Southwestern College is closer to offering bachelor’s degrees in ‘education desert’ of South County

Southwestern College in Chula Vista might become the first public community college in the state to get permission to create four bachelor’s degree programs — a move that could help lead to the establishment of South County’s first full-service university.

The state Assembly’s Higher Education Committee approved the proposal by a 9-1 margin Tuesday and passed it on to the Appropriations Committee for review next week. The only legislator voting against it was Carl DeMaio, who represents East County.

If the bill, known as AB 664, is approved by Appropriations next week, it will be reviewed by the full Assembly, which has until the end of January to act.

Southwestern President Mark Sanchez told the committee Tuesday that his school and its collaborators need to introduce an array of bachelor’s degree programs to help meet the needs of students and employers in South County, home to 500,000 people.

“Employers say they need everyone from teachers to health care professionals to forensic scientists to speech pathologists,” Sanchez said in a phone interview.

“Many of these programs in the University of California and California State University systems are impacted,” he said, “and students can’t get in.”

UC San Diego drew a record 45,087 students last fall, while San Diego State University broke the 40,000 mark for the first time.

Under California’s 66-year-old Master Plan for Higher Education, the UC and CSU systems were once the...