SACRAMENTO
California lawmakers are advancing two bills that would curtail the California State University system's ability to block bachelor's degree programs at community colleges, settling a long-running turf war between the state's higher education sectors.
Senate Bill 960, authored by Sen. Christopher Cabaldon (D-West Sacramento), and Assembly Bill 2694, authored by Assemblymember David A. Alvarez (D-San Diego), would prohibit four-year CSU campuses from objecting to new community college degrees unless they are located in the same geographic area. Currently, CSU campuses hundreds of miles away can and have blocked degree proposals, delaying final approvals by years.
Community colleges can currently create bachelor's degrees to fulfill workforce needs, but only if the programs do not duplicate offerings at four-year universities. The duplication rule has become a flashpoint: CSU has objected to new community college degrees by claiming its own programs already cover the same ground.
Alvarez said the goal is "providing more access to bachelor's degree programs to students who don't have access to many of our CSUs up and down the state." Many community college students are place-bound, unable to relocate for college.
The bills would also allow similar programs to proceed even if a local CSU offers them, provided there is demonstrated workforce need not being met by the four-year university's program.
Both proposals face opposition from the California State University system. But AB 2694 has won endorsements from dozens of community college districts and campuses across California, including the San Diego Community College District and College of the Siskiyous.
Carole Goldsmith, chancellor of the State Center Community College District, said community colleges need clarity on what constitutes duplication. "There has not always been a clear and consistent definition. We just want some clear boundaries," Goldsmith said.
Washington and Florida regulate community college bachelor's degrees with fewer restrictions on duplication, giving California lawmakers a potential template.
