Rio Hondo College was selected to offer a baccalaureate degree in the rapidly growing field of Automotive Technology thanks to a new law allowing a limited number of community colleges to develop baccalaureate programs in career technical fields. The new law, Senate Bill 805 was authored by Senator Marty Block.
Rio Hondo College is among 15 California community colleges selected to begin offering a baccalaureate degree program as early as Fall 2016. Rio Hondo and the other selected colleges will become the first community colleges in California to grant four-year degrees under the state’s historic Baccalaureate Degree Pilot Program. A final vote by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors affirming the selection took place May 18, 2015.
The Baccalaureate Degree Pilot Program was fueled in part by several studies showing that the state needs to produce 60,000 more graduates with bachelor’s degrees annually by 2025 to meet workforce needs. California is joining 21 other states that allow their community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees.
