To inform decisions about whether community college baccalaureate degree programs should be expanded in Texas, this report summarizes findings on unmet workforce-development needs in nursing and four applied science occupations: computer and information technology, management of fire sciences, management of production/operations technicians, and health information technology.

Assessing the Potential to Expand Community College Baccalaureate Programs in Texas

Executive Summary

Lindsay Daugherty, Charles A. Goldman, Lindsay Butterfield, Trey Miller

ResearchPublished Aug 28, 2014

Many workforce-development needs, particularly those requiring baccalaureate degrees, remain unmet in some areas of Texas. Employers and students are calling for additional programs to develop workplace skills and to provide opportunities for career advancement. On May 22, 2013, the Texas Legislature approved a bill mandating a study on whether community college baccalaureate degree programs should be expanded in Texas. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board asked the RAND Corporation to partner with the Texas Higher Education Policy Initiative to conduct the study.

This report summarizes a longer research report in which the authors assess unmet workforce-development needs in nursing and the applied sciences, assess the arguments for and against baccalaureate expansion, and recommend potential activities to support implementation of any new policies undertaken to expand community college baccalaureate programs. They find significant need for more baccalaureate nurses, although rapidly growing distance learning programs may be able to meet this need. The authors find varying needs for the four applied science occupations they examined: computer and information technology, management of fire sciences, management of production/operations technicians, and health information technology. While expanding community college baccalaureate degree programs could help meet unmet needs and increase degree attainment among students, there are concerns about costs, mission creep at community colleges, counterproductive competition between community colleges and universities, and a decline in the overall quality of a Texas baccalaureate. The authors discuss the inherent tradeoffs that policymakers face in this regard.

Key Findings

Issues to Consider in Deciding Whether to Expand Community College Baccalaureate Programs in Texas

  • There is significant need in Texas for some applied science occupations.
  • There is significant need for more baccalaureate nurses, although rapidly growing distance learning programs may be able to meet this need.
  • Potential benefits of community college baccalaureate expansion include the ability to help meet workforce needs, the potential for increased student access and degree attainment, greater experience with applied education, and a small, supportive environment for students.
  • Potential drawbacks of community college baccalaureate expansion include mission creep at community colleges, counterproductive competition between community colleges and universities, and a decline in the overall quality of a Texas baccalaureate.
  • There are already ongoing efforts between community colleges and universities to partner to meet workforce needs.
  • More detailed analysis of the full costs of expansion, including indirect costs, is needed to ensure that expansion of baccalaureate programs occurs at the institutions that can meet workforce needs most efficiently.

Recommendations for Processes and Supporting Activities

  • Clarify the different types of applied baccalaureate degrees currently available in Texas.
  • Clearly define applied science fields.
  • Continue to use the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board criteria for program approval.
  • Coordinate proposals across institutions when demand is limited or resources are constrained.
  • Provide guidance and mentoring to community colleges if expansion of baccalaureates is approved.
  • Conduct more empirical analyses of costs, outcomes, and potential mission creep.

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web-Only
  • Year: 2014
  • Pages: 18
  • ISBN/EAN: 978-0-8330-8736-2
  • Document Number: RR-745/1-CFAT

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Daugherty, Lindsay, Charles A. Goldman, Lindsay Butterfield, and Trey Miller, Assessing the Potential to Expand Community College Baccalaureate Programs in Texas: Executive Summary, RAND Corporation, RR-745/1-CFAT, 2014. As of September 13, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR745z1.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Daugherty, Lindsay, Charles A. Goldman, Lindsay Butterfield, and Trey Miller, Assessing the Potential to Expand Community College Baccalaureate Programs in Texas: Executive Summary. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2014. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR745z1.html.
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The research in this report was produced for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board by RAND Education, a unit of the RAND Corporation, and the Texas Higher Education Policy Initiative (HEPI).

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