The Legislature finds and declares both of the following:

(a) Since its adoption in 1960, the Master Plan for Higher Education has served the state exceedingly well, allowing California to create the largest and most distinguished higher education system in the nation. A key component of the Master Plan is the differentiation of mission and function, whereby doctoral and identified professional programs are limited to the University of California, with the provision that the California State University can provide doctoral education in joint doctoral degree programs with the University of California and independent California colleges and universities. This differentiation of function has allowed California to provide universal access to postsecondary education while preserving quality.

(b) Because of the urgent need for well-prepared administrators to lead public school and community college reform efforts, the State of California is hereby making an exception to the differentiation of function in graduate education that assigns sole authority among the California public higher education segments to the University of California for awarding doctoral degrees independently. This exception to the Master Plan for Higher Education recognizes the urgency of meeting critical public school and community college leadership needs and the distinctive strengths and respective missions of the California State University and the University of California.

(Added by Stats. 2005, Ch. 269, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2006.)