San Diego Community College District

As the 2018 legislative session gets underway, momentum is building for Senate Bill 1406. Authored by Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), SB1406 would effectively extend the sunset provision for California’s Baccalaureate Pilot Program, allowing students until 2023 to enroll and still be able to complete their program of study. 

The bill follows the release of an Interim Evaluation Report on the pilot program in December. The report, authored by the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), indicated that the 15 programs in the pilot are so new that insufficient data has been generated regarding student outcomes, finance, etc. to provide the kind of thorough and consistent information that would be helpful in drawing conclusions. The LAO discussed the value of extending the program’s sunset provision, which is currently set to occur in 2023. The current sunset makes it very difficult for pilot colleges to continue their student recruitment, threatening the program’s stability.

SDCCD Chancellor Constance Carroll will continue to play a leadership role in statewide advocacy efforts in support of SB 1406 and the pilot program. Meanwhile, San Diego Mesa College’s first class of Health Information Management students will be among the first at a California community college to receive their bachelor’s degrees when they graduate in May 2018.