If enacted, a bill currently being considered by the Colorado legislature will enable the Colorado Community College System (CCCS) to begin offering a four-year nursing degree.

HB1086, which has already been passed in the House, would allow CCCS to offer a four-year program culminating in a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing degree — encouraging affordability for all.

State Rep. Janet Buckner (D-Aurora), who co-sponsored the bill with Rep. Paul Lundeen (R-Monument), highlighted the significance of allowing students from all segments of the population to better access professional training, particularly in a state that typically sees greater demand than supply in the nursing field.

“Nursing students come from a diverse range of socioeconomic backgrounds, and it’s important to me that we make sure they have an equally diverse range of opportunities to acquire additional training,” Buckner said.

CCCS offers low-cost tuition with many of its colleges in rural areas. Colorado community colleges help encourage graduating students to work in-state via such opportunities as recruiting high school students for college credit courses and ensuring streamlined credit transfers to four-year schools.

At least 500 jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree in nursing remain vacant in the state annually, CCCS says. If Colorado acts now to recruit additional nurses, it could prevent a shortage of 4,500 nurses by 2024, officials stated.

CCCS comprises 13 colleges across 39 campuses. Its two-year nursing program at Arapahoe Community College was ranked among the top 20 percent of nursing schools in the western U.S. by NurseJournal.org in 2015.