The Overview

Thinking about a bachelor's degree but hoping to stay close to your community college? A new California law, approved September 18, sets rules for community colleges to offer bachelor's degrees in subjects with unmet workforce needs, beginning January 1, 2028. ​

California's Senate Bill 960, which overhauls the rules for community college bachelor's degrees, became law when Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed it Sept. 18, despite written objections from the California Community Colleges chancellor that last-minute amendments moved the bill away from what community colleges had originally supported. Rural students face particular barriers to four-year degrees, including geography, transfer obstacles, and caregiving responsibilities, according to the Los Angeles Times.

What the Law Does

  • A tiered framework that ties a college's eligibility to offer a bachelor's program to its rate of students who earned an award or transferred.
  • A requirement that colleges document unmet workforce needs before launching a program, with an option to seek a formal determination from the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development.
  • A tightened overlap rule: colleges cannot offer a bachelor's program already offered by the University of California or a California State University campus whose service area overlaps the college's territory.

California workers with a bachelor's degree earn a median annual wage of $96,000, about twice the median for high school graduates, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. A prior review by the California Legislative Analyst's Office found that only seven of 15 community college bachelor's programs it evaluated showed signs of meeting workforce needs, according to the LAO's final evaluation.

Legislative Status

Sen. Christopher Cabaldon (D-CA-3) sponsored the bill and said the tiered system would incentivize colleges to focus on their primary mission of awarding associate degrees, according to EdSource. He also said the legislation "fixes the review process" so that "strong proposed degree programs justified by independently validated workforce needs data" can secure "quick approval," according to the Sacramento Bee.

The Senate passed the bill 37 to 0 on May 18. The Assembly passed it 52 to 1 on Aug. 31, and the Senate concurred in Assembly amendments 31 to 5 the same day.

Sonya Christian, chancellor of the California Community Colleges, opposed the late amendments, writing to Cabaldon on Aug. 29 that the changes moved the bill away from what community colleges had originally supported, according to EdSource and the Los Angeles Times.

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