Education Licensing Committee approves multiple program enrollment changes, defers two items after NCLEX and capacity concerns

The Education and Licensing Committee of the California Board of Registered Nursing on Jan. 22 approved a series of curriculum ratifications and enrollment increases for several prelicensure nursing programs, deferred action on the Charles Drew University baccalaureate program while the school implements corrective measures after low NCLEX pass rates, and deferred a feasibility decision for a proposed Gurnick site in San Jose for full board review.

The committee, chaired by Jovita Dominguez, voted on consent items including ratification of minor curricular revisions and continuing approvals for multiple programs. Loretta Melby, the board's executive officer, explained legal and procedural expectations for enrollment requests and clinical placement documentation, citing the board's regulatory standards for clinical facility verification and the EDP I-1 facility verification form.

Why it matters: The committee's actions change capacity at programs across multiple regions of California and reflect continuing scrutiny of clinical placement capacity and student outcomes. The committee deferred or required further review for proposals where the board's nursing education consultants identified noncompliance or where members expressed concerns that adding students could strain regional clinical resources.

Key actions and context

- Charles Drew University (baccalaureate): The committee deferred action on continuing approval after a continuing approval visit identified an area of noncompliance: the program's first NCLEX pass rate for the 2023-24 cohort was recorded as 68.42% (below the 75% benchmark cited in 16 CCR 14 31). Mary Anne McCarthy, the board's supervising nursing education consultant and liaison to the committee, said the program anticipates compliance in 2026 and had submitted a corrective-action progress report. The committee voted to defer final action and asked the program to return to the board in January/February 2026 with progress updates.

- Enrollment increases approved (committee votes): After committee discussion and review of materials, the committee approved enrollment pattern changes or substantive changes for multiple programs. The committee agreed to accept the requests for California State University, Fresno; Career Care Institute (amended by committee compromise to a three-cohort pattern totaling 96 annual enrollments); Chamberlain University (committee approved a reduced pattern of 30 students six times a year, an 80-student annual pattern, rather than a larger multi-year increase requested); Stanbridge University (Orange County campus, approved a 40-student increase to annual enrollment as presented); Westmont College (approved an increase to 36 students three times per year, to 108 annual seats); Xavier College (modest increase from 30 to 40 annual seats); Grossmont College (approved an additional LVN-to-RN cohort of 20 students, bringing annual enrollment to 100); Unitek College (approved addition of a 40-student cohort, for 160 annual seats at the Concord campus). Committee members said many approvals were conditioned on the programs' documentation of clinical placements and resource adequacy in the materials packet.

- Samuel Merritt University: The committee separated the school's multiple-campus request by region. Committee members deferred action on Sacramento-campus requests (the committee asked the full board to review Sacramento requests in February), citing concerns raised by local programs about regional clinical capacity and recent approvals in Region 1. The committee approved increases requested for Samuel Merritt's Oakland campus (both BSN and accelerated BSN cohorts) after the university described clinical agreements and faculty hiring plans.

- Gurnick Medical Arts (San Jose secondary site feasibility): The committee deferred the feasibility decision to the full board (requested February discussion). Gurnick representatives described long-standing presence in the region, current clinical agreements and plans for LVN-to-BSN and generic cohorts; committee members asked for broader board review given recent activity and multiple feasibility approvals in the same region.

Discussion highlights and committee concerns

- Clinical placement capacity: Executive Officer Loretta Melby and nursing education staff summarized regulatory requirements for programs seeking enrollment increases: programs must document availability of clinical placements (EDP I-1 facility verification forms), coordinate with other local programs and regional consortiums, and demonstrate adequate faculty, facilities and classroom resources. Melby told the committee that letters of support or opposition are not required and that the board's 2020 state audit required the BRN to stop soliciting such letters; rather, programs must document outreach and facility verification.

- NCLEX outcomes and corrective plans: Mary Anne McCarthy reported that a continuing approval visit at Charles Drew found a single area of noncompliance tied to NCLEX pass rates. Charles Drew representatives (including Sharon Carr and others) described remediation efforts: curriculum adjustments, added student coaching, dosage-calculation work and intensified post-graduation contact to reduce testing delay. The committee deferred action to allow the program time to implement corrective steps and show outcomes.

- Regional workforce and placement questions: Multiple committee members and public commenters raised concerns about job placement and whether local health systems have capacity to hire large numbers of new graduates. Legal counsel Reza Pejuresh cautioned the committee that labor-market conditions are not a statutory factor for enrollment decisions, whereas clinical supply and program resources are.

Public comment and employers

Representatives from several clinical partners spoke in support of programs or described capacity at their facilities. Calvin Groneweg, CEO of Kindred-affiliated campuses, said the long-term care campuses he represents could host med-surg and geriatric clinical learning experiences. Hospital executives and clinical managers also provided public comment supporting specific programs' abilities to place students.

What the committee asked programs to provide

- Clear EDP I-1 facility verification forms for each clinical site, including other schools using the site and days/shifts of placement. - Quarterly progress reports where programs were placed on deferred status; or return to the full board with updated NCLEX data and documented outcomes (Charles Drew). - Specifics about faculty hiring and timelines to show that faculty and simulation capacity will be in place before new cohorts matriculate.

Ending

The committee completed the Education and Licensing Committee agenda and adjourned the session; several items (Charles Drew continuing approval status, the Sacramento portion of Samuel Merritt's request and the Gurnick San Jose feasibility request) were deferred to the full board for February consideration. The committee urged programs receiving approvals to continue active coordination with local clinical sites and to file the EDP I-1 facility verification information that will allow NEC staff to validate placement plans.