CCC chancellor's office to receive and summarize reports provided by districts.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author:

The CCC graduates over 4,000 nurses each year. Seventy percent of the nurses in California received their education from community colleges. The CCCs developed the MCST to address the impact on nursing admissions. MCST allows the nursing programs to evaluate an applicant’s academic performance, work or volunteer experience, foreign language skills, life experiences and special circumstances, while maintaining diversity and assessing candidate qualifications.

1. Background. Typically, when CCC programs are oversubscribed, colleges use a lottery or waitlist to make admission decisions.

AB 1559 (Berryhill) Chapter 712, Statutes of 2007, allowed CCCs with oversubscribed ADN programs to use multiple criteria to make admission decisions for those programs until January 1, 2016. The process, known as multi-criteria screen tools (MCST), allows colleges in their admissions decisions to consider criteria such as prior certifications and proficiency in a second language.

The goal of allowing colleges to use MCST was to decrease program attrition and increase the number of nurses in the state. (CCCs educate 70% of the state’s nurses.) Moreover, nursing programs are expensive to offer and traditionally have been oversubscribed.

Currently, 77 CCCs operate registered nursing programs, enrolling a statewide total of 14,010 full-time equivalent students in the 2016-17 school year. Seventy one of the 77 colleges responded to a survey about their use of MCST, and 42 out of those 71 colleges (59%) use MCST to select students for their ADN programs. The remainder use one or a combination of methods to select students, such as lotteries and waitlists.

To address concerns about the potential of MCST to discriminate against admitting certain student subgroups into nursing programs, AB 1559 also specified CCCs using MCST were to do a study to ensure their criteria provided opportunities to all students. In addition, CCCs were required to report their admissions policy annually to the CCC chancellor's office along with the weight given to each criterion and demographic information on those admitted and those completing the program.

AB 548 (Salas), Chapter 203, Statutes of 2014, extended the sunset of AB 1559 until January 1, 2020, and required additional annual reporting on the impacts of the MCST on student outcomes and other information.

This bill extends the sunset of AB 548 until January 1, 2025.

1. MCST Program Outcomes. The CCC chancellor’s office 2018 report on nursing program outcomes, as required by AB 548, indicated a small but significant increase in the average number of applicants who graduated from ADN programs using MCST versus programs not using MCST. In addition, the data indicated the increase was evident for all student subgroups.

Analysis Prepared by: Natasha Collins / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: March 5, 2019

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Jose Medina, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 239 (

Author:Salas) – As Introduced Ver:January 18, 2019

SUBJECT: Community colleges: registered nursing programs

SUMMARY: Extends the sunset on the California Community College (CCC) districts' associate degree nursing (ADN) programs admissions process until January 1, 2025.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Sets forth the missions and functions of the public institutions of higher education in the state, which includes the CCC, the California State University (CSU), and the University of California (UC) (Education Code (EC) Section 66000, et seq.).
2. Allows CCC districts to use any diagnostic assessment tools that are commonly used in registered nursing programs and approved by the CCC Chancellor and, if, after using an approved diagnostic tool, the CCC registered nursing program determines that the number of applicants to the program exceeds its capacity, the program is authorized to use additional multicriteria screening measures. Current law also allows a CCC district to: exclude an applicant to a registered nursing program if the applicant is not a resident of that district or has not completed prerequisite courses in that district; and, to implement policies, procedures, and systems, including, but not limited to, priority registration systems, that have the effect of excluding an applicant or student who is not a resident of that district from a registered nursing program of that district (EC Section 78261.3).
3. Authorizes such a community college registered nursing program to admit students in accordance with a random selection process or a blended combination of random selection and a multicriteria screening process, as specified (EC Section 78261.5).

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.

COMMENTS: Purpose of this bill. According to the author, “AB 239 will extend the sunset on current law to allow CCCs nursing programs to continue utilizing multi-criteria screen tools (MCST) for admissions, which will address the impact on admissions by assessing a candidate’s qualifications and decrease attrition rates by ensuring that entrants into the program are adequately prepared to undertake the course requirements.”

