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CA community colleges adds new bachelor's degrees
California approved new community college bachelor's degrees, signaling a major shift in the long-standing rivalry between the state's two largest higher education systems.
LOS ANGELES - California’s higher education landscape is seeing a historic shift as community college officials approved three new bachelor's degree programs that had been stalled by institutional friction.
The decision marks a bold assertion of authority by the community college system over the California State University (CSU) system regarding program duplication.
What we know:
The three newly-approved programs are a cyberdefense degree at Moorpark College, a physical therapy assistant degree at San Diego Mesa College, and a transborder environmental design degree at Southwestern College.
These programs were approved after the community college chancellor’s office reviewed a report from WestEd, a nonprofit that determined duplication would be minimal.
Specifically, the report noted that San Diego Mesa’s program and the "competing" kinesiology degree at CSU San Bernardino were 95 miles apart and led to different careers.
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James Todd, vice chancellor of academic affairs, defended the move, stating, "An objection is not a finding of duplication." Additionally, CSU has recently dropped objections to three other programs at Oxnard, Cerritos, and Santiago Canyon colleges.
What we don't know:
It remains unclear how the CSU system will formally respond to this bypass of their objections.
The future of ten other proposed degrees that remain in limbo is also undecided.
What's next:
The battle now moves to the State Capitol.
The Legislature may take up Senate Bill 960, which would legally bar universities from filing objections unless they are geographically close to the community college.
Meanwhile, advocates are eyeing a 2028 ballot measure, backed by polling showing 80% of likely voters support expanding these degree options.
The Source: This report is based on findings by EdSource and statements from the California Community College Chancellor's Office and the California State University system.