California lawmakers advanced legislation that would allow a community college to offer more bachelor's degrees, setting up a potential fourth showdown with Gov. Gavin Newsom over the contentious issue.
Southwestern College
The bill would allow Southwestern College in Chula Vista to create up to four additional bachelor's programs in applied disciplines, such as teaching English to speakers of other languages, website design and forensic science. Its author, Assemblymember David Alvarez, a Democrat representing the district, urged fellow lawmakers to follow his lead in creating bachelor's degree programs at their local community colleges if they have unmet labor market needs.
The measure challenges a 2021 law that Newsom and lawmakers approved, which allows community colleges to develop up to 30 bachelor's degrees per academic year as long as the programs don't duplicate those offered by the University of California and California State University systems. Since then, disagreements over what constitutes duplication have stalled more than a dozen community college bachelor's programs opposed by Cal State.
Both UC and Cal State oppose the latest bill, fearing it will unravel the 2021 compromise. Under Alvarez's bill, the university systems would lose their ability to appeal the programs Southwestern launches.
Students shouldn't be forced to enroll in universities dozens or hundreds of miles from home when a nearby community college can offer a bachelor's degree that local employers need, bill supporters argue. The 2021 law limiting community college bachelor's degree creation "has fallen short," Alvarez said.
Community college bachelor's degrees cost about $10,000 for all four years, significantly less than UC and Cal State programs. That appeals to students who may not qualify for state tuition waivers, though about 60% of California students at UC and Cal State do receive such aid.
But developing new bachelor's programs means hiring additional full-time faculty and administrators, adding costs to public higher education systems at a time when the state projects multi-billion dollar deficits. Creating new degrees also takes two to three years before they're offered to students.
California's community colleges currently award around 300 bachelor's degrees annually, compared to around 160,000 at UC and Cal State combined.
