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For over a year, the California Community College and the California State University systems have clashed over their respective roles.

The focus of the dispute: Who should be granting bachelor鈥檚 degrees?

The Cal State Chancellor鈥檚 Office says many community colleges are stepping outside their bounds by proposing bachelor鈥檚 programs that duplicate what Cal State campuses already offer. Community colleges disagree.

The issue goes to the core missions of these higher education systems and the boundaries that the state set for them back in 1960.

That鈥檚 when California鈥檚 Master Plan for Higher Education laid out the roles for each system. For the state鈥檚 community colleges, the plan says they were designed to award two-year associate degrees and provide career training, while the Cal State system would offer four-year bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees and the University of California system would prioritize research and doctoral programs.

Now a allows the community college system to approve up to 30 new bachelor鈥檚 degree programs each year at any one of the state鈥檚 116 community colleges.

The law, which went into effect last year, has a caveat: Community colleges can only offer bachelor鈥檚 degrees in unique fields that no other public four-year campus currently offers. It鈥檚 this caveat that is at the root of recent conflicts.

鈥淚 understand that CSUs (Cal State University campuses) and UCs may be feeling like community colleges are getting a larger allocation or are stepping into their lane,鈥� said Laura Cant煤, vice president of academic affairs for Los Angeles Mission College. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 a reason why California decided that we should allow community colleges to offer some of the baccalaureates (bachelor鈥檚 degrees). It鈥檚 a way for us to really provide an onramp, a mechanism, for social mobility.鈥�

The Cal State Academic Senate has said in the event that community colleges offer more bachelor鈥檚 degrees.

In an email to CalMatters, Cal State spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith said there are opportunities for partnership when duplication concerns arise. Some strategies are already in place, like guaranteed admission to Cal State campuses for community college students and joint degree programs where students attend a community college and a Cal State at the same time, often virtually.

Meanwhile, the Cal State University Chancellor鈥檚 Office has thrown its support behind a proposed law authored by Sacramento Democrat . While the Cal State system offers a few Ph.D. programs, the bill would grant it the right to approve many more, as long as the programs 鈥渄o not duplicate University of California doctoral degrees.鈥�

As the bill winds through the statehouse, the UC system has asked for amendments to prevent Cal State campuses from duplicating what it already offers.

Thousands of dollars saved

In a state with over 2.5 million students across the public college and university systems, only a few thousand community college students a year, at most, could benefit from the new bachelor鈥檚 degree program.

Still, the few community college students who have enrolled in a bachelor鈥檚 degree program on campus say that they are cheaper and more convenient than the nearest Cal State or UC option. A recent report from UCLA shows that鈥檚 .

The Cal State system uses similar arguments to say that it should be allowed to award more doctorate degrees.

Jessa Garcia received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in art and multimedia design in 2011, but after getting furloughed during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said she wanted a more 鈥渟table鈥� career and started looking into biology programs near her home in Oceanside, in north San Diego County.

She said she spoke to an admissions representative at Cal State San Marcos, the nearest public four-year university, who told her she was not eligible because she already had a degree. A spokesperson for Cal State San Marcos said the system will begin accepting students like Garcia in fall 2024 when regulations change.

MiraCosta College鈥檚 was the perfect solution, she said. 鈥淢iraCosta is close to me, like less than 10 minutes away,鈥� she said. 鈥滻t鈥檚 a science-related degree, and it was accessible to someone who already holds a degree.鈥�

By the time she graduates in May, the bachelor鈥檚 degree will cost her a total of around $4,000 in tuition, in part because she was able to carry over credits from her earlier degree. Garcia said she already has her eyes set on a few internships where the starting wage is around $25 an hour.

The average bachelor鈥檚 degree at a community college costs $10,560, which is 鈥渓ess than half the tuition at even the most affordable public universities,鈥� the Community College Chancellor鈥檚 Office . Community college leaders across the state say these local, low-cost bachelor鈥檚 degree programs are the only option for some students and that students who live near a Cal State campus may not get accepted there.

Last year, the Cal State system .

