CSUN closes accelerated program

Nursing curriculum began in 2006

California State University, Northridge closed its Accelerated Bachelors of Nursing Registered Nursing Program indefinitely this August.

According to CSUN Nursing Department Chair Dr. Marianne Hattar, the university decided to look into the accelerated nursing program due to university finances and program costs.

“CSUN decided that they have never committed to high-impact clinical programs,” Hattar said.

The A-BSN program began in 2006 as a pre-licensure program for second degree non-nursing graduates. Students interested in the 15-month program were required to complete a B.A. or B.S. degree in any field and the program’s prerequisite courses before being admitted.

According to Hattar, CSUN’s A-BSN program was the only pre-licensure, state-supported licensing program in the San Fernando Valley. The program performed above excellent, with a 100 percent graduation rate and nearly 99 percent retention rate during its 10 years.

Hatter said it also received initial and ongoing approval from the California Board of Registered Nursing and zero recommendations from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education during its operations.

Debra Wallace, a parttime CSUN faculty member and nurse living in Stevenson Ranch, said nearly all students passed the NCLEX RN license exam the first time. She said more than 60 percent of graduates work in Medically Underserved Areas or Medically Underserved Populations.

The success of the program begs the question: why is CSUN closing its

A-BSN operations? This is a question many of its faculty, including Wallace, are asking.

“The program has had such a positive impact for so many students that cannot afford the cost of private school tuition,” she said. “I am alarmed by CSUN administration’s stated intention to close its nursing program that graduates 60 new Registered Nurses) per year.”

Many nursing faculty members are concerned that canceling the program will create a void within CSUN’s nursing department, where second-degree students are seen as academically diverse.

“Even a temporary closure will undermine program quality by creating both loss of clinical sites and well-qualified faculty,” Wallace said.

According to Wallace, the 20 faculty members working within the program did not have warning of its impending closure and will be losing their jobs. She said she is concerned that stakeholders were not consulted

before this decision was made.

“Employers and legislators need to step-in to increase support for accelerated nursing programs,” she said. “We, as a community of the Cal State University of Northridge Nursing Department, are determined to stay focused on the issue.”

CSUN’s Accelerated BSN online information page states that the “option is on hiatus indefinitely” as of fall 2017. Cohort 19, the current group of A-BSN students, will be the last of the program. They will complete their degrees in fall 2017.

Many students attending College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita begin pursuing a BSN degree while they are completing their Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) through universities like CSUN. COC students can continue this dual enrollment at California State University, Dominquez Hills; California State University, Los Angeles; Concordia University-Irvine; and National University.