The California Community College system is considering a plan to offer baccalaureate degrees at community colleges. Why would they system want to do this? It could be to increase those leaving the colleges and going into the workforce.
It could also be an attempt to take away students trying to go to four-year institutions for higher education.
But if the system does get its way with four-year degrees, the very mission of a community college will be thrown out the window.
According to California’s Education Master Plan, community colleges are designed to be open to students who want to follow all paths of life, be it in a career to get an associate’s degree, or simply to transfer.
What would the financial implications be if Pasadena City College began offering four-year degrees? It seems that the money to fund these programs would have to come from somewhere, and some would not like it.
Last year, when PCC was fiscally at risk, the college looked to the Community Education Center (CEC), where lifelong learning takes place, as a non-essential limb to cut off.
President Mark Rocha came to the Courier explaining the risk of losing the CEC would be “heartbreaking.”
What is the point of having a community college with four-year degrees if the four-year institutions already exist?
There is no point. A community college will lose its most important aspect— the community—if it becomes another extension to four-year colleges.
Sources:
- http://articles.latimes.com/2013/oct/14/local/le-me-college-degrees-20131015
- http://library.cqpress.com.ezp.pasadena.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2013011800&type=hitlist&num=3#.Um_i7pTwLDM
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