Community colleges want to offer more low-cost bachelor's degrees. Why CSU says no to some

"Constance Duffle, a paramedic in Siskiyou County at the Oregon border, serves a vast wilderness region woefully in need of health professionals. She has enrolled in a bachelor's degree program in paramedicine, newly offered at College of the Siskiyous. A degree offers pathways to a raise, improved service to her community and opportunities to train future paramedics. Without this close-to-home education, there would be "no way" she could work a full-time job and care for her children, Duffle said."

""I went through medic school before I was married, before I had kids," Duffle said. If the program had been available to her then, she would have pursued it "in a heartbeat." Duffle's experience is a promising story in the state's five-year-old higher education venture that has allowed community colleges to offer bachelor's degrees. But as the degree programs have grown in popularity, disagreements continue to emerge between California State University and California Community Colleges as competition for students tightens."

"In the latest stress point, CSU has objected to 16 community college degree proposals, contending that they run counter to state law provisions designed to protect its own university degree offerings. Community college officials disagree and say their programs are uniquely designed to serve the needs of their district, as intended by the law. The tensions have brought into focus the changing role of community colleges since the adoption of California's 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education."

A paramedic in remote Siskiyou County enrolled in a new local bachelor's program in paramedicine to secure higher pay, improve community care and train future medics while balancing full-time work and child care. California community colleges have been authorized for five years to offer select bachelor's degrees to address regional workforce needs. Expansion of these programs has led CSU to object to 16 proposals, citing state law protections for university offerings. Community college leaders counter that their programs are tailored to district needs. The conflict highlights a shift from the Master Plan's traditional role separation among public higher-education systems.

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