Program Approval

The next step in starting bachelor’s degrees at community colleges is setting up what program approval looks like. Requirements may be more robust for these degrees than for the types of degrees traditionally offered by community colleges or public universities because these degrees are new, and states have a stake in ensuring that they are high-quality and non-duplicative. Program approval should include creating a clear line of consultation with other colleges and universities, deciding on criteria for approval, aligning with accreditation requirements, and building in accountability.

The program approval authority should lay out a clear process and timeline for colleges seeking to get their new four-year programs approved. For instance, the Florida College System uses a detailed, six-month timeline of the process, which includes formal consultation with the State University System of Florida and private colleges that culminates in a final decision by the State Board of Education based on a recommendation by the commissioner.¹ State universities have 90 days, and independent colleges 60 days, to comment on proposed baccalaureate programs at community colleges before the programs can move forward.

This process will look different in different state contexts but should include consultation with the state’s four-year colleges. Community colleges and four-year colleges and universities together provide access to a variety of areas of study, types of degrees, and pathways into the workforce. For different sectors of higher education to work together cohesively, communication between community colleges proposing four-year programs and four-year institutions is critical from the earliest stages of the program approval process. Florida’s consultation process has resulted in productive relationships between community colleges and universities, where some of the four-year programs at community colleges serve as feeders to university graduate school programs. Similar patterns of community college baccalaureate students enrolling in graduate programs at public universities are emerging in Washington.

State authorizing agencies require colleges provide a wide range of information when they are determining whether to approve a program. They ask for academic information, such as a description of the admission process and which classes will be included in the degree curriculum. They ask about labor market demand and unmet local hiring needs. They ask about institutional capacity around finances, accreditation, and faculty. Every state will emphasize different information, but we recommend that all states require colleges provide information in relation to the following four criteria:

Labor Market Demand

Community college bachelor’s programs should be required to provide evidence that they meet a local economic need. Given that the majority of these programs are in applied or technical fields, colleges should have to present data indicating that degrees earned in the proposed program would help meet local workforce demand. Evidence of local labor market demand could include hiring projections, skill and credential needs for relevant occupations, and employer testimony on their skill and hiring needs related to the proposed program. Florida, Ohio, Texas, and Washington all require that colleges establish labor market demand for proposed programs. Florida requires the use of very specific data and metrics to establish this demand, while the other states allow a bit more flexibility in terms of how colleges demonstrate this.²

Student Demand

In addition to providing evidence of labor market demand for baccalaureate graduates, colleges proposing a new program should also be required to show that there is enough student demand to sustain a new program. States such as Oregon and Colorado included clauses in legislation requiring evidence of student interest in a proposed baccalaureate program, alongside demand from employers.³ This makes good sense and can both help program approval bodies gauge the viability of a proposed degree and help institutions tailor outreach and recruitment efforts if the program is approved. Having local employers eager to hire graduates from a program is critical, but workforce demand is moot unless students want to enroll. Student demand is key to creating and sustaining a viable and valuable program.

Filling Gaps in Degree Offerings

New bachelor’s degree programs at community colleges should not duplicate what other public colleges and universities currently offer. The purpose of the community college baccalaureate is to expand states’ overall bachelor’s degree capacity in a cohesive way that supports positive education and labor market outcomes. Unacceptable duplication would consist of a community college and a public university within commuting distance offering the same bachelor’s program, while the university still had the capacity to enroll students. Most program approval proposals include a requirement for colleges to describe how their program is different from other, similar programs in the state.

Because bachelor’s degrees at the community college level tend to be more applied and technical than programs at a local university, they are generally not duplicative. An exception would be when four-year institutions offer a program—nursing, for example—where student and employer demand outstrip the supply of graduates. Without enough nurses with bachelor’s degrees, local health care access could suffer, so adding a new baccalaureate program at a local community college could help meet that need.

Institutional Capacity

Regardless of the funding structure set up by the state, start-up costs for new bachelor’s degree programs at community colleges can be significant. Before institutions embark on creating a new program, they should share a financial plan for starting and sustaining the program. States should specify resources colleges must have and outline resources they will give to supplement investment in the new degree program. States should also ask about plans around faculty, facilities like libraries and equipment, and programmatic and institutional accreditation. For example, the Washington state baccalaureate program approval process gets colleges ready to work with their accreditor to offer upper-division classes. This cuts down on the amount of work a college has to do to launch a program. The programmatic accreditation process, required in certain fields, is such that a program must operate, unaccredited, in order to demonstrate its worthiness. New programs requiring program-specific accreditation should demonstrate to the program approval entity that they are on the path to accreditation.

States need to consider accountability structures that ensure college programs do not outlive their usefulness to local employers or students. Community college bachelor’s degree programs’ unique position as solutions to local workforce needs means that their usefulness may vary with economic trends. While programs may be successful in transitioning students to jobs with family-sustaining wages for years, local labor markets can and do change, and sometimes quickly. Changes may indicate a need to close an existing program that is no longer fulfilling its original purpose. Or if program graduates fail to attain local employment in the target field, the program may need to close. In these circumstances, program review may include provisions for closing programs. The sunset process should allow current students in the program to complete or transfer to another, similar program.