Goal to meet students’, communities’ unmet needs
The Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees voted during their Nov. 9 meeting to empower the college administration to seek approval on offering a limited number of four-year, baccalaureate degrees.
“This would allow the residents living in our 12,000-square-mile service area to have access to an affordable alternative in higher education, without having to leave home,” said Dr. Stan Jensen, president of the community college. Through seven physical campuses and distance learning, Colorado Mountain College currently offers liberal arts and science certificate and associate degree programs, basic and lifelong learning, and customized business training.
Next steps will include seeking approval from the state legislature to confer selected bachelor’s degrees under the college’s existing name and governance structure. If that initiative is successful, the college would conduct community surveys to confirm the specific degrees that will serve the greatest unmet needs of local communities. Based on previous research, those degrees could possibly include teacher education, nursing, health services administration, business, hospitality management, resort management and environmental studies.
Degrees to complement existing partnerships, articulation agreements
In partnership with several other institutions, the college already offers hybrid access to selected bachelor’s degrees, using a combination of in-person classes and distance learning. “We want to continue those partnerships with other colleges,” said Jensen. “But distance learning doesn’t work for everyone.”
CMC administrators also propose to continue growing articulation agreements the college already has with four-year colleges and universities, so that students who earn associate degrees with Colorado Mountain College can transfer directly into bachelor’s programs elsewhere. “But not everyone can leave home to go to college,” said Jensen. “And there are no entirely face-to-face bachelor’s degrees available within our service area, which is the size of the state of Maryland.”
The key benefit of the initiative, say college administrators, is to meet students’ unmet needs.
“Rather than competing with other colleges and reducing their slice of the pie, we want to create a larger pie,” explained Jensen. “We want to create a path to higher education for people who otherwise couldn’t pursue that path.
“Our core mission is to create a better future for our students, our communities, our partners and our team members,” said Jensen. “And we believe that by expanding the degrees we offer, we can do an even better job of this.”
Already this year the college has expanded degree and certificate offerings, including two online degrees – associate of arts and associate of general studies – and solar energy certificates in basic solar photovoltaic, solar thermal installation and photovoltaic installation.
Initiative supports Colorado’s P-20 goal of doubling graduates
Jensen also cited the ambitious goal of Colorado’s P-20 Education Council: to double the number of post-secondary certificates and degrees by the year 2017. The P-20 initiative seeks to ensure a seamless education system, from preschool to graduate school, to prepare Colorado’s young people for the demands of the 21st century.
“By meeting the unmet needs of people in our district, we hope to do our part to grow the number of college graduates in Colorado,” said Jensen. “This increase in college graduates will contribute to the economic and cultural vitality of our communities.”
The college would use its existing facilities, infrastructure, faculty and staff to create more graduates with bachelor’s degrees. This, in turn, will increase the total number of Colorado’s four-year graduates in the most cost-effective manner, said Jensen.
“Because we anticipate growing this program gradually, we don’t expect to see an immediate increased need for facilities, beyond what we’ve already been planning at our campuses in Steamboat Springs and Edwards,” he explained. “We are already studying ways we can increase the use of our existing classroom buildings. Also, we believe through increased efficiencies, our infrastructure, faculty and staff can absorb the enrollment increases with minimal, if any, additional expense.”
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