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Volume 41, Issue 12
April 6, 2004
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April
6, 2004
District won't
offer 4-year degree
Program to impact rural campuses
Kimberly
Hosey
Mesa Legend
While legislators
and citizens discuss whether to allow community colleges to offer four-year
degrees, the Maricopa Community College District remains neutral and instead
plans to continue to pursue an alliance with Arizona universities.
House Bill 2064, sponsored by Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, was narrowly
approved March 9 by the House Appropriations Committee and would create
a six-year pilot program in which community colleges would be allowed
to offer baccalaureate degrees in nursing, law enforcement, fire science
and teaching.
The bill still has a long way to go in the legislative process, and could
change significantly before it reaches the Arizona House and Senate for
a vote and finally the governor for her approval.
Pearce proposed the measure to offset the soaring cost of tuition at Arizona’s
universities and to help make bachelor’s degrees more accessible
to students in rural areas.
He proposed the pilot program as a “living, breathing study in motion.”
At the end of the six-year program, Pearce said, four-year graduates can
be compared to others in the workforce to assess whether “the workforce
output has better equipped Arizona to meet the needs of current and new
businesses.”
“At this time we are not interested in application, even if it is
approved by legislation and the governor,” said Chris Bustamante,
director of government relations and external affairs for MCCD. Bustamante
said the district will benefit more from an alliance currently established
with Arizona State Univeristy.
“The Maricopa and ASU alliance encourages learning prospects, eases
the transition from community colleges to the university and pushes for
the university to accept more community college credits,” Bustamante
said.
If fully implemented, the alliance will allow Maricopa colleges and ASU
to share facilities and faculty, and eventually may allow students to
obtain four-year degrees in some areas without leaving the community college
campus.
However, Pearce believes HB 2064 is compatible with cooperation between
community colleges and universities.
“The pilot is not mutually exclusive. Agreements and programs that
are in development or underway between universities and individual districts
need not change or be affected as the pilot moves forward,” he said
in a March 24 commentary in the East Valley Tribune.
Bustamante said he believes MCCD colleges do not need to offer four-year
degrees. The urban locations of Maricopa colleges as well as cooperative
efforts such as the ASU alliance give students many opportunities to pursue
four-year degrees.
“I think our residents have a lot of options as far as baccalaureate
degrees,” Bustamante said.
“The presidents at rural colleges are indicating that it’s
difficult for their community members to get a (four-year) education,”
he added.
HB 2064 would also aid in workforce training. According to Pearce, people
currently in the workforce, such as police officers, could pursue bachelor’s
degrees without moving to complete them at universities.
“The bill would offer career advancement opportunities for those
currently in the workforce,” Bustamante agreed.
However, he said difficulties of travel and accessibility do not usually
plague MCC students and other students in urban areas, where the travel
time is often the same as to the nearest university.
The bill is also being promoted as an opportunity to make baccalaureate
degrees more accessible to students who cannot pay university tuition,
which will top $4000 next year.
Pearce denied claims that the bill would blur the line between community
college and university education.
“No one is suggesting that community colleges change their mission.
There is no ‘mission creep’ when community colleges are afforded
the opportunity to do what they do best – workforce development,”
he said in his March 24 commentary.
“We really believe the alliance is the answer for us here in Maricopa,”
Bustamante said. “This is shaping up to be more of a rural initiative.”
However, he said as the proposal changes, it could affect education statewide.
“This is a proposal that still has a ways to go, so it probably
will change as it goes through the process, changing the face of higher
education,” he said.
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