SECTIONS 89270-89278 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 89270-89278

89270. This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Entry-Level Master's Nursing Programs Act.

89270.5. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) In order to meet a growing demand for registered nurses and
nurses with master's of science in nursing degrees in this state, the
number of positions in professional nursing programs must be
increased.
(b) The shortage of faculty for schools of nursing is a recognized
problem not only in California, but nationally.
(c) Nurses with master's of science in nursing degrees are an
important academic resource in nursing and are needed to fill new
positions in professional nursing programs as well as to replace
retiring faculty.
(d) Qualified applicants with baccalaureate degrees in nonnursing
fields who are seeking a master's of science in nursing degree must
first complete a registered nurse prelicensure program. These
students compete for limited positions in these undergraduate
prelicensure programs and are placed on the same lists for admission
as students who have not earned baccalaureate degrees.
(e) Most registered nurse prelicensure programs are
oversubscribed. Applicants with baccalaureate degrees have a proven
academic capability and are more academically advanced than are
students who have not earned baccalaureate degrees and with whom they
compete for admission to nursing programs.
(f) Currently, one campus within the California State University
system offers an innovative graduate level program for students with
nonnursing baccalaureate degrees. This program creates a registered
nurse prelicensure program approved by the Board of Registered
Nursing that qualifies the student for licensure as a registered
nurse and also awards a master's of science in nursing degree upon
completion of the school's master's degree program.
(g) This entry-level master's program graduates new licensees,
offers greater flexibility for prospective nursing students, and adds
to the pool of nurses with a master's of science in nursing degree.

89272. As used in this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Entry-level master's program" means a program of study in
nursing that provides qualified applicants who have a baccalaureate
degree in a nonnursing field with the didactic knowledge and clinical
skills in the prelicensure sequence of the program to meet the
qualifications for licensure as a registered nurse, followed by a
second sequence leading to a master's degree in nursing.
(b) "Entry-level master's program prelicensure sequence" means
that portion of the entry-level master's program that qualifies the
student for licensure as a registered nurse.
(c) "Prelicensure program" means the courses of instruction
prescribed by the Board of Registered Nursing for licensure, in a
program in this state accredited by the board for training registered
nurses, or in a school of nursing outside of this state that, in the
opinion of the board at the time the application is filed with the
board, are equivalent to the minimum requirements of the board for
licensure established for an accredited program in this state.
(d) "Newly established programs" means any California State
University entry-level master's program established or supported with
supplemental funds provided under this article.
(e) "Private partners" means any organization or foundation that
helps fund a California State University entry-level master's program
for the purpose of establishing or expanding access to the
California State University entry-level master's program.
(f) "Supplemental funds" means all sums appropriated to the
California State University through the annual Budget Act for the
purpose of establishing or expanding access to the California State
University entry-level master's program in accordance with this
article.

89274. (a) The Chancellor of the California State University, in
consultation with the Board of Registered Nursing, shall determine
which campuses are eligible for supplemental funds for establishing
entry-level master's programs in nursing at campuses of the
California State University according to this section and according
to all of the following criteria:
(1) The campus has a nursing program that is approved by the Board
of Registered Nursing.
(2) In order to be eligible for funds, a program shall include an
18-month entry-level master's program prelicensure sequence that is
followed by an 18-month entry-level master's program sequence.
(3) In order to be eligible for funds, a California State
University program shall plan for, and ultimately enroll, at least 10
students with bachelor's degrees in the entry-level master's program
prelicensure sequence, but no campus may receive funds for more than
20 new prelicensure students per academic year.
(4) Appropriated funds may not supplant funds that would otherwise
be budgeted for graduate or undergraduate nursing education.
(b) This section does not limit or restrict the maximum number of
students that can be enrolled in the entry-level master's
prelicensure sequence or the entry-level master's program.

89276. (a) The chancellor shall annually establish the total amount
of funding necessary to support four entry-level master's degree
programs in nursing at the California State University.
(b) Funding provided under this article may not exceed one-half
the annual actual cost of the entry-level master's program.
(c) The California State University may enroll students in both
oncampus credit courses and self-supporting Extended Education
courses in order to recoup the remaining annual actual program costs
in excess of any supplemental funding that is allocated pursuant to
this article.
(d) The chancellor shall allocate supplemental funds pursuant to
subdivision (a), granting first priority to campuses that fulfill one
or both of the following criteria:
(1) Primarily serve, or train nurses to serve, those counties with
the lowest ratio of registered nurses per 100,000 residents.
(2) Offer programs that are established in collaboration with
private industry partners, if the private industry partner provides
financial assistance in the form of one or more of the following:
(A) Direct financial support.
(B) Tuition or student fee assistance.
(C) In-kind nursing faculty, staff, or mentor assistance.
(e) If no funding is provided in the annual Budget Act to fulfill
the obligations of this article, the California State University is
encouraged to make entry-level master's program courses available to
students through self-supporting Extended Education programs, whereby
students pay the full cost of instruction, as determined by the
individual campus.
(f) On or before January 1 of each year, the chancellor shall
prepare and submit to the Legislature a report regarding the status
of the California State University entry-level master's programs,
including, but not necessarily limited to, the number of programs
created, the number of licensed registered nurses resulting from the
entry-level master's prelicensure program component, and the number
of nurses with a master's degree in nursing that have graduated from
California State University entry-level master's programs.

89278. This article shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2014, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2014, deletes or extends
that date.