Last September 29th Gov. Jerry Brown passed Senate Bill 850 (SB 850), which meant that 15 community colleges in California would offer four-year Baccalaureate degrees. Initially, 36 community colleges across the state had applied for the pilot programs, and according to sdmesa.edu, in recent studies by 2025 California needs to produce about 60,000 more graduates with bachelors degrees by 2025.
The cost for these degrees will vary but ball-park around $10,000 which is a fraction of what it would cost at any CSU, UC, or trade school program. The programs are meant to help boost the economy and make education affordable for those that deemed it too costly in the past.
However, to keep the California school system efficient, that would mean that community colleges would offer degrees in programs that are not already offered in near-by four-year schools. Beside Mesa, Mira Costa, are the only two community colleges in San Diego that will be piloting the programs.
Mesa already offered an associates degree in Health Information Management but because of the changing times the workforce will soon require a BA in the field. The current pilot program for the baccalaureate degree is for just that and is set to run at Mesa College this Fall and will trial through 2023. This will give a chance for state officials to collectively see the progression in education and consider furthering more programs after reviewing the number of graduates, what jobs become available and how much their salary will be. The numbers will help determine whether or not the programs are worth the investment for students.
According to 10News.com, Mesa College President Dr. Pamela Luster said, “There is a robust labor market need for medical records managers. We have tremendous student demand, superior faculty, and overwhelming support from our healthcare industry partners who stand ready to employ our graduates.”
At mesa, 120 units will be needed at minimum to complete the course, with 60 in lower division and the remaining in upper division. Fall 2015 a freshman class will be able to begin the Health Information Management courses and the following year, a junior class will be offered. Ashley Del Rosario, a student at Mesa said, “I think it’s really beneficial for us [Mesa College] to have a bachelor’s degree program, students will definitely have an advantage in cost and I’m curious to see how it will go.”