A procedure used to select students for a nursing program in a community college was evaluated, and attention was directed to the cost effectiveness of the program and the implications for the community of an open-door policy. The selection criteria were based on high school grades in chemistry and biology; scores on the Aptitude Test for Allied Health Programs; and a locally developed noncognitive instrument, the Interest and Background Survey. Assuming students scoring below the established composite score of 200 would have been denied admission to the program, this selective admission procedure would have denied 33 students an opportunity to become nurses, and would have deprived the community of the services of these 33 nurses. The cost per graduate and per licensed nurse for students who met the selective admission criteria and for those who did not qualify was calculated based on faculty contact hours. It cost half as much to produce a qualified nurse when educating a student who met the selective admission criteria as it did when working with those who did not. The conflict that arises from a policy of providing open access to programs while state governments are not providing adequate funding for public postsecondary education is noted. (SW)