This week, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 850 by Senator Marty Block, which will allow Community Colleges, for the first time ever, to offer Baccalaureate Degrees (BA) at a fraction of what it costs at public and private schools.
SB 850 creates a pilot program that will allow 15 campuses from 15 different Community College districts to offer one BA degree program at one campus within the district, starting January 1, 2015. The bill specifies that the BA degrees offered must be in disciplines that differ from those currently being offered by UC or CSU campuses, and in subject areas with unmet workforce needs. The participating districts and campuses will be selected by the state Community College Chancellor in consultation with the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU) systems.
RCRC will continue to monitor this issue and the selection of districts for the pilot project.