The board of governors overseeing California's 116 community colleges next week is expected to discuss proposed bachelor's degrees that have been blocked by California State University.
The board is scheduled to meet Tuesday in Sacramento. The meeting agenda includes a discussion item on the system's baccalaureate degree program. State law allows the community colleges to offer bachelor's degrees so long as they fill a local workforce need and don't duplicate what's offered by the state's four-year universities.
More than 50 bachelor's degrees are currently offered or will be offered soon at community colleges across the state, but several other proposals have stalled because of objections from CSU campuses, which argue the degrees would duplicate what they offer.
In total, 16 proposed degrees are in limbo, including seven initially proposed in 2023. The local community colleges have grown increasingly frustrated, believing their proposed degrees are not duplicative and would serve students who otherwise would not pursue a bachelor's degree.
The board is not expected to take action at Tuesday's meeting, but the discussion could clarify whether some or all of the degrees will be approved soon.
A recent analysis by WestEd, a nonprofit organization, suggested that many of the degrees are not necessarily duplicative and could provide reason for the board to approve them. The state chancellor's office last year contracted WestEd to analyze duplication concerns.
If degrees were to be approved, it does not necessarily have to happen during a board meeting. State law allows the president of the board of governors to give final approval to the degrees, which has often occurred outside regular board meetings.
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