An emailer:

I’m willing to bet that if you dig a little further you’ll find that CSU will be offering the Ed.D. degree, not the Ph.D. The tip-off is the reference in the Chronicle story to “doctorate-of-education.” What’s the difference? Normally, an Ed.D. doesn’t require a dissertation—the humongous final hurdle for all Ph.D. students, amounting to writing an original book-length (or long monograph at least) work of research. I’ll bet UC will maintain its Ph.D. monopoly in California.
Who needs these Ed.D. degrees? Practically no one. Who says they need them? Practically every school principal who wants a raise . . .