Proposals could create more affordable four-year pathways tied to regional workforce needs

California students could eventually have more opportunities to earn bachelor’s degrees without leaving their local community colleges under a pair of bills now awaiting action from Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Senate Bill 960 and Assembly Bill 2694 would revise the rules governing California’s Community College Baccalaureate Degree Program, which allows selected community colleges to offer four-year degrees primarily in fields tied to workforce demand.

The legislation comes as California continues searching for ways to make four-year degrees more affordable and accessible, particularly for students who cannot easily relocate or commute to a California State University or University of California campus.

Community colleges already offering or approved to offer bachelor’s degrees include several in Southern California. El Camino College offers a pathway in respiratory care, while Crafton Hills College has a respiratory care bachelor’s program and Moreno Valley College offers emergency management. Victor Valley College has also been approved for a respiratory care bachelor’s degree.

For students in Carson, the South Bay and the Inland Empire, the expansion could be significant. Community colleges are often the first point of entry into higher education for working adults, first-generation college students and families seeking lower-cost options.

Under current law, community colleges generally cannot create a bachelor’s degree program that duplicates a program already offered by the CSU or UC systems.

SB 960 and AB 2694 would change how those conflicts are evaluated, allowing additional flexibility in areas where there is a demonstrated workforce need or where students do not have reasonable access to an existing four-year program.

The final legislation, however, also places new restrictions on how quickly community colleges could expand.

Beginning in 2028, colleges would face performance and planning requirements when seeking approval for new bachelor’s programs. The legislation also limits the number of baccalaureate programs individual community college districts may offer.

That compromise has produced an unusual divide in higher education.

The California State University system has endorsed the final package, saying it provides additional opportunities for students while preserving coordination between California’s public higher-education systems.

The California Community Colleges system, which had pushed for broader authority to offer bachelor’s degrees, has objected to provisions added late in the legislative process that could restrict how many programs colleges are able to establish.

Still, the larger issue reaches beyond the debate between institutions: who has access to a bachelor’s degree, and how much should obtaining one cost?

California Community Colleges says its baccalaureate initiative is intended to address workforce shortages while providing students with a more affordable path to four-year degrees.

The programs also tend to be highly specialized.

Rather than duplicating traditional university majors across the board, community college bachelor’s programs have included fields such as respiratory care, dental hygiene, automotive technology, biomanufacturing, emergency management and industrial automation.

That distinction could be particularly important in the Inland Empire and South Bay, where health care, logistics, manufacturing, public service and technology employ large numbers of workers.

For students already balancing jobs and family responsibilities, being able to complete a four-year degree at a nearby community college can also eliminate some of the transportation, housing and relocation costs associated with attending a university farther from home.

The bills are not yet law. Both have cleared the Legislature and have been transmitted to Newsom for consideration.

If approved, the new system would begin taking shape in 2028.

For families, however, the ongoing debate signals something larger about California higher education: the traditional path from high school to a four-year university may no longer be the only route to a bachelor’s degree.