Cincinnati State exploring trend of 4-year degrees

States that permit community colleges to confer 4-year degrees

There are 19 states that have changed state law to permit community colleges to confer a four-year degree.

NOTE: Reports indicate 21 states permit this, but Idaho never changed state law and Arkansas folded community colleges into the university system.

Source: Community College Baccalaureate Association

Cincinnati State Technical & Community College wants to be at the forefront in Ohio of a trend that’s been happening in nearly a couple dozen states: confer four-year degrees.

But at this point, it is just an idea for Ohio, said Cincinnati State’s Academic Vice President Monica Posey. She said there needs to be more internal discussions and discussions with their collegiate partners, Miami University and the University of Cincinnati.

“Our goal is not to take anything away but do more together, to serve the community more,” she said. “Our first step is more discussion and to hear what kinds of things and kinds of questions community leaders, political leaders and other intuitions would have.”

But Posey said the trend of community colleges in other states being able to confer four-year degrees is “a great opportunity for Cincinnati State.”

“The community college bachelor’s degree is less expensive, it’s more convenient, and many of our students, of course, are adults who are working and have families so they certainly more interested in something that would be convenient,” she said. “And there are more fields growing that require a bachelor’s degree to move forward, and some of these universities are just not oriented towards workforce-type programs. And some do not have the capacity or the interest in these programs.”

One big hurdle to overcome, however, is state law. Ohio law does not permit community colleges to confer four-year degree programs. There are 19 states, according to the Community College Baccalaureate Association, that have changed state law to allow community colleges to confer four-year degrees. Other reports indicate 21 states, but Idaho community colleges confer four-year degrees but state law never changed to permit that, and Arkansas community colleges folded into the university system.

“We see the students in these states are responding with enthusiasm. They like it. It’s a new market, a new opportunity,” said Posey. “The number enrolling in Florida has nearly quadrupled to nearly 30,000 in the five years.”

The trend for states permitting community colleges to confer four-year degrees started in the 1970s, but Beth Hagan, executive director for the CCBA, said the idea “heated up” in the 1990s.

“Primarily it’s to fill a workforce need,” she said. “The degrees are applied baccalaureate degrees. They’re not English or math. They’re all workforce.”

But Hagan advises those considering this pathway to learn about the pitfalls before starting the process.

“You’ll find when people start the process without finding out about the pitfalls of what could happen they have not been successful because they really did not understand the bigger picture,” she said.

Ohio Association of Community Colleges spokesman Jeff Ortega said the trend “is a response to workforce demands in new emerging fields that call for deeper applied skills than associate degrees currently offer.”

“These credentials usually fall in skilled professional areas where very often there is not a bachelor’s degree available, and where applied contextual learning is necessary for businesses to be competitive,” he said.

The Ohio Association of Community Colleges does not have an official stance on the trend, Ortega said, “although our colleges have had discussions on particular majors that business and industry desires to see in their workers.”

The Ohio Board of Regents is not looking into the trend at this time.

“I can’t speak to really what other states are doing or what Ohio might be looking at down the road, but right now we’re not looking at any type of proposals specifically or taking any in-depth looks at that issue,” said Jeff Robinson, spokesman for the Ohio Board of Regents.

Rep. Tim Derickson, R-Hanover Twp., said he is “not totally sold” yet on the idea — mainly because there are other ways for students to easily obtain four-year degrees — but his interest was piqued when the idea was presented at the Cincinnati State Legislative Luncheon last week in Middletown.

“I think that can provide a benefit to some students, especially those who are geographically located close to the community college,” said Derickson. “(The pathway to a bachelor’s degree) certainly has been a topic of discussion for some time in the legislature.”

Pathways students can earn a four-year degree currently include earning an associate’s degree at a community college then transfer to a four-year school and the state’s College Credits Plus program, where high school students can earn credits through Ohio colleges and universities. There are also articulation agreements that typically surround the ability to transfer credits between community colleges and four-year colleges and universities.

“The concern I’ve heard with community colleges offering a four-year degree is it could create a competitive atmosphere in a local community that may not exist,” said Derickson. “There’s a lot of money that goes into a lot of schools — not only from the state but from families and taxpayers.”

But Hagan said that’s not the case. She said four-year degrees are not going to compete with traditional colleges and university “because they’re not the same degree.” However, she did say education and nursing programs could potentially overlap but there is a “capacity” issues since these are in-demand positions. Hagan also said of the 60 to 70 community colleges that offer four-year degrees, only 1 to 2 percent of their students are in a four-year degree program.

Posey said some potential four-year degrees Cincinnati State could confer include food sciences and land surveying, but emphasized those are just ideas at this point.

“We feel the timing is right for Cincinnati State to be a leader in Ohio in moving this forward,” she said.

Posey said internal discussions still need to happen before any type of proposal could be developed.

“But we want to focus on the needs of students, the need of business and industry that will help Ohio move forward,” she said.