California is all about opportunity.
And that, we are told, includes higher education.
That said, unless you are poor enough to have your tuition covered or rich enough to pay for it, the 23-campus California State University system can be pricey and the 9-campus University of California system can you leave one drowning in debt.
Then there is the issue of access.
If you need to work to support a family and don’t live in the community where there is — or extremely near — a CSU or UC campus, it can be difficult to make pursuing higher education work.
There is a workable solution.
Unfortunately, the California college cabal — the UC and CSU systems — is trying to torpedo it at every turn.
It is unfortunate because more people educated with “workforce” bachelor degrees can go a long way to raising all the proverbial boats and address pressing community needs.
As an example, California has a serious nursing shortage that includes disciplines requiring four year degrees.
Imagine what would happen if those four-year programs were offered closer to where people live that would like to access them.
That is what is what is driven legislators in Sacramento to another run at allow the state’s 116 community colleges to offer more bachelor’s degrees.
The first three bills passed but were vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Assembly Bill 664 passed its first legislative hurdle on Jan. 26.
It’s the fourth attempt to break the chokehold — or more appropriately, monopoly — the UC and CSU system have on bachelor’s degrees.
And let’s be clear.
The effort isn’t to give community colleges the authority to offer all bachelor’s degrees.
Instead, it is to address pressing labor shortages in local communities that require “workforce” bachelor degrees.
A little background.
A bill approved and signed into law in 2021 by Newsom allowed community colleges to put in place as many as 30 bachelor’s degrees per academic year.
There was an asterisk that they can’t duplicate the UC or CSU baccalaureate programs.
Of course, the college cabal is disputing the definition of what represents a duplicate. That has led to community college degrees being put in limbo.
They deny they are threatened.
They are simply trying to protect the integrity of bachelor’s degrees to protect their value.
Sure, they are.
What they are trying to do is limit access to protect their cash cow.
So far, 300 people a year earn bachelor’s degrees at community colleges in California.
That’s compared to 160,000 at the UC and CSU campuses.
In other states, the bachelor’s degree enrollment at community colleges is much higher.
There is data that shows those with bachelor’s degrees from community colleges earn more than those with associate of arts degrees but less than those with bachelor’s degrees from a traditional four-year college campus.
Now for the fun part.
The limited four-year degrees available at select California community colleges costs $10,000.
The four-year tab raises to $26,000 at a CSU campus.
The cost jumps to $62,000.
Do the math.
What is more affordable for someone who is working, wants to attain a four-year degree to improve their lot in life, can’t qualify for academic assistance, and don’t want to risk being in debt for the rest of their life?
There are legislators trying to introduce bills that give community colleges in their districts the ability to circumvent the 2021 compact Newsom has been protecting to allow them to offer bachelor’s workforce degrees in critical areas based on local shortages.
Delta College in Stockton has a top-notch two-year nursing program.
The San Joaquin Valley has one of the most serious nursing shortages in the country, including specialized nursing that requires a four-year degree.
No one is saying Delta College, or other community college campuses should offer liberal arts or psychology degrees.
It is narrowly aimed at chronic shortages that hamper local economies and can undermine community health and economies.
Then there is the well-worn line about California making higher education accessible.
Is it accessible if a large swath of people can’t afford it?
Is it accessible if the opportunities are a great distance away and would require uprooting households that may not be feasible.
Again, we are talking about targeted degrees that would primarily be pursued by working students that want to improve their lot in life and would be doing so in fields that benefit their local communities.
The “college experience” as touted by UC and CSU aren’t what they need.
It is highly doubtful that the community college system would ever challenge either the CSU or UC systems.
They aren’t positioned to exactly to go nuts adding four-year degrees.
And you don’t exactly ramp up four-year degree programs over night.
Community colleges do have the word “community” in them for a reason.
They are supposed to serve the community.
And there are great needs in the communities served by many of the state’s 116 community colleges.
The shortage of nurses is one of them.
David Alvarez, the Assembly Democrat from Chula Vista that introduced the current bill, noted that students shouldn’t be forced to enroll in universities dozens or hundreds of miles from home while the community college a few miles away can offer a bachelor’s degree that employers in his district that need more workers.
His bill would allow Southwestern College in his district to create four additional bachelor’s degrees. The subjects include designing websites as well as teaching English to speakers of other languages.
As for the outrage bring projected by CSU and UC systems, this is what Alvarez astutely noted: “I’m surprised, really, that there’s so much indignation at the fact we want to provide easier access to higher education for students when there’s plenty of students and plenty of need.”
Surprised?
The CSU and UC systems are multi-billion dollar businesses with the emphasis on the word “business.”
This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
