Cuesta and Allan Hancock colleges push for bachelor's programs 

A new era is close to becoming a reality for Cuesta and Allan Hancock Community Colleges.

"[Traditionally] community colleges primarily serve to provide university transfer preparation, certificates, and degrees in career education programs," Dr. Jill Stearns said.

But the Cuesta College superintendent and president said that's about to change.

click to enlarge

• Photo Courtesy Of Cuesta Community College
• COAST COLLABORATION Officials from Cuesta and Allan Hancock colleges and the general public gathered on Oct. 5 to discuss a path forward to bring a four-year bachelor program to both colleges—a collaborative effort called UnitED Central Coast.

According to Stearns, this new direction will be accomplished as part of a collaborative effort between Cuesta and Hancock called UnitED Central Coast.

"Gov. Newsom set forth the roadmap for the future in 2022, which proposes the bold goal of 70 percent of adults having a college degree or certification by 2030," Stearns said. "To achieve this, California must continue to expand workforce-focused baccalaureate degree programs in our community colleges."

Launched on Oct. 5, UnitED Central Coast aims to share information that could help bring a four-year bachelor's program to both Cuesta and Hancock that meets growing workforce needs.

The program also entails proposing the degrees to the California Community Colleges Board of Governors—a group of officials elected by community college administrations that regulates community college policy of those administrations. If the UnitED Central Coast plan is approved, Cuesta and Hancock could then begin to accommodate those new programs with increased staff and resources.

Stearns said it will take about a year to begin the process of implementation of these new programs once they're approved by the Board of Governors—a process in itself that will also take around a year to achieve.

"There are now bachelor degrees [being offered] at community colleges in 25 states—including California," Stearns said. "These degrees are designed to meet specific workforce needs of the local community and region."

Cuesta plans on introducing a bachelor of science in education to help address the needs of students interested in long-term careers in education and child care—something that's desperately needed according to the community college.

"In San Luis Obispo County alone, almost 100 new teachers are needed each year to address the K-12 shortfalls in our community," an excerpt from Cuesta's website read. "Cuesta already has multiple associate degrees in teacher preparation that would pipeline students into the [proposed] bachelor's program." Δ