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| UC President Clark Kerr hands Master Plan to Gov. Pat Brown |
From time to time, we have pointed to the need for a new Master Plan for Higher Education. The old one actually expired in 1975, but people continue to refer to it as a live document. It outlined roles for each of the three segments of public higher ed, UC, CSU, and community colleges.
Nowadays, the division of labor envisioned in the 1960 document, is eroding on an ad hoc basis. The most visible element of erosion is the move to community colleges to offer specialized four-year bachelors degrees. From EdSource:
Six additional bachelor’s degree programs have been approved across California’s community colleges, the state chancellor’s office for the college system announced. With the approvals, there are now 39 bachelor’s degree programs that are being offered or will soon be offered across the community college system. The latest programs to be approved include respiratory care at Antelope Valley College, paramedicine at College of the Siskiyous, dental hygiene at both Cypress College and Oxnard College, paralegal studies at Santa Ana College and respiratory care therapist at Victor Valley College...
There are now 32 different community colleges across the state with at least one bachelor’s degree program. A few colleges have multiple offerings, including Antelope Valley, Cypress and Santa Ana with their latest approvals. The number of bachelor’s degrees being offered across the community colleges will likely continue to increase. In January, colleges submitted another 13 program applications that are currently under review. Under a 2021 state law, the community college system can approve up to 30 bachelor’s degrees annually, across two cycles each year...
Because the community colleges can’t create bachelor’s degree programs that are already available at CSU and UC, that has prevented them from offering degrees in some fields with worker shortages, such as nursing. Newly proposed legislation aims to change that: Senate Bill 895 would allow 15 community colleges to begin offering bachelor’s degrees in nursing...
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