4-Year College shouldn't be sole route to Middle Class - by Robert Reich

Article submitted by: Gloria Darafshi

This is a great article, written by Robert Reich of the San Francisco Chronicle, showcasing how your first 2 years in a community college can be a new gateway to the middle class and success. Students receive the same core education at the community college level, and can then transfer to finish their degree to another University.

"This month, millions of young people head to colleges and universities, aiming for a four-year liberal-arts degree. They assume that degree is the only gateway to the American middle class. It shouldn't be. For one thing, a four-year liberal-arts degree is hugely expensive. Too many young people graduate laden with debt that takes years, if not decades, to pay off.." 

Read the full article here...

Degrees Submitted for Approval

As nearly everyone knows, SB 1440 mandated that the CSU and the community college systems develop transfer degrees (AA-T or AS-T) to facilitate transfer of students from the community colleges to the CSUs. Templates for each degree were developed by discipline faculty from both systems and then each community college was required to determine whether they have the courses to fit in the template. Each CSU has to determine whether they have a similar degree and how the student can complete the Bachelor’s degree in 60 semester units after transfer with the AA or AS-T. New templates are released for degree development in February and September.

The faculty at Cañada College has been diligently working to develop and get approval for the degrees for which we have the programs and courses. To date, we have submitted 20 degrees to the State Chancellor’s office for approval and (as of) July 1 have received approval for 17 of these. Some of these degrees were very straightforward and others required significant course updating and revision and/or development of new courses. Of the templates expected to be released in September, we should be able to develop 2-3 additional transfer degrees for our students.

Anthropology

Art History

Business Administration

Communication Studies Philosophy

Computer Science

Early Childhood Education

Economics

Elementary Education (pending state approval)

English

Geography

History

Kinesiology

Mathematics

Physics

Political Science (pending state approval)

Psychology

Sociology

Studio Arts

Theatre Arts (pending state approval)

Submitted by Dr. Janet Stringer, MD, PhD