Section 89281.

(a) Notwithstanding Section 66010.4, in order to meet specific nursing education needs in California, the California State University may establish a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree pilot program at three campuses chosen by the Board of Trustees to award the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, as described in this section.

(b) The authority to award the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree is limited to the discipline of nursing practice. The Doctor of Nursing Practice degree offered by the California State University through the degree pilot program shall be distinguished from the doctor of philosophy degree offered at, or in conjunction with, the University of California.

(c) The Doctor of Nursing Practice degree pilot program offered by the California State University shall focus on the preparation of clinical faculty to teach in postsecondary nursing education programs and may also train nurses for advanced nursing practice or nurse leadership, or both. The degree pilot program shall not replace or supplant master's degree nursing programs offered, as of January 1, 2010, by the California State University. The degree pilot program shall be designed to enable professionals to earn the degree while working full time.

(d) A Doctor of Nursing Practice degree pilot program established by the California State University is not exempt from any review and approval processes, including those performed by the California Postsecondary Education Commission.

(e) In implementing subdivision (a), the California State University shall comply with the following requirements:

(1) Enrollment and maintenance shall be limited to no more than 90 full-time equivalent students (FTES) in the degree pilot program at all three campuses combined.

(2) Funding on a per FTES basis for each new student in the degree pilot program shall be within the California State University's enrollment growth levels as agreed to in the annual Budget Act. Enrollments in the degree pilot program shall not alter the California State University's ratio of graduate instruction to total enrollment, and shall not diminish enrollment growth in university undergraduate programs. Funding provided from the state for each FTES shall be at the agreed-upon marginal costs calculation that the California State University receives for graduate enrollment.

(3) The California State University shall provide any initial funding needed for the degree pilot program authorized by this article from within existing budgets for academic programs support, without diminishing the quality of program support offered to California State University undergraduate programs. Funding for the degree pilot program shall not reduce undergraduate enrollments at the California State University. It is the intent of the Legislature that the California State University seek private donations or other nonstate funds to fund startup costs for the degree pilot program.

(Added by Stats. 2010, Ch. 416, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2011. Repealed as of July 1, 2018, pursuant to Section 89284.)