鈥淲e鈥檙e an institution that has a high rate of students on federal financial aid,鈥� said Don Miller, vice president of academic affairs at Rio Hondo College, which is located in southeastern Los Angeles County. 鈥淭hey live in the area. They tend to be more focused on the region.鈥�

LA Mission, Rio Hondo stall

This year, Rio Hondo College submitted an application to develop a bachelor鈥檚 degree program in popular electronic music, but it is fighting objections about duplication from San Francisco State, San Jose State, San Diego State, Cal State Long Beach and Cal State San Bernardino.

鈥淭he majority of our students are not the kind of students who are going to go to SF to get a degree,鈥� he said.

At the same time, Los Angeles Mission College submitted an application to offer a bachelor鈥檚 degree in biomanufacturing. Part of the logic for the application, said Cant煤, was that MiraCosta College, Solano Community College and Moorpark College already had approval from the Cal State system to offer bachelor鈥檚 degrees in biomanufacturing as part of earlier application processes.

Further, Nathan Evans, a deputy vice chancellor for the Cal State system, had told one of Cant煤鈥檚 colleagues that there would be a 鈥渕inimal amount of additional information鈥� required when 鈥渟imilar proposals鈥� had already been approved.

She submitted the application 鈥� more than 100 pages in total 鈥� in January. On May 31, she got an email notifying her that the Cal State Chancellor鈥檚 Office had flagged the application because some campuses said it duplicated their programs.

While she鈥檚 excited about the potential, she said the experience has left her feeling 鈥渁nxious鈥� and 鈥渏ust a little disappointed,鈥� especially for the potential students. 鈥淲e talk about wanting to get our community members ready for these high-wage positions. We cannot train the pipeline fast enough.鈥�

Bentley-Smith said it would be 鈥減remature鈥� to comment on Cant煤鈥檚 proposal.

Tensions flare

There must be two rounds of applications every year, according to the law, but last year, the Community College Chancellor鈥檚 Office only ran one round of applications, which took more than 15 months.

One of last year鈥檚 proposals, a bachelor鈥檚 degree in applied fire management from rural Feather River College, for Cal State. The Community College Chancellor鈥檚 Office approved the program and is moving ahead, even though Cal State leaders remain opposed.

Senate Education Committee Chairperson , a Brea Democrat, and Assembly Higher Education Chairperson , a Monterey Park Democrat, were concerned that this year鈥檚 applications would face the same obstacles as last year. In March, they issued to the Community College Chancellor鈥檚 Office, asking it to 鈥減ause鈥� new bachelor鈥檚 degree applications until the two higher education systems could come to an agreement over duplication concerns.

The Community College Chancellor鈥檚 Office never took the recommended 鈥減ause鈥� and continued to accept applications from its campuses, only to hit the same challenges as before. Half of this year鈥檚 14 applications have been approved, but the remaining seven are delayed over disagreements about duplication.

The state law requires that the Cal State system provide 鈥渟upporting evidence鈥� to explain any objection to a community college鈥檚 application and gives the two systems 30 days to come to a resolution over any duplication concerns.

But months have passed since the Cal State Chancellor鈥檚 Office expressed concern over Cant煤鈥檚 application and she still doesn鈥檛 have any evidence to explain why. In June, the Community College Chancellor鈥檚 Office sent Cant煤 a note, saying that the Cal State system had failed to provide supporting evidence after 鈥渞epeated requests.鈥�

Still, both sides say that they are handling the application process correctly.

The Cal State Chancellor鈥檚 Office says it is abiding by the spirit of the pause that state legislators asked for this spring. The Community College Chancellor鈥檚 Office says it is following the state law, which sets the strict timeline of two rounds of applications each year.

While there was no pause in applications, the two systems did agree to form a committee that would create new policies in the event of future disagreements. The committee has met three times but has yet to issue any new policy that would resolve future clashes around duplication. In a statement to CalMatters, Bentley-Smith said the committee would meet again in the fall.

鈥淭here is no dispute between the systems,鈥� she said, pointing to the ongoing work of the committee.

On July 17, the Community College Chancellor鈥檚 Office hired the Research and Planning Group for the California Community Colleges, an independent consulting firm, to evaluate the duplication concerns. Feist said the contract was 鈥渋nternal鈥� to the Community College Chancellor鈥檚 Office.

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