California community colleges should expand BA and BS programs

California community colleges should introduce bachelors in select fields. Steps should be taken to make getting a baccalaureate as easy as possible. Colleges like those within the SMCCCD district should consider expanding existing associates programs, along with other options, in order to give more people a better, more economically sound, shot at a college degree.

Most community colleges work as a stepping stone, allowing people from all walks of life to get an associates degree or work for a transfer towards a CSU, UC, or other college.

Skyline does an amazing job at this. Not only does it work as a solid educational facility, but also acts as a great social hub, where you can meet with a variety of people and have a good time. However, some think that our college, and others like it, should do more.

A report from UCLA asks for the “strategic” creation of certain bachelor degree programs across community colleges in California. It claims this should be done in order to help people from minority and marginalized groups across the state attain a full college degree.

Skyline already offers a bachelors program. Students can earn a bachelor’s degree in Respiratory Care, but we are not the only one. A total of 21 community colleges in California offer a bachelor’s degree of some kind.

For these reasons, I see no issue in UCLA’s idea. While it is not recommended that we would expand our degree roster wide enough to challenge any of the local UCs or CSUs, adding a few extra degree programs could potentially be very helpful to the local community. It allows people to more easily get a bachelors and join the workforce, all while staying local.

Even if schools decide not