RSCCD Opposes SB 960 and AB 2694 Amendments, Warns Proposed Framework Could Limit Student Access to Bachelor’s Degrees
SANTA ANA, Calif. — Statement from Chancellor Marvin Martinez, Rancho Santiago Community College District.
Rancho Santiago Community College District appreciates the work of Senator Christopher Cabaldon and Assemblymember David Alvarez to address concerns regarding program duplication and help ensure that place-bound students have access to affordable bachelor’s degrees that can improve their lives and strengthen their communities.
RSCCD has seen firsthand the value of community college baccalaureate programs. Santa Ana College offers bachelor’s degrees in Occupational Studies, Paralegal Studies and Automotive Technology. Santiago Canyon College has received conditional approval for a Bachelor of Science in Digital Infrastructure and Location Sciences. These programs build upon established academic and career pathways, respond to regional workforce needs and give students an affordable opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree in their own community.
While the August 27 amendments to SB 960 and AB 2694 improve portions of the proposed approval process, RSCCD must respectfully oppose the bills in their amended form.
The proposed five-tier system would determine a district’s eligibility to offer bachelor’s degrees primarily through its rate of students who earn an award or transfer within three years. That approach pits community colleges and districts against one another instead of establishing a student-centered process based on workforce demand, institutional readiness and educational opportunity.
Community colleges serve students with widely different circumstances, including working adults, first-generation college students, parents, returning students and individuals who attend part time. A district’s three-year completion and transfer rate does not, by itself, determine whether it has the expertise, resources or community needed to offer a high-quality bachelor’s degree. This structure could disproportionately restrict colleges serving students who face the greatest barriers to completing their education.
RSCCD also opposes the program caps imposed through the tiered framework. Arbitrary limits of two to 12 programs per district would significantly restrict the ability of colleges to respond as local workforce needs evolve. A qualified district should not be prevented from developing a needed program simply because it has reached a limit determined by its tier.
We support meaningful consultation with the California State University and University of California, careful review of potential duplication, and rigorous documentation of unmet workforce needs. However, those safeguards should be applied through a fair and transparent approval process, not through a ranking system that rewards some districts while limiting opportunity for the students and communities served by others.
California’s higher-education policies should expand affordable pathways to bachelor’s degrees where documented workforce demand and student need exist. They should not create new barriers based on comparisons among community college districts.
For these reasons, Rancho Santiago Community College District respectfully urges legislators not to advance SB 960 or AB 2694 in their amended form.
Contact:
Eugene W. Fields
Interim Chief Communications Officer
Rancho Santiago Community College District
714.628.5936
fields_eugene@rsccd.edu
About Rancho Santiago Community College District
Rancho Santiago Community College District is one of California’s largest community college districts and includes Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College. RSCCD provides credit and noncredit education, transfer pathways, career education and workforce training to students throughout its communities.