Editorial: In Ventura County, degrees of importance
Of the economic statistics on Ventura County noted in the just-released State of the Region report, one data point stands out as it relates to the emerging role of community colleges.
That data point is the median income of county workers broken down by educational attainment. Although there remains a stubborn gender gap in wages at all levels, it shows that among both men and women the median incomes of those with bachelor’s degrees is slightly more than double that of those with high school diplomas, and about 50% higher than those with either some college or an associate degree.
Clearly, having a bachelor’s degree has a significant impact on a worker’s earnings potential. At the same time, there is a growing statewide deficit in the number of working-age adults who have such a degree. It is estimated that 38% of all jobs will require a bachelor’s degree by 2030, even for entry-level employment. At the same time, given current trends, only 33% of potential workers will be able to meet that qualification.
That would leave a deficit of 1.1 million qualified workers statewide — a situation that the Public Policy Institute of California has warned “would curtail economic growth, limit economic mobility and increase inequality.”
Several years ago, the Legislature acted tentatively to address this deficit by tapping into the state’s vast higher education infrastructure and enabling 15 of California’s 116 community colleges to establish pilot baccalaureate programs in areas that did not duplicate those offered at California State University or the University of California.
That cap was lifted, and the pilot program permanently extended two years ago. Moorpark College was among those that stepped forward, receiving approval to launch a bachelor's degree program in biomanufacturing that will open next fall.
Similarly, Ventura College has received the go-ahead to launch a bachelor's degree program in automotive career education that will open in the fall of 2025. Last month, Oxnard College received preliminary approval to kick off a degree program in dental hygiene.
This development is a dramatic departure from California’s longstanding Master Plan for Higher Education, which delineated clear separations among institutions: preliminary academic coursework and career-oriented programs at community colleges, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs at California State University, and the full range of high-level programs including research, doctorate and professional degrees at the University of California.
Those lines have since been blurred. CSU now offers a limited number of doctoral programs. Transfer programs have better integrated community colleges with CSU and UC. And now there are opportunities for community colleges to fill gaps in baccalaureate programs.
It is a natural response to a changing economy in which jobs have become much more sophisticated.
As the higher education system evolves to keep pace, there will be challenges to work out. Apparent conflicts between community colleges and California’s traditional degree-granting universities have slowed approval for community college degree programs. At the moment, for instance, Moorpark College’s proposed applied cybersecurity program remains on hold because of perceived conflicts with a degree program CSU Channel Islands is developing.
These challenges must not be allowed to devolve into turf wars. There is too much at stake for young men and women whose future economic standing depends on their ability to achieve the education needed to attain high-wage jobs, and for an economy that could sputter for want of a sufficiently educated workforce.
Community colleges are accessible and affordable. They open doors that many might not otherwise be able to pass through. Especially for training in career-oriented skills, there are unmet needs. A master plan for the 21st century will require all our higher education segments to work together to fill the gaps.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Editorial: In Ventura County, degrees of importance
