Community college baccalaureate: A fixed effects, multi-year study of the influence of state policy on nursing degree production

For the past 10 years, a growing number of community colleges in the US have begun to offer baccalaureate degrees across a range of targeted programmes including business, education, and nursing. This study examines whether community college baccalaureate policies result in an increased production of nurses - currently a policy priority in nearly every state across the country. The findings suggest that, even in the early stages of adoption, states allowing the Bachelor's of Science in Nursing at community colleges produce more nurses than non-adoption states. It also appears that these gains do not come at the expense of private colleges or public 4-year institutions. Nursing presents a unique set of opportunities and challenges and the findings reported here may not generalize to other disciplines.