BRN panel places Merritt College nursing program on warning with intent to revoke after program director resignation looming

The Board of Registered Nursing Education and Licensing Committee recommended placing Merritt College's associate-degree nursing program on warning status with intent to revoke after board staff said the program will not have a program director on July 1 and has been in noncompliance for more than two years.

Committee chair Jovita Dominguez said the committee had to act because a nursing program cannot operate without a program director. Mary Anne McCarthy, the board's supervising nursing education consultant, told the committee the program's assistant director recently retired (May 30) and the current program director plans to retire June 30, leaving the program without either leader on July 1. McCarthy said the board historically must consider immediate action, including an emergency board meeting, if a program lacks a director.

The committee's recommendation asks Merritt College to submit a hiring plan for a program director, an assistant director and additional faculty by the full board meeting in August and to return to the Education and Licensing Committee (ELC) with quarterly progress reports until the noncompliances are cleared. The committee also voted that the college should consider borrowing an interim program director from a nearby community college or appointing an instructor with two years'teaching approval to serve as assistant director and cover the director duties temporarily.

Merritt representatives said the Peralta Community College District and the faculty union negotiated a one-time memorandum of understanding that raises the starting salary for the nursing director role by about $40,000 above their initial advertised amount (the program said the new floor is about $113,376 with higher steps up to roughly $122,000). David (Mr. Johnson), representing Merritt College, said one candidate had accepted and then withdrawn; he said the district is re-engaging candidates and will reach out to nearby program directors for interim help. Dawn, the program's remaining administrative instructor, told the committee the program has 21 students currently enrolled, all projected to graduate May 2026, and that faculty have agreed to cover required courses so students can complete.

Committee members and staff pressed for immediate confirmation that a director would be in place by July 1. Executive officer Loretta Alori Melby and the committee made clear that if a director is not in place by that date, staff will notify the full board and the BRN will convene an emergency meeting to consider removal of program approval and student reassignments. The committee made a formal motion to defer final action on continuing approval while placing the program on warning status with intent to revoke, and to require the August hiring plan and quarterly reporting. The motion passed with committee members Jovita Dominguez, Dolores Trujillo and Tricia Winn voting yes.

Merritt's problems noted in the board packet included minimal progress since a 2023 continuing approval visit, high early-semester attrition, and faculty shortages. McCarthy and other BRN staff offered immediate technical assistance: a temporary program director can be a currently approved program director at another college and does not have to be physically on campus, she said. The BRN will also forward offers of assistance or volunteers to the college; staff said they already forwarded one emailed offer during the meeting.

The committee emphasized the board's goal is corrective action and keeping programs in compliance where possible, but staff said the first priority is protecting students and ensuring programs have the required administrative leadership.