"Offering 4-year degrees need not reduce open access to community colleges. Rather, it can and would extend that open access to 4-year programs. In the past 30 years, CA has built 22 prisons and 1 new university. CSU and UC do not have the capacity to meet the current demand for baccalaureate degrees, especially for applied workforce degrees. Many applied fields – i.e. nursing – now insist on a 4-year degree for new hires.

California community colleges have not had the authority to offer 4-year degrees. That's why Governor Brown just signed SB 850, legislation passed unanimously by both the Assembly and State Senate that permits 15 community colleges to each offer a single 4-year applied workforce degree that does not duplicate any degree currently offered by a CSU or UC. I supported this bill because it will help students and I will support SMC’s application to be one of the 15 pilot colleges.

Students who attend community colleges are disproportionately Latino students, low-income students, and first generation students. Permitting community colleges to offer 4-year degrees would provide a viable pathway for more community college students to complete college and achieve their goals."
Oct. 1, 2014 Louise Jaffe

"SMC should consider offering 4 year programs, especially in the fastest growing industries such as the Healthcare and High-Tech industries. Santa Monica is the home to several hospitals as well as Silicon Beach. SMC can be a driving force in creating employment paths for local residents."
Oct. 1, 2014 Maria Loya

"Yes Santa Monica College should offer 4 year programs in vocational occupations where an Associate of Arts degree had been acceptable in the past. These fields and occupations could include dental hygiene, industrial technology, allied health technology, data management for health care and emergency medical technicians. Yesterday Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 850 into law which authorizes the community college bachelor’s degree option. This law directs the California Community College system to establish a pilot baccalaureate degree program in 15 college districts by no later than the 2017-2018 academic year.

Giving students access to an affordable education that can enable them to obtain well-paying jobs only helps our work force to be more productive and helps meets the demands for these types of careers."
Oct. 1, 2014 Barry A. Snell

"The State of California lacks a trained workforce necessary to perform the jobs of the 21st century. In addition, due to the changes in our economy from a manufacturing to a service and high tech economy we need a much more highly educated workforce. Right now, the higher education system in the state of California lacks the capacity to train the necessary workers. To this end, a bill was just signed by the Governors to allow community colleges to offer 4 year degrees in specific areas where there is a documented demand for credentialed students. The process of getting a bill signed into law was several years in the making and necessitated a broad consensus both in the higher education community and in the legislature."
Oct. 1, 2014 Andrew Walzer