Final Evaluation of Community College Bachelor's Degree Pilot

Legislature Created Bachelor’s Degree Pilot for California Community Colleges. 

Pilot to be Evaluated.  

This report reflects the final evaluation.

Assessment

Some Programs Show Signs of Meeting Workforce Objectives. Assessing whether programs met industry needs was difficult based on the information provided by colleges in their initial applications. Generally, colleges provided documents citing broad support for the proposed programs with little concrete evidence of the benefits to employers. To better assess whether the programs were meeting workforce objectives, we met with college administrators and faculty, students, and industry representatives. Based on our review, we concluded that 7 of the 15 programs showed signs of meeting workforce needs. For most of these seven programs, we found that graduates were better prepared for specific industry positions and required less on‑the‑job training than other qualified candidates. For 8 of the 15 programs, we found little evidence that the programs addressed workforce needs. In most of these cases, we found that graduates were using their bachelor’s degrees to enter management positions where a bachelor’s degree is a minimum requirement. We found little evidence that graduates from these pilot programs were better prepared to fill these positions compared to those with other bachelor’s degrees or that pilot program graduates were helping employers fill hard‑to‑staff positions.

Programs Provide Several Benefits for Students. The most common benefit of the pilot cited by students was the relatively low cost of attending the community college bachelor’s degree programs. In a survey conducted by the pilot community colleges, 51 percent of respondents stated they would not have pursued a bachelor’s degree if their community college program had not been offered. The pilot programs particularly benefited students with an associate degree in the same major and related work experience in the industry. Obtaining a bachelor’s degree in the same major often made for an easier educational pathway. Because these programs do not have an equivalent degree at CSU, students transferring to CSU must declare a new major and often must take additional major‑specific coursework to complete their degrees.

No General Concern With Academic Quality. We found no notable issues with the academic quality or rigor of the pilot programs. The programs have been designed to teach concepts and skills that would be immediately relevant in related industries. Furthermore, all programs have been accredited by the CCC regional accrediting body and, if applicable, have obtained third‑party accreditation required by industry.

Concerns With Small Size of Programs. Though the pilot programs are providing some benefits to students, we are concerned with colleges operating relatively small programs, particularly six programs that averaged less than 15 students per cohort. The enrollment for these programs is far below the projections included in colleges’ applications. Low enrollment levels after three or four years of operation suggests student demand for bachelor’s degrees in the particular fields selected is limited. In addition, colleges operating small programs likely are incurring higher per‑student costs, as the student‑to‑faculty ratio is a principal driver of costs.