University of California, California State Reach
Agreement on Education Doctorates
LONG BEACH, Calif.
Schools under the California State University umbrella would be able to grant their first independent doctorate degrees under an agreement with the University of California.
The deal, which has to be approved by legislators, would allow the California State University system to offer the advanced degrees in education as early as 2007.
“We’ve been working with UC on this for the past couple of months,” says Colleen Bentley-Adler, CSU’s director of public affairs. “We’re going to prove to California how good our education is.”
Under state law, only the 10-campus UC system can grant doctorates, although CSU does grant some joint doctorates in partnership with UC and some private universities.
Officials at CSU, which at 23 campuses and 400,000 students is the nation’s largest four-year system, had pushed for their own programs, saying demand was outweighing supply.
Under a bill proposed by state Sen. Jack Scott, D-Altadena, CSU would have been allowed to offer a number of doctorates. UC officials had lobbied against the bill, saying it undermined the state’s Master Plan for Higher Education, which spells out the roles of UC, CSU and the community college system.
In a compromise, CSU will offer only educational doctorates.
Scott’s Senate Bill 724 was approved by the Assembly Higher Education Committee. It now goes before the full Assembly and, if approved, on to the Senate for consent and, finally, to the governor’s office.
— Associated Press
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