The Buccaneer

By Sam Tack

Peninsula College was awarded funding by the Washington state legislature to start offering another bachelor's degree. The degree that will be offered is still undecided, but administrators are hoping a decision will be reached and the new program will be available starting next fall.

In order to determine what degree should be offered the college has been surveying PC graduates, current students, Running Start students and local employers to find what degrees are in the highest demand. The college will make the decision based on "What best matches our communities needs" says Dr. Mary O'Neil-Garrett, Vice President of Instruction at PC.

PC already offers three four-year degrees, which includes BA in environmental science, a degree in education and BA in Applied Management. The new degree will work