NAMPA, Idaho — It’s official: two Idaho community colleges will soon be offering four-year degrees to students.
The Idaho State Board of Education on Wednesday approved the bachelor's degree.
“We are very thankful for this,” said Gordon Jones, President of the College of Western Idaho.
Soon, CWI will offer a Bachelor of Applied Science in Business Administration degree, a major step for the college.
“This allows you to access a lot of jobs that you don't have a bachelor's," Jones said. "It's tough to get considered and we're able to do that with a community college flexibility. A lot of adults, people who might have had some career technical education and also doing it with the affordability that I know people think of community colleges."
The State Board of Education also approved two bachelor's degree programs at the College of Eastern Idaho based in Idaho Falls. Bachelor of Applied Science in Operations Management as well as Digital Forensics and Analytics.
The approval from the State Board came after an extended debate. Administrators from Idaho's four-year schools opposed CWI's new program, saying it caused unnecessary duplication within the higher education system. Community colleges pushed back, saying they have a different demographic.
“We are all one family, once in a while we have a little disagreement" Jones said. "But I think this is about strengthening our system. Community colleges are really built on individuals who are often working, trying to get going in life. There's a wide variety of people we work with that are not necessarily looking to live on campus. At CWI, we are a commuter school,” Jones said.
Jones said CWI has unique options for students as a community college.
“We're offering a lot of flexibility. Eight weeks starts, evening classes, a lot of things that come with recognizing that folks are trying to pursue education while also either raising kids, you're working, just a lot of complexity that we think is going to be a great option,” Jones said.
Jones emphasized their program's cost is competitive compared to a traditional four-year degree.
“We estimate this would be a total of about $18,000 to $19,000, which we think puts that in the range of affordability for most Idahoans,” Jones said.
So, does this open the door for more four-year degrees from CWI?
“Part of an overall theme of how do we unlock at every educational institution serving the populations they have, Whether we do new degrees in the future is something to be talked about. But I promise you it would be applied, it would be affordable, and it would meet the community's needs,” Jones said.
So, at CWI what does an applied bachelor’s degree look like?
“You probably will have classes that are career technical in nature included in your curriculum. So think hands on, think applied, think, project driven. That puts you out with employers. It's marrying some theory with also the practice of how things happen in the workplace. We think that's a great attribute to learn,” Jones said. “It's never good enough to just teach somebody on a whiteboard how to swim. Sometimes you've got to get in the pool and actually demonstrate it.”
Jones and supporters of the program say this is a direct response to career needs in our Idaho communities.
“These are our neighbors, our friends, people in this community who, if they can participate in this educational journey through like an applied bachelor's, they actually can now compete for jobs that are good-paying, career-oriented and can actually meet the needs of this economy that our employers say is something that's in dire need,” Jones said.
Jones said CWI is working with their accreditor right now to get everything coordinated. The hope is to have the program launch in the fall of 2024.
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