Community Colleges + 4 Year Degrees = Saving Money

California community colleges would be allowed to offer four-year degrees for the first time under a proposal aimed at relieving enrollment pressure on state universities and making higher education more affordable, the North County Times reported.

"You've got this increasing student demand that San Diego State and other universities can't meet," state Assemblyman Marty Block, D-San Diego, said last week in talking about a proposal he raised Dec. 7 at a legislative hearing on the future of the state's "Master Plan for Higher Education."

The 50-year-old plan outlines what degrees can be offered at community colleges and schools in the University of California and California State University systems. Under this set-up, community colleges can offer only associate degrees, which usually can be earned in two years, while four-year bachelor degrees can be earned only at UC and CSU schools, according to the paper.

With overcrowded state universities turning down tens of thousands of student applications for enrollment, Block said it's time to allow community colleges to offer four-year degrees.

Read more: North County Times