“The CCC graduates over 4,000 nurses each year. Seventy percent of the nurses in California received their education from community colleges. The CCCs developed the MCST to address the impact on nursing admissions. MCST allows the nursing programs to evaluate an applicant’s academic performance, work or volunteer experience, foreign language skills, life experiences and special circumstances, while maintaining diversity and assessing candidate qualifications.”

CCC ADN program admissions. In the early 1990s, a controversy arose over merit-based or competitive admissions to ADN programs. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) threatened a lawsuit because students of color were being disproportionately denied admission to impacted programs. In the negotiations that ensued, MALDEF agreed not to bring suit, and the CCC Board of Governors (BOG) agreed to develop program admissions criteria that would be validated as relevant to future performance. BOG regulations in the mid-1990s prohibited ADN programs from using evaluative mechanisms – usually grade point average (GPA) – unless the district could validate its practices in a complex research initiative, a requirement that proved too difficult for colleges without sufficient research staff. CCC districts were told to undertake the research or rely on lottery or other non-evaluative mechanisms. Lotteries and wait lists were instituted; completion rates fell.

The CCC Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) then began a project (as a district grant) to research a full range of variables, seeking those that would be statistically correlated with nursing program student success in the hopes of finding six colleges for which validation could be achieved. In 2002, the CCCCO announced results, finding that four factors best predict student success in completing nursing programs: overall college GPA, English GPA, Core Biology GPA (Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology), and Core Biology course repetitions. (Students with fewer repetitions have a higher probability of success.) CCC districts were then advised in an October 2002 memo that they could begin using these criteria, but in order to do so, local research must first be performed, "If the decision is made to adopt the measures as a prerequisite, and to set cut scores that will result in defined program completion rates, then districts must analyze and monitor the possibility of disproportionate impact on particular groups of students defined in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, age, or disability."

The districts were also warned, "It is appropriate to consider potential risks of implementing this research. The adoption of the prerequisite measures and the implementation of the composite formula could result in rationing access. Unless the implementation of these measures is done carefully according to the guidelines discussed later in this memo, it could conflict with the requirement for open access."

At that time, the CCCCO acknowledged the severity of the nursing shortage and asserted to its ADN program directors, "The biggest part of the solution is in increasing the number of spaces; the lesser part of the solution is in improving success rates."

AB 1559 (Berryhill). Assembly Member Berryhill introduced AB 1559 (Chapter 712, Statutes of 2007), 15 years after the controversy. AB 1559 sought to address the fact that some CCC districts had been left with "non-evaluative" mechanisms, that is, a lottery or a waiting list because they simply had not found the resources to comply with the resource-intensive rules promulgated by the CCCCO (as described above).

AB 1559 authorized community colleges to use multicriteria screening measures and a random selection, or process, blending the two, administered in accordance with specified requirements, if it determines that the number of applicants to that registered nursing program exceeds its capacity.

Mandatory reporting. AB 548 (Salas, 2014) required an annual report to be submitted that required the participation, retention, and completion rates in community college ADN programs of students admitted through a multicriteria screening process, disaggregated by the age, gender, ethnicity, and the language spoken at the home of those students. The language also required information on the annual impact, if any, the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act had on the matriculation services for students admitted through the multicriteria screening process.

The most recent CCCCO Nursing Educational Programs Report released in 2018 noted that 77 CCCs operate registered nursing programs, enrolling a statewide total of 14,010 full-time equivalent students in 2016-17, an increase of 3.6 percent from the previous school year. Of the 77 colleges with nursing programs, 74 were awarded state funds to expand the enrollment capacity of nursing programs and to implement assessment, remediation and retention strategies to decrease attrition rates. In 2016-17, California community college nursing program enrollment increased by 1,514 students (compared to 2015-16s enrollment increase by 1,525 students), and the overall attrition rate was 11.82 percent (compared to 2015-16s of 13.8 percent).

