Yet another reminder

From time to time, we take note of the need for a process to reexamine the Master Plan for Higher Education of 1960. The plan, put together under the leadership of UC president Clark Kerr provided a division of labor between the three segments of higher education: UC, CSU (then the state colleges), and the community colleges (then the junior colleges). At the time, all segments wanted to expand their roles. Although we still talk about the Master Plan as if it exists, there is more and more pressure from CSU to give doctoral degrees and community colleges to offer four-year degrees. And the pressure is dealt with, and acceded to, by the legislature on an ad hoc basis.

From Monday's LA Times:

...More and more of California’s 116 community colleges — struggling to remake themselves under pressure from declining enrollment — are venturing into higher education territory traditionally reserved for four-year institutions, offering bachelor’s degrees that lead to careers in high-demand fields: dental hygiene, bio-manufacturing, automotive technology. In 2021 the state authorized community colleges to offer specialized degrees as long as they did not duplicate those offered by Cal State and University of California campuses.

But the new offerings have stirred friction among Cal State University administrators, who have pushed back on some proposals, arguing they too closely resemble bachelor’s programs offered by Cal State, a skirmish between the two giant systems that highlights their territorial competition for students — and shortcomings in the way the new degrees are approved... 

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-09-25/california-community-colleges-baccalaureate.