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.

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.