Introduction

In the late 1990s, Florida sat near the bottom of the states in terms of bachelor’s degree attainment.¹ State leaders were not satisfied with their position and wanted to elevate economic and educational opportunities for Floridians. One strategy made Florida a pioneer among states: introducing baccalaureate programs in the community college. In 2001, the state legislature passed a bill authorizing St. Petersburg Community College, which was renamed St. Petersburg College, to confer bachelor’s degrees. Miami Dade and Chipola followed in 2002. Today, 27 of 28 Florida community colleges offer at least one bachelor’s degree, with nearly 200 programs currently operating in the system. In 2016–17, Florida community colleges conferred nearly 8,000 bachelor’s degrees.² The state’s multi-pronged strategy to raise bachelor’s degree attainment seems to be working. Other states have taken notice of Florida’s success and followed suit.

While Florida stood nearly alone in 2001, 23 states now authorize community college baccalaureate degrees. Of these, six have begun authorizing these degrees since 2018.³ Interest in offering four-year degrees at the community college is still growing as the economy continues to reward higher credentials and advanced applied learning.

Baccalaureate programs at community colleges are opening up access to four-year degrees to a population of students either not well-served—or absent from—public and private four-year institutions. In Florida, for example, the average community college baccalaureate student is 31 years old, compared to 22 for upper-division students at public universities.⁴ Data collected by the state Department of Education indicate that three in four community college baccalaureate students are from populations historically underserved in higher education.⁵ While these programs are usually fairly small, their affordability and accessibility is opening the door to a bachelor’s degree for more students, without asking them to leave their home campus.

As additional states embark on the process of implementing four-year degrees at community colleges, they can learn from others’ experience for help navigating the legislative, regulatory, and program approval processes. This brief uses examples from states currently offering bachelor's degrees at their community colleges to provide guidance for policymakers setting up these degree programs. There are various ways to implement four-year degrees at the community college; the following sections include important considerations to implement them well.