Key Points
- Starting January 1, 2028, each California community college district can offer between 2 to 12 new bachelor’s degree programs, and existing programs don’t count toward that limit.
- A district’s limit depends on its students’ three-year completion and transfer rates. Districts are sorted into five tiers, and those with stronger outcomes get more programs.
- Colleges can now offer a degree similar to one at a nearby Cal State campus if that Cal State program accepts fewer than 75% of transfer applicants for three consecutive years.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 960 and Assembly Bill 2694 on September 18, 2026, rewriting the rules for bachelor’s degrees at California community colleges. Starting January 1, 2028, each district’s allowance of new bachelor’s programs will range from 2 to 12, and the number depends on how many of its students finish or transfer.
The two measures, by Sen. Christopher Cabaldon (D-Napa) and Assemblymember David Alvarez (D-San Diego), are legally joined: SB 960 states it takes effect only if AB 2694 is also enacted. Newsom’s office listed both as signed in its September 18 legislative update.
They replace the framework set by AB 927 in 2021, which allowed up to 30 new programs statewide per year and barred any duplication of Cal State or UC degrees.
For families weighing what college costs in California, the change means more four-year credentials priced at community college rates.
Why It Matters
California has 115 local community colleges and only 31 UC and Cal State campuses granting bachelor’s degrees. The cost of a course at a community college in California is significantly lower than the cost at a UC or Cal State campus. This is especially true for students who have to relocate and potentially live on campus. Staying local is one of the biggest ways to cut the full cost of college because it removes room and board from the bill.
The credential also holds up in hiring. An NBER audit study sent 4,698 resumes to 1,570 job postings and found that about 22% of applicants got interview requests whether they held a traditional bachelor’s or one from a community college. The College Investor covered those findings in its report on how employers treat community college bachelor’s degrees, which also noted that 24 states now allow them.
What The New Rules Allow
Today, 49 colleges offer or will soon offer 66 bachelor’s degrees, per the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. Programs approved before January 1, 2028, do not count against the new limits. That grandfathering protects students already enrolled, including those using Cal Grants to pay for these programs.
Under the new rules, the Chancellor’s Office sorts districts into five tiers based on the share of students who “earned an award or transferred” within three years of entering a cohort. An award means a certificate, associate degree, associate degree for transfer, or bachelor’s degree. Tiers are set by distance from the statewide mean:
- Tier 1 (more than one standard deviation above the mean): up to 10 programs, 11 for multi-campus districts, and 12 for districts with 75,000 or more full-time equivalent students
- Tier 2 (above the mean, within one standard deviation): up to 8 programs, 9 for multi-campus districts, 10 for the 75,000-student districts
- Tier 3 (at or below the mean, within one standard deviation): up to six programs
- Tier 4 (one to two standard deviations below): up to four programs
- Tier 5 (two or more standard deviations below): up to two programs
A separate clause says a district “shall not offer more than 10 baccalaureate degree programs at any one time, regardless of the district’s eligibility tier,” language that sits in tension with the 11- and 12-program allowances for the largest Tier 1 districts. A district that drops a tier keeps its approved programs but can’t add more beyond its new limit.
The chancellor may bump a Tier 3, 4, or 5 district up one level if its rate rose two percentage points in each of the three most recent cohort years. Students comparing programs can run the numbers with a college ROI calculator.
A district can submit no more than three applications per academic year, must document an “unmet current or future projected workforce need,” and can’t let bachelor’s programs displace seats for associate degrees, certificates, or noncredit courses. That last provision matters because community college enrollment is climbing, led by 18-to-20-year-olds.
The duplication fight with Cal State gets a tiebreaker. A district may now offer a program substantially similar to one at a local Cal State campus if that campus program’s transfer acceptance rate stays below 75% for three consecutive years.
When Cal State campus objects, the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development has 90 days to rule. A loss bars the community college from applying for a similar degree for five years, so students on the traditional route should still understand how transferring colleges works.
UC duplication remains off-limits without a written agreement.
The Pushback
Community college leaders championed these bills for most of the session, then formally opposed them after lawmakers built the tier structure above. Their objection is that outcome-based tiers penalize districts serving low-income students, who are less likely to complete or transfer. California is among the largest states with free community college programs aimed at those low income students.
Cal State moved from opposed to neutral on the final versions. The system is pursuing its own lower-cost option, having recently approved three-year, 90-unit bachelor’s degrees across all 22 campuses.
Newsom vetoed a bill specific to nursing (AB 2301 by Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria), which would have created a community college nursing bachelor’s pilot. It was his third straight veto of the idea.
How This Connects
California’s move lands as research on two-year colleges keeps stacking up. An NBER study found that free community college raised earnings 8% without a net cost to taxpayers.
Yet 66% of high schoolers say school staff push four-year colleges, while trades and community college get little airtime.
At the end of the day, community college is becoming more compelling for significantly lower prices, which is why it pays to compare the option before dismissing it completely.
Robert Farrington is the founder of The College Investor and is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading voices on student loan debt and saving for college. He holds an MBA from UC San Diego Rady School of Management and has spent over 15 years researching, writing, and advising on student loans, 529 plans, financial aid programs, and saving and investing for young professionals.
Robert has been featured in the The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NBC News, and Forbes, where he has been a regular personal finance contributor for over a decade. His work combines both professional expertise and personal experience – he successfully navigated his own student loan repayment journey and has helped thousands of readers do the same.
He is committed to making the intersection of personal finance and education transparent and accessible. You can learn more about Robert on the About Page or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.
