Led by Project Team Members:
Hai Hoang, Lead Researcher, CCC Bachelor’s Degree Program/Acting Dean, Institutional Effectiveness, San Diego Mesa College; Davis Vo, PhD Student, School of Education & Information Studies, UCLA; Cecilia Rios-Aguilar, Professor, School of Education & Information Studies/Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, UCLA
Project Title: Benefits and Opportunities: California’s Community College Baccalaureate Programs
Project Description: Behind this publication is a lesser-known story about the research supporting SB 850, SB 77, and AB 927. In 2014, SB 850 was enacted to allow 15 community colleges in California to launch a pilot Bachelor's Degree Program (BDP), with an evaluation by the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) due by July 2022. This evaluation was critical in determining the future of the statewide program. However, in July 2019, SB 77 moved the final evaluation date up by 17 months. As there was no established research infrastructure or organizational structure, the 15 colleges immediately held an in-person meeting. At this point, Hai Hoang, Research and Planning Analyst at San Diego Mesa College, volunteered to lead the statewide data collection process to produce the results that could be used by the LAO. Given the tight timeline, Hai opted to create a survey centered on the absent data elements mandated by SB 850, such as employment metrics and loan information, in addition to data regarding program efficacy and underrepresented populations. During the next four months, Hai coordinated the data request from the LAO, developed the Employment Outcomes Survey in collaboration with various stakeholders statewide, managed the survey collection process , analyzed the data, and submitted the results to the LAO in November 2019. Unfortunately, not all the rich data collected from this effort were included in the LAO report, which featured other dimensions of the BDP.
Due to COVID-19, the California legislature postponed the BDP discussion until 2021, which provided more time to collect data. Two years were spent developing a more comprehensive plan, including an entry survey, an exit survey, and an employment outcomes survey, and the collection and analysis of additional data, such as cohort and demographic information. These findings were shared with key leaders to advocate for the program in the state legislature.
In 2021, a research partnership with UCLA was established to further advocate for and improve the BDP. This began with a research brief on the program focusing on employment and graduation information. In October 2021, AB 927 was signed into law, making the BDP permanent and allowing for the establishment of more programs annually. This was truly a historical milestone for California’s higher education system. In 2022, the research brief was published by UC Davis Wheelhouse: The Center for Community College Leadership and Research, providing a reputable source of public documentation on the BDP's outcomes. Based on institutional records, Management Information System (MIS), a comparable dashboard from the California State University system, and three years of survey data (above 82% response rate), the research brief demonstrated many favorable outcomes of the program. For instance, half of the survey participants stated that they would not have pursued a bachelor’s degree without the program, over 70% identified as belonging to at least one special population group, 67% of students who began upper-division courses earned a bachelor’s degree within two years (and 78% within three years), and graduates reported a 37% increase in salary (equivalent to $18,400 more) upon program completion. This initial data showed that the Bachelor's Degree Program has significant potential to advance equity and opportunity in a new higher education pathway.
This new pathway requires education researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to evolve their understanding of the ways in which students interact with the community college system. The partnership with UCLA represents an important step toward conducting a new wave of research that will closely examine the program implementation, with the ultimate goal of strengthening racial equity in all aspects of the program. It is imperative that the state and other entities allocate additional resources to support the ongoing efforts and establish a sustainable research infrastructure to advance our understanding of and to enhance BDP.