The Cost from Nursing Education and Serving our Communities
The Canadian Nursing Students’ Association (CNSA) raises serious concerns about the growing financial burden facing nursing students as they transition from education into professional practice.
Effective February 1, 2027, the Canadian NCLEX-RN registration fee will increase from $360 to $570 CAD - an increase of $210, or 58.3%.
The CNSA recognizes that the costs associated with administering a secure and reliable licensure examination evolves over time. We also recognize that the NCLEX registration fee has remained unchanged since the year 2000. Thus, after more than two decades, we understand that an adjustment may be necessary.
However, what we cannot ignore is the magnitude of this increase and the financial impact this will have on new nursing graduates.The NCLEX-RN is a mandatory licensing expense. For new nursing graduates, pursuing the RN designation is one of up to six mandatory costs standing between graduation and professional practice.
Upon years of tuition payments and incurring student debt, nursing education often requires 1200+ hours of unpaid and non-subsidized mandatory clinical practicums. New graduates still face examination fees, regulatory application fees, initial registration and licensing fees, professional liability protection, criminal record checks, jurisprudence requirements, and other mandatory expenses before they can begin their formal practice.
For graduates across Canada, the cost to transition from nursing student to Registered Nurse can cost over $1,200, before most are even considered for employment.
The decision to increase the NCLEX-RN registration fee by 58.3% was approved by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) Delegate Assembly, in which Canadian nursing regulatory bodies participate through NCSBN’s membership structure.
This increase represents another significant financial barrier placed in front of nursing graduates before they can even begin practicing.
Therefore, the CNSA calls on the NCSBN and its Delegate Assembly members to review and reconsider the approved 58.3% increase to the Canadian NCLEX-RN registration fee. We strongly urge the consideration of implementing incremental fee adjustments to reduce the immediate financial burden on nursing graduates.
But this issue is bigger than one examination fee.
The CNSA is also calling on provincial, and territorial governments, the Canadian Council of Regulatory Nurse Regulators(CCRNR) and professional nursing organizations to collaborate with the CNSA to implement strategies to reduce the financial barriers associated with becoming a nurse in Canada.
After years of preparing to join the nursing profession, new graduates are already building their capacity to provide direct care, support the healthcare system, and deliver a level of care that would not be possible with them. For this reason, they should not face mounting financial barriers as they begin caring for those vulnerable, our communities, and most importantly, from one human being for another.
As the CNSA represents Canadian nursing students, we understand that costs change over time. What we cannot accept is a system where increasing costs are passed on to the next generation of nurses without proper representation of the population affected and an equally serious commitment to supporting them.
Canada needs nurses. If we are serious about strengthening Canada’s nursing workforce, we must be represented and centre the discussion about making it financially possible for our nursing graduates to enter it.
Scarlett Montserrat Sanabria-Ramos
President
Canadian Nursing Students’ Association (CNSA)
Hugo Tam, RN
Director of New Graduate Engagement
Canadian Nursing Students’ Association (CNSA)
NCSBN Press Release: https://www.ncsbn.org/news/nclex-fee-changes-feb1
——-
For media inquiries please contact president@cnsa.ca and newgrad@cnsa.ca
