Bakersfield College administrators are actively lobbying for the opportunity to take part in a pilot program that would allow BC to offer a baccalaureate degree, as outlined by a recent Senate bill.
Cindy Collier, BC dean of Nursing and Allied Health, presented at the Chancellor’s Office Board of Governors meeting on behalf of the college at the beginning of this month.
According to Collier, part of what BC has been doing is advocating on behalf of the academic senates, California Community College Chancellor’s Office and Board of Governors, in order to show that there is an interest coming from the constituencies and that they would like to see Senate Bill 850 move forward.
According to a draft of the bill, the legislature would permit the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to select a limited number of campuses – one per district – to offer one baccalaureate degree pilot program for one specified field.
“So we’re advocating that, if it does move forward, Bakersfield College be one of those schools that might be considered,” said Collier.
21 other states currently allow community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees, which are equivalent to bachelor’s degrees, but can be earned at an undergraduate level rather than only in a post-secondary institution.
The current average of baccalaureate-prepared citizens in the state is about 30 percent, whereas Kern County is at an average of approximately half of that.
“California is behind in that sense,” Collier said. “I think this would be a great opportunity, if the legislation did move forward, for our state and for our community colleges.”
She explained that she feels the implementation of the pilot program could even improve the economy of Kern County because by making higher education more accessible to students, it would also increase the number of residents in Kern County working higher-paying jobs.
The legislature is dependent on the need for baccalaureate-prepared workers and the demand in the field, which makes the nursing program a big selling point for BC.
“Many of the nurses here in this community gain their education at BC, so it would allow them to just continue on and just get the baccalaureate here, instead of stopping at the associate degree,” she said, explaining that student options can sometimes be limited after they finish the associate degree program.
The program offered for transfer students at California State University-Bakersfield has a limited number of seats and can sometimes be very difficult for students to get into, according to Collier. She said that other than that option, students are only left with private university options, which can be very expensive.
“So this would just make a more seamless pathway for students and hopefully more affordable,” she said.
“Our goal is not to be in competition with Cal State, our goal is truly to provide more baccalaureate-prepared nurses for this community.”
If SB 850 passes and BC is selected for the pilot, the program would be implemented for an eight-year period, which would be followed by a period of data collection and research to determine whether the pilot was successful.
Collier mentioned hopes that if the nursing program were to be selected and successfully complete the pilot, it could pave the way for the implementation of other baccalaureate degree programs for more career and technical education fields, such as welding, which currently does not have any similar kind of program locally.
According to Collier, there have been similar attempts to put this type of legislation forward through the state of California, beginning in 2004, but they have all failed. However, she said that this attempt has shown to be the most aggressive movement that she has seen.
“It’s not going to be a fast process,” she said. “I’m going to be long retired before I ever see the end of this. But I can tell you, this is the most robust discussion we have had on this topic in the last 10 years.
“ … To think that maybe Bakersfield College could be a part of something that was implementing something new for the whole state of California is very exciting.”