Need for a New Master Plan

From time to time, we have noted the need for a new Master Plan for Higher Education. The original plan created a division of labor between the three segments which is disappearing. CSU wants to do more graduate education. The community colleges want to do more 4-year degrees, in effect doing what CSU does. All of these mission-creep developments occur on an ad hoc basis, sometimes with support from the legislature.

Here is the latest ad hoc development from the Ventura County Star:

The Ventura County Community College District officially announced the new Bachelor of Science in Applied Biomanufacturing program after getting the green light from the California Community Colleges Board of Governors during its Jan. 23 meeting. “Moorpark College aims to provide our community with educational opportunities that lead to careers that help them build wealth — not just a living wage — and salaries that lift students out of poverty into solid middle-class professional jobs," college president Julius Sokenu said in a statement. The college will continue to offer its associate degree in biotechnology, a flagship program that was built on connections with the area's large biotech industry.

UC president Clark Kerr hands Master Plan
to Governor Pat Brown

The new baccalaureate program is the first such offering at a Ventura County community college. It came out of a 2021 decision by the state Legislature to extend and expand a 2014 pilot bill that added bachelor's degrees to 15 community colleges around California. The 2021 bill authorized the state community college board to accept an additional 30 programs each year. In September, Moorpark College's new program was on the state board's agenda alongside a slate of nine other programs, but was among three proposals delayed by objections from the California State University system. CSU officials worried that Moorpark College would "duplicate" CSU programs, according to board minutes...

Full story at https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/-career-education/moorpark-college-to-offer-ventura-countys-first-community-college-bachelors-degree/ar-AA178kdR.

Where are Clark Kerr and Pat Brown when we need them?