California Expands Bachelor’s Degree Opportunities, Opening New Pathways for RCCD Students

08/17/2026

California’s efforts to expand bachelor’s degree opportunities at community colleges are creating new pathways for students across the state, including those within the Riverside Community College District (RCCD). In 2021, Assembly Bill 927 expanded the ability of California community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees, helping more students earn four-year degrees close to home while addressing the workforce needs of local communities.

For RCCD, the expansion of community college bachelor’s degree programs represents an opportunity to build upon the District’s commitment to accessible, affordable higher education. While California’s transfer pathways to the California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) systems remain an important part of the state’s higher education system, a traditional four-year university is not accessible to every student.

Transportation, housing costs, employment, childcare and family responsibilities can all influence whether a student is able to pursue and complete a bachelor’s degree. For many RCCD students, the ability to continue their education within their community can provide another pathway to a four-year degree while allowing them to remain connected to their families, jobs and communities.

Community college bachelor’s degree programs can help address these barriers by responding directly to regional workforce needs while complementing, rather than replacing, existing transfer opportunities. Within RCCD, Moreno Valley College’s School of Public Safety demonstrates what this opportunity can look like. Its bachelor’s degree provides students with an opportunity to earn a four-year degree close to home while preparing for careers in high-demand public safety fields.

Programs like this demonstrate the potential impact of expanding bachelor’s degree opportunities throughout California’s community college system. For RCCD and the Inland Empire, additional opportunities could help strengthen educational pathways, prepare students for careers in high-demand fields and ensure the region has the skilled workforce needed to support its communities and economy.

As California continues to expand access to bachelor’s degrees at community colleges, RCCD has an opportunity to help bring those pathways closer to the students and communities it serves. Expanding these opportunities is not about competing with or replacing the CSU or UC systems. It is about creating additional pathways and ensuring that geography, affordability and life circumstances do not determine who has the opportunity to earn a four-year degree.

By bringing bachelor’s degree opportunities closer to home, California can help more RCCD students reach their educational and career goals while strengthening families, employers and communities throughout the Inland Empire.

Published by External Relations & Strategic Communications