Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 850 (SB 850) into law on Sept. 29, which will allow 15 community colleges across California to award four-year degrees. Since 1960, the California Master Plan for High Education has not been modified for bachelor’s degrees, unlike the other 21 states that offered such programs.
SB850 was created by State Senator Marty Block with the idea that California needs to open up the window of opportunity for those within the workforce that increasingly demands job applicants to have high levels of education at entry-level positions. 15 community colleges will begin the pilot programs in which they will offer one degree in the proposed field. Because several colleges anticipated for this bill to pass, many already had proposals and budgets in motion prior to submitting them to the California Community Colleges Chancellors office.
According to the SDCCD news release, San Diego Community College Chancellor Constance M. Carroll said, “It is imperative for community colleges to ensure that students are well prepared and competitive for the many jobs and careers that now require bachelor’s degrees as entry-level preparation. Education for the workforce is one of the top community college missions and, thanks to Senator Block and Governor Brown, we have an important new pathway for that mission.” Chancellor Carroll chaired the statewide coalition for SB850.
A study done by the Public Policy Institute of California projected that by year 2025, 41 percent of jobs will require a bachelor’s degree, but only 35 percent will have them. SB850 will help improve that percentage by offering bachelor’s degrees in programs that will require them such as radiologic technology, dental hygiene, health science/informatics, and automotive technology.
The programs put into place by the 15 community colleges will not offer the degrees any CSU or UC has as a stipulation in the bill. The point is not to duplicate the programs, it’s to expand education for everyone. These degrees will cost students roughly $10,000, which is a fraction of what it would cost at a CSU or UC. At $86 a unit for upper division course work, this gives people in lower paying fields an opportunity to move into a higher paying without having to fork out so much money.
Mesa College President Dr. Pamela Luster stated, “for Mesa this means that we will apply for a Bachelor’s Science degree program in Health Information Management because we have an accredited two-year program that would lead students directly into the four-year program.” Those who have already graduated from the two-year program and are already working in a field that now requires a BA can come back and complete their degrees to continue in their current positions.
Aside from the initial pilot program, Luster talked about potentially adding four total programs to Mesa College upon approval from the Chancellors office in the years to come. “We’re ready to roll for as many as they’ll let us have. The faculty are really excited about it, they’re ready to go!
Joshua Nuqui, a student at Mesa said, “I’m excited for the improvements that the California school system is making, but this could mean that jobs that require bachelor’s degrees right now will want master’s degrees to keep up with the competition. I don’t know how this will all pan out.” And while that could be true, for now the main focus is to give opportunity to those that saw a Bachelor’s degree being out of reach. Education is always evolving in job fields and SB850 will prompt many to further their formal education.
The programs according to Carroll could begin as early as January 2015 and run through 2023. California is the 22nd state to have community colleges offer such programs. Mesa hopes to hire around 30 new faculty members for the programs.
Mesa College is already well-known for its transfer programs and strong background in higher education, adding a bachelor’s program will expand opportunities for current and future students in the San Diego Community College District.