A bill that will allow Pikes Peak Community College and other community colleges to offer a four-year bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degrees won final approval Tuesday in the state House. The measure, House Bill 1086, now heads to Gov. John Hickenlooper for signature.

House Bill 1086 would grant community colleges authority to offer the BSN degree in addition to the two-year associate degree they already offer. The bill grew out of discussions involving Pikes Peak and Memorial Hospital of Colorado Springs, which wants its nurses to hold the bachelor of science degree.

The problem is that there just aren’t enough slots open in existing four-year degree programs, or that the cost of those programs are beyond what students can afford, or that the four-year programs aren’t available in some parts of the state.

According to Nancy McCallin, president of the Colorado Community college system, there were 21,000 job listings for nurses with the bachelor of science degree in 2017. Eighty percent of those openings were for entry-level positions. “If there isn’t a workforce shortage here, I don’t know what is,” she told Colorado Politics last month.

Under the bill, students already enrolled in the two-year associate programs at the community colleges would be allowed to continue into the four-year program. That would also apply to graduates of the two-year associate program. Both programs allow graduates to obtain the RN certification. The four-year degree provides management training and is also required for those interested either in nursing education or other graduate programs, like nurse practitioner.

The bill drew objections from some of the four-year institutions, like Colorado Mesa University and the University of Colorado, both from its Anschutz campus and at Colorado Springs. The Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) also had problems with the bill; last year, CCHE was stripped of its authority over degree programs. But when the bill was in the Senate, the commission attempted to persuade lawmakers to amend the bill to allow them approval authority over the BSN program. That failed, but in order to appease the CCHE, and by extension, the Hickenlooper administration, bill sponsors agreed to amendments that would declare a change in the role and mission for the community colleges to allow for the BSN program. The bill also dictates that the board of the community college system work with the CCHE in a joint meeting to “solicit the commission’s input” on the program.

McCallin said it will take at least a year to get their programs ready for students, and that not all community colleges may offer the new degree.

Tuesday’s action required the House to agree to the Senate amendments, and to re-pass the bill, which was unanimous. Sen. Irene Aguilar of Denver, one of the bill’s sponsors, told Colorado Politics she expects the governor to sign it.