CSU Trustees Give Campuses Option of New Three-year Degrees

"The system's trustees voted unanimously last week to allow campuses to create three new types of shortened bachelor's degrees: Bachelor of Education, for aspiring teachers who want a bachelor's focusing on teaching specifically; Bachelor of Professional Studies, which targets employees pursuing managerial positions that will give them course credit for skills learned at past jobs; Bachelor of Applied Studies will be geared toward students with vocational or technical training, such as in car maintenance or home heating repair."

"The new degree types don't replace the existing four-year bachelor's in the arts and sciences but will instead widen the offerings campuses can provide - if they want to. There's no mandate for the campuses to create any. Nor do the new degrees have to be as short as three years. They may require any number of units that take between three and four years to finish. The policy sets the minimum units for these degree types at 90 units - which typically take three years for students to complete. A four-year degree generally requires 120 units."

"The changes are meant to "reduce the time required for students to earn a degree" and to "offer more immediate access to economic and social mobility," said Nathan Evans during last week's trustees meeting. He is Cal State's associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and helped to write the policy. The new offerings are also designed to compete with for-profit and online colleges that offer quicker degree programs but are generally far pricier than what Cal State charges."

"Students transferring from community colleges may choose these degrees to earn a bachelor's in one year, rather than two, said Evans in an interview. Adults"

California State University trustees approved new options for shortened bachelor’s degrees at campuses to attract working-age students and degree-seeking employees. Campuses may create three new degree types: Bachelor of Education for aspiring teachers, Bachelor of Professional Studies for employees pursuing managerial roles with credit for skills learned at past jobs, and Bachelor of Applied Studies for students with vocational or technical training. These new degrees do not replace the existing four-year arts and sciences bachelor’s degrees and are optional for campuses. The policy sets a minimum of 90 units, typically completed in about three years, with programs potentially taking between three and four years. The goal is to reduce time to earn a degree and provide more immediate economic and social mobility, while competing with faster but often more expensive for-profit and online programs.

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