Florida Community Colleges Offer Bachelor's Degrees

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Feb. 12, 2009 -- Community college students don't necessarily have to leave their campuses to get a bachelor's degree anymore.

In Florida, and elsewhere across the country, more and more community college students are pursuing bachelor's degrees at their campuses. States are allowing the practice in hopes of meeting a workforce demand that overburdened public and private universities haven't been able to answer.

Starting in August, Santa Fe College, formerly known as Santa Fe Community College, will offer two bachelor's degrees: one in clinical laboratory science and another in health services administration.

Santa Fe College is not the first community college to make the move. Currently, 10 of Florida's 28 community colleges offer bachelor's degrees in subjects ranging from nursing and dental hygiene to banking and public safety management. Starting this year, Santa Fe, Polk Community College and Seminole Community College will increase that number to 13.

The expansion is part of a national trend. According to the American Association of Community Colleges, at the end of 2008, 95 community colleges in 11 states awarded bachelor's degrees. Average tuition hovered at $6,185 per year, about $400 less than annual in-state tuition at public universities.

Community colleges are an even bigger bargain compared to private universities, where average tuition this year is more than $25,000, according to the College Board.

"Offering these programs was about access," said Santa Fe president Jackson Sasser. "Students in Orlando and Jacksonville need to be able to access such programs and where would they go?"

Dr. Willis N. Holcombe, chancellor for the Florida Department of Education of Community Colleges, says the trend toward four-year degrees is really just an outgrowth of the community colleges' original mission.

"Our mission always has been to serve and reach the employment needs of the area, and in Florida, more and more jobs require a bachelor degree," he said.

The expansion of bachelor's degree programs will also boost Florida's status in state rankings by the number of residents with higher education degrees. The state currently ranks among the lowest in the country.