At the turn of this century, workforce needs began to change. More employers sought to hire students who had attained their bachelor’s degrees. Companies were looking for specific accreditations that didn’t exist at many traditional four-year institutions, like cyber security or trade-skill management. There was an increased demand for teachers and nurses.
Community colleges were listening.
“Community colleges are nimble. That’s one of their greatest assets,” said Summer Kenesson, a policy research associate at Washington State’s Board of Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC.) “They have relationships within their community, so they can be very responsive to skill demands or shortages that might be emerging in their areas,” she said.
In 2005, the Washington state legislature allowed the creation of a small, pilot program specifically for their two-year students: the applied bachelor’s degree. SBCTC carefully and deliberately planned courses with their local markets and with their state’s four-year institutions. Ultimately, they achieved the accreditation needed to offer bachelor’s degree.
Now, more than fifteen years later, 31 of their 34 colleges offer applied bachelor’s degrees. In May of this year, Arizona became the 24th state to approve similar legislation.
While on the surface, baccalaureate degrees at community colleges might seem to conflict with the educational priorities of a four-year institution, experts in the community college field say actual conflict between these two institutions is unlikely. The majority of community college bachelor’s degrees are workforce programs, created by following strict state legislative guidelines and working closely with local communities to address specific regional needs. In so doing, these programs have created a pipeline that serves a diverse array of students and that has increased access for all hoping to achieve a bachelor’s degrees.
And, experts say, offering both associate’s and bachelor’s degrees could be the way of the future at community colleges.
