California community college students need one simple path to a degree, editorializes the Los Angeles Times.
Currently, each community college sets its own requirements for an associate degree and each of California State University’s 23 campuses sets its own rules for transfer students, which may change every year.
Amid this maze, students are supposed to figure out an academic path that will lead them to a bachelor’s degree. But if they’re planning to apply to a few CSU schools, or if they want to major in a particular subject, the requirements often are so diverse that the applicants need to tack on extra semesters at community college to qualify. Too few of them do so. In fact, nearly 70% of students who enter community college seeking a degree or certificate end up leaving without it. Many quit in frustration. Others can’t afford to support themselves through extra years of college.
SB 1440 by state Sen. Alex Padilla would require the community college and CSU systems to create a clear path to an associate degree and a bachelor’s degree. Community college students who earn at least a 2.0 grade-point average would be guaranteed admission as juniors to a CSU campus.
Another bill asks the University of California to streamline community college transfers. Currently, transfers take a third more units than required to earn a degree, wasting time and money.
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