A survey was given to 77 colleges to assess the funds for the nursing program. There were 71 colleges who responded (92.21 percent response rate), while six did not complete the survey. There were 42 out of 71 (59.15 percent) colleges who use MCST in the selection of their applicants, while 29 out of 71 (40.85 percent) used at least one of the following methods: (1) first come first serve; (2) pre-requisite courses; (3) the Chancellor’s Office validation process; (4) modified random selection; and (5) lottery/random selection. Some multi-criteria colleges also use a combination of these five additional methods in selecting students from their qualified applicant pool.

A total of 4,541 students graduated from a registered nursing program from one of the 71 colleges that responded to the CCCCO’s annual survey. Results from a statistical analysis showed a small but significant difference in the average number of applicants who graduated in the program using MCST versus non-MCST. It appears that colleges who use multi-criteria screening graduate more students, on average, than colleges who do not use it.

The Nursing Educational Programs Report also includes an analysis of retention and success rates during the fall 2006 and fall 2016 terms, which serve as a comparison before and after the implementation of AB 1559 for the MCST process. For this analysis, the CCCCO identified 37 MCST colleges, and 28 non-MCST colleges. The results showed no disproportionate impact by gender. However, there are some subgroups in age and ethnicity/race that showed adverse disproportionate impact. In particular, students who are younger than 20 years old, or at least 50 years in age, have disproportionately lower retention and success rates in both fall 2006 and fall 2016. For the ethnicity/race, the African American subgroup had an adverse disproportionate impact in both retention and success rates in fall 2006, but the gap has improved in fall 2016 by eliminating the significant gap in the retention rate. It appears that using the multi-criteria is associated with decreasing the percentage point gap in the retention rates for all subgroups.

Nursing shortage? Various studies and reports indicate that the demand for nurses is strong and/or project that the demand for nurses will be greater than supply. The California Employment Development Department (EDD) projected in January 2017 that between 2014 and 2024, California will have 105,000 openings for registered nurses.

The Bureau of Registered Nursing’s Employment Projections 2012-2022, released in December 2013, notes that registered nursing is among the top occupations for job growth and will require an increase of 19 percent by 2022. Between workforce growth and the need for replacements due to retirements and attrition, the Bureau estimates 1.05 million nurses will be needed by 2022.

As noted in a 2017 LAO analysis on the CSU’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program, “…the large number of nursing graduations in the state (which has held reasonably stable at about 11,000 per year) likely is sufficient to ensure an adequate nursing workforce in the state for decades to come. Some hospital officials still report difficulty, however, with recruiting experienced registered nurses for certain specialized positions and attracting nurses to work in certain regions of the state (such as the Inland Empire and rural areas).”

Prior legislation. AB 809 (Quirk-Silva) of 2018, which required that the priority registration for enrollment for members and former members of the Armed Forces of the United States and for members and former members of the State Military Reserve be applied to nursing programs, passed out of the Assembly before being amended in the Senate to address cyber security.

AB 548 (Salas), Chapter 203, Statutes of 2014, extended the sunset on the CCC districts' ADN programs admissions process until January 1, 2020; and, requires the CCC Chancellor to submit a report annually to the Governor and the Legislature that examines and includes specified information on nursing students admitted through the multicriteria screening process.

AB 1559 (Berryhill), described on page 2 of the analysis.

SB 1309 (Scott), Chapter 837, Statutes of 2006, enacted a wide range of responses to the nursing shortage, including authorizing grants to CCC districts to expand enrollment, provide diagnostic assessments, developing and offering pre-entry coursework to prospective nursing students, and requiring colleges with attrition rates above 15% to use nationally validated assessment tools that determine the likelihood of success in order to qualify for funds.

AB 2177 (Jackson) of 2004, which required CCC ADN programs to implement merit-based admissions and incorporated the four validated factors in the CCCCO study, stalled in the Assembly.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California Community College Chancellor’s Office (Sponsor)

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Kevin J. Powers / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960