Cal State may allow shortened bachelor’s degrees taking as little as 3 years

California State University trustees voted to let campuses offer bachelor’s degrees in as little as three years, a move system leaders said is aimed at attracting more working-age students and those who can convert prior work experience into degree credit. The policy, approved unanimously last week, creates three new types of shortened bachelor’s degrees that campuses can adopt voluntarily, rather than replacing existing four-year bachelor’s degrees in arts and sciences.

At the trustees meeting, Nathan Evans, Cal State’s associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, said the changes are intended to reduce the time required for students to earn a degree and to offer “more immediate access to economic and social mobility.” System leaders also framed the move as a way to compete with for-profit and online colleges that market quicker degree programs, which Cal State says are generally far pricier.

Under the trustees’ policy, the “shortened bachelor’s” degree types do not have to be completed in exactly three years. The minimum requirement set for the new degree types is 90 units, which typically take about three years to finish, while a traditional four-year bachelor’s in the arts and sciences generally requires 120 units. Evans said the shortened degrees could appeal to students who are working while pursuing credentials and to students in fields facing strain.

The new degree types include a Bachelor of Education for aspiring teachers who want a bachelor’s degree focusing on teaching, a Bachelor of Professional Studies for employees pursuing managerial positions who can receive course credit for skills learned in past jobs, and a Bachelor of Applied Studies geared toward students with vocational or technical training, such as training in car maintenance or home heating repair. Evans said the systemwide approach could help campuses build accelerated pathways that also connect to professional master’s programs.

The trustees’ vote also addressed enrollment challenges faced unevenly across Cal State. Evans said some campuses are seeing enrollment losses between 2020 and 2025, and the new degree options are one potential tool for bringing in learners and plugging tuition-related financial gaps, including at campuses such as East Bay and Dominguez Hills, according to figures in the report. Evans added that he expects the first new degrees could begin appearing as soon as fall 2027, but more likely in 2028, depending on how quickly campuses develop the programs.

The plan includes additional changes that Evans said are designed to make completion easier for students who move between campuses. The policy allows students to earn a degree without having to accumulate a minimum number of units at the specific Cal State campus awarding it, a requirement that previously forced students to earn at least 30 units at the degree-granting campus.

Faculty voices also surfaced concerns as the board weighed the plan. The academic senate, described as a key participant in shaping academic programming, supported the shortened-degree direction overall but objected to specific elements, including a view that any degree requiring fewer than 120 units should not be called a bachelor’s but instead another degree name. The senate also wrote that programs requiring fewer units should expire after 10 years unless an evaluation finds the shorter programs merit continuation.

In a letter described in the report, the academic senate raised concerns that degrees requiring 90 units could be grouped with degrees requiring 120 units, which it said could devalue traditional BAs and BSs. The senate chair, Elizabeth “Betsy” A. Boyd, told trustees the senate wanted to pause approval until at least September, and trustees denied that request, the report said.

Trustee Jack McGrory also criticized the approach, arguing that the policy would lower the unit count and dilute the quality and importance of a BA degree. Other trustees expressed different reservations. Trustee Larry Adamson said he was not comfortable approving the new programs if faculty consultation had not been sufficient. Meanwhile, Trustee Julia Lopez said the degree titles were shaped after input from the regional accreditor, with the new degrees designed to be “an opportunity to experiment and be more flexible” rather than a mandate.

Cal State officials said they expect the regional accreditor, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, will support the program changes because it has already approved several similar degrees for universities in its accrediting region. The report also notes that Cal State leadership compared its approach with examples from other states and cited that the University of California has promoted traditional four-year bachelor’s degrees that students can earn in three years, often by taking summer courses.

For California’s working-age adults who have some college credit but no bachelor’s degree, the shorter-degree framework is intended to provide more direct routes to credentials, system leaders said. The report also says that Cal State officials stressed the new degrees would not replace existing four-year bachelor’s degrees and that campuses would decide whether to pursue the shortened options based on enrollment needs and program fit.