First phase of new 4-year public university in Chula Vista to open Fall 2026
CHULA VISTA, Calif. —- On Oct. 13, California Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted Assembly Bill 662, The Chula Vista University Act, establishing the South County Higher Education Task Force to develop plans for a four-year public university in south San Diego County.
The 383-acre university is planned to open in phases, the first occurring in Fall 2026, and will be a multi-institutional campus that offers eight different bachelor’s degrees; it aims to address the lack of higher education access in south San Diego County.
Assemblymember David Alvarez has led the project since his election in 2022. Alvarez secured $250,000 in state funding to support the task force’s planning and policy development and $10 million for bachelor’s programs.
Alvarez also obtained $25 million in the state budget for the Millenia Library, part of the University’s first phase of development. The library will host San Diego State University’s School of Nursing and Global Campus, which offers online degrees, certifications, and career training programs. California State University, San Marcos will add degrees in bilingual speech language pathology and human development in Fall 2027.
The University Now Initiative is a coalition between the California Legislature, city of Chula Vista, and Southwestern College with the responsibility of identifying the academic programs that should be offered to students at the University to meet current workforce needs. The South County Higher Education Task Force includes representatives from the Cal State University, University of California, and California Community College systems.
There are currently no identified sources of funding for the construction of the physical campus and its long term operation.
Department of Justice sues California over college tuition benefits for undocumented students
WASHINGTON — On Thursday, Nov. 20, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and the University of California, California State University, and California Community Colleges systems for providing in-state college tuition to undocumented students. The lawsuit claims that those tuition benefits are illegally denied to American citizens who pay higher out-of-state costs.
Under Assembly Bill 540, California exempts undocumented students who have attended three full-time years at a California high school from paying non-resident tuition, allowing them to pay in-state rates. The suit asks the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California to declare the exemption unconstitutional and prevent the UC, Cal State, and CCC systems from enforcing it.
“Federal law prohibits aliens illegally present in the United States from receiving in-state tuition benefits that are denied to out-of-state U.S. citizens,” the lawsuit read. “There are no exceptions.”
The DOJ also seeks to prohibit California from enforcing the California Dream Act, which offers scholarships and loans to undocumented students.
Although the federal government claims the exemption rule discriminates against American students paying out-of-state tuition rates, Rachel Zaentz, a UC spokeswoman, said the system follows state and federal laws regarding tuition rates, but will comply with whatever the courts rule.
The suit cites several executive orders signed by President Donald Trump earlier this year that directs federal agencies to block undocumented individuals from receiving public benefits over U.S. citizens, reinforcing the federal government’s orders to enforce stricter immigration laws.
Trump administration announces plan to abolish Department of Education
WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, Nov. 18, the Trump administration announced a plan to dismantle the Department of Education by shifting work originally assigned to the offices of Elementary and Secondary Education, Postsecondary Education, and Indian Education to other federal agencies. This move occurs without approval from Congress, which created the department.
In a press release, the DOE announced six new interagency agreements to break up “federal education bureaucracy” with four other agencies — departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, the Interior, and State. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said these agreements are the first efforts by the Trump administration to return education to the state governments.
The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education manages Title I, a program that provides federal funding to schools with low-income students. This responsibility would be given to the DOL. With oversight from the DOE, the Department of the Interior aims to improve Native American education in the United States, although the details of the process remain unclear. The State Department would take on the responsibilities of international education and foreign language studies programming.
The Child Care Access Means Parents in School program, overseen by the Office of Postsecondary Education, offers childcare to low-income college students who are parents. HHS, which already oversees child care grants, would take over management of the program.
Teachers’ unions and students rights groups oppose these efforts by the Trump administration to shut down the DOE. Although the administration can downsize and outsource the DOE’s programs, the final decision of abolishing the DOE is subject to Congressional approval.
Department of Education reclassifies list of professional degrees
WASHINGTON — The Department of Education negotiated a narrower list of programs that will count as “professional degrees” for federal student loan purposes, excluding fields like nursing, physical therapy, and physician assistant programs. The fields not on the list are reclassified as ordinary graduate programs with lower loan caps, effective July 1, 2026.
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Congress eliminated Grad PLUS loans for graduate and professional students and created two sets of loan caps — one for graduate students at approximately $20,500 per year and another for professional students at approximately $50,000 per year.
The DOE’s regulation, 34 Code of Federal Regulations 668.2, provides general definitions for institutional eligibility of federal funding under the Higher Education Act and defines a professional degree.
Using this regulation, the DOE negotiated with the Reimagining and Improving Student Education Committee to replace its long-standing definition of “professional degree” with a stricter one that only considers the 10 fields listed as examples as professional degrees: pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, and theology. The new definition also requires a professional program’s Classification of Instructional Programs code to be on the list, or else it is classified as a graduate program.
Several affected programs that are no longer considered professional fields include public health, social work, education and teaching master’s programs, speech language pathology, and clinical mental health.
Negotiations are complete, and the DOE is currently drafting a formal notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register for public comment.
