Public postsecondary education: community colleges: statewide baccalaureate degree program.

A new tiered eligibility framework (effective Jan 1, 2028) determines how many baccalaureate programs a district may offer based on its three-year student success rate (awards earned or transfers). Tier 1 districts (top performers) may offer up to 10-12 programs; Tier 5 districts (lowest performers) may offer only 2. A hard cap of 10 programs applies regardless of tier. Programs approved before Jan 1, 2028 are grandfathered in and do not count toward limits.

A new process requires districts to request a formal determination of unmet current or projected future workforce need from the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development before applying. The secretary has 90 days to make a determination, which is valid for four years. Potentially impacted CSU/UC campuses may submit information directly to the secretary.

A new prohibition prevents districts from offering a fully online baccalaureate degree program if CSU or UC offers a substantially similar fully online program in the same field.

The workforce documentation requirement is simplified in the interim version: it no longer specifically requires consultation with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, instead just requiring 'statewide and regional workforce data relevant to the proposed program.'

The duplication prohibition is redefined. The old 'impacted program' definition (based on CSU designating a program as impacted) is removed and replaced with a 'substantially similar' standard. A district may now offer a substantially similar CSU program if that CSU campus has a transfer acceptance rate below 75 percent for three consecutive years for applicants from the community college district, replacing the old July 1, 2030 impaction-based exception.

New definitions added for 'same academic discipline' (based on common preparation, coursework, outcomes, accreditation standards, or licensure requirements) and 'unmet current or projected future workforce need' (a demonstrated gap between employer demand and supply of qualified candidates in the region).

The bill now amends, repeals, and adds sections rather than simply amending them. The existing Sections 78040 and 78042 are set to be repealed on January 1, 2028, with new versions taking effect that same date, creating a clear transition structure.

The community college baccalaureate mission is explicitly reframed as 'secondary to its primary mission' and narrowed from providing 'high-quality undergraduate education at an affordable price' to offering 'upper division instruction to meet unmet regional workforce needs.'

The interim version (effective immediately) maintains the 25 percent cap on baccalaureate programs relative to associate degree programs, reversing the previous amendment that had reduced it to 15 percent. The tiered system replaces this percentage cap entirely starting January 1, 2028.

The bill's operation is made contingent upon enactment of AB 2694 of the 2025-26 Regular Session. If both bills are enacted and SB 960 is enacted last, additional changes from AB 2694 to Section 78042 are incorporated.

Removed the general exception in Section 78042(d)(2)(A) that allowed a community college district to offer a baccalaureate program duplicative of a CSU program if that CSU program had been impacted for three consecutive years, regardless of date. Now the only path to offering a duplicative CSU program is the post-2030 provision in subparagraph (B)(i), meaning before July 1, 2030 there is no exception at all.

Changed the workforce data requirement from simply providing 'statewide and regional workforce data' to requiring 'evidence that the district consulted with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to identify statewide and regional workforce data.' Also narrowed 'unmet workforce needs' to specifically mean needs 'identified by the Labor and Workforce Development Agency.'

Added new subdivision (k) requiring the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to submit an annual report to the Legislature by March 1 on all approved baccalaureate degree programs. The report must include district and program names, evidence of meeting associate degree and certificate completion benchmarks, whether collaborative programs were pursued, any CSU or UC objections and resulting agreements, enrollment data, and student outcome data (completion rates and employment outcomes) disaggregated by race, gender, income, and first-generation status.

Changed the term 'local admission service area' to 'local service area' in Section 78042(d)(2)(A), aligning terminology with the definition provided in Section 78040(c).

New Section 78040 added with three definitions: 'district' (any community college district identified by the Chancellor as participating in the statewide baccalaureate degree program), 'impacted program' (a CSU baccalaureate program where eligible applications exceed capacity), and 'local service area' (cross-reference to Section 89030.5(c)).

The prohibition on duplicating CSU programs is restructured into subparagraphs (A) and (B). Subparagraph (A) retains the original ban, while new subparagraph (B)(i) explicitly authorizes districts to offer a CSU program after July 1, 2030 if it has been impacted for three consecutive years, making the exception permanent rather than temporary.

New requirement that before July 1, 2030, any CSU campus wanting to discontinue impaction on a baccalaureate program must develop a plan describing how it will address enrollment demand and maintain student access, and publish that plan on its website.

New provision stating that a district's baccalaureate program approved under the impaction-based duplication exception may continue to be offered regardless of any subsequent change in the impaction status of the corresponding CSU program (grandfathering protection).

The cap on the total number of baccalaureate degree programs a community college district may offer is reduced from 25% to 15% of the total number of associate degree programs offered by that district, significantly limiting how many four-year programs each district can run.

Terminology changed from 'local admission area' to 'local admission service area' and 'local service area' throughout, standardizing language with existing statutory definitions in Section 89030.5.