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The nursing workforce in California continues to rely on associate degree in nursing (ADN) programs, which produce 49.6% of the newly graduated RN population (Blash & Spetz, 2020). ADN-prepared nurses in the state reported an average of 8.2 years between receiving their initial nursing education before deciding to return to school and complete their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree (Spetz & Chu, 2020). In response to the body of evidence showing improved patient outcomes associated with baccalaureate-prepared nurses, efforts to increase the proportion of BSN nurses in the workforce have been under way. Furthermore, the National Education Progression in Nursing organization (Altman et al., 2016) has suggested that academic progression in nursing is needed to expand equity and diversity within the profession.
The standard academic progression model for ADN nurses is a 2-year prelicensure program followed by 2 years in an upper-division BSN program, also called the 2+2 model. Unfortunately, in the state of California, the completion of an ADN program in 2 years is far from reality due to the competition for nursing prerequisite classes, the lack of uniform requirements for nursing prerequisites, and the requirement to complete the prerequisites prior to applying to the nursing program. In addition, the public sector universities in California have limited capacity for prelicensure BSN students (Close & Orlowski, 2015). These barriers at the lower and upper division programs create unnecessary delays in the time for ADN nurses to complete their BSN degree.
Background
In the early 2000s, nursing leaders in California engaged in workforce planning by assessing the need for RNs, the academic level of nurses in the state, and modifications essential for the state nursing education system to meet future needs (Boller & Jones, 2010). In response to this activity, a model was introduced as the California Collaborative Model for Nursing Education. This model was implemented to sustain the production of RNs by the public community colleges, yet still provide for a seamless transition to university-level BSN degree completion programs. Close and Orlowski (2015) described the core components of this collaborative model to include: (1) an integrated (coordinated) curriculum to avoid repetition; (2) dual admission and enrollment; (3) shared faculty between ADN...