Oulu Ford
On Sept. 18, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2694 and Senate Bill 960 into law. The legislation aims to allow community colleges to duplicate degrees, meaning the institutions can offer bachelor’s degrees already available at nearby California State University or University of California campuses. Currently, community colleges in California mainly offer associates degrees and certifications, whereas four-year universities mainly offer bachelor’s degrees and graduate degrees.
Before the legislation was passed, duplication was allowed only if there was a proven workforce need. The degrees would not take potential students away from applying at a UC or CSU, even if those students lived in rural areas where community colleges, but not state universities, were nearby, according to EdSource. Bachelor’s degrees not offered by a UC or CSU were permitted to be created.
With the new laws, duplication will be allowed if the UC or CSU that the degree is being duplicated from is outside the community college’s local service area, and regional duplication will be allowed if the respective UC or CSU does not have enough spots to accommodate all of its applicants for a major.
Proponents of the laws believe they will make education more financially accessible, noting the difference in cost between community colleges and state universities. The average tuition of an in-state UC student for the 2027-28 school year is projected to be $16,278, according to the UC admissions page. To attend a CSU, the estimated tuition per year for in-state students is $6,838. On top of this, fees for books, food and more are likely to increase that number. While financial aid is available, the cost of attending a community college is $1,238 for in-state students.
“Any opportunity for accessibility is awesome because there are people who want to go back to school or want to try something new, and maybe you don’t want to … pay so much money for [a bachelor’s degree],” said senior Mavis Nguyen. “Getting to do it at a community college is much easier. I’m taking a gap year next year, but [the laws] make my life easier. If I wanted to come back [for college] and didn’t [want] to worry about tuition, I could be like, ‘I want to pursue this bachelor degree [at community college].’”
College of San Mateo student Cameron Trio noted how future Aragon graduates may see it differently.
“Coming from Aragon, I feel like [many] people are wealthier and can afford a four-year [college],” Trio said. “A lot of people, what [they] seek [from] college is not just the degree; it’s also the experience living in the dorms [and] meeting new people. Also, [there’s] prestige. A lot of people say [attending] community college definitely has a [different] reputation compared to going to a four-year.”
Supporters view location as another advantage. They believe that students who can’t afford to move will be able to earn bachelor’s degrees at a much cheaper rate.
“We’re very fortunate in the Bay Area [that] we have a big concentration of institutions all within about a 10 to 20 mile radius,” said CSM President Dr. Manuel Alejandro Pérez. “Opportunity abounds in these spaces. But that’s not the case in rural parts of California, where the nearest UC or CSU is well over 40 to 50 miles away. We’re trying to offer something that is [not] far too great of a distance for students in these areas to travel to [obtain a degree that] is not offered by the nearest UC or CSU.”
Local community college student Darren Benavente notes a stigma around community college that he thinks the new bachelor’s degrees may help alleviate.
“People are afraid of applying because they think you’re not going to get far, starting off with an associate’s degree or going somewhere that’s easy to get into,” Benavente said. “If you don’t get into Stanford or a UC then you’re immediately doomed. That’s what a lot of people thought in my grade when applying [to college]. But [they] don’t realize what community college has to offer … and definitely with the exposure of bachelor degrees in community college, it’ll be a lot more popular.”
Another concern is whether community colleges are well-equipped to offer bachelor’s degree coursework.
“Certain degrees would be really hard to implement at community colleges, at least at CSM,” Trio said. “I’m doing engineering, [and] there’s a [website] that most transfer students use to see what classes they need at a UC or CSU. CSM [doesn’t] offer … a lot of classes [for that major] … compared to if you went to a four-year [college].”
However, Pérez does not believe that this will be an issue.
“When it comes to conversations around academic excellence, I am in no way concerned,” Pérez said. “There are ways in which, from an institutional sense, our [California community] colleges are all held to a very high standard.”
As a result of new laws, the community colleges on the Peninsula are faced with a decision: whether or not to increase their bachelor’s degree offerings.
“We’ll definitely look at the bill carefully and methodically and with great intention,” Perez said. “We’re having conversations with our faculty, with our district leadership, to talk about opportunity. Whether that results in us actually pursuing something is far too early to tell right now.”
The legislation will officially take effect on Jan. 1, 2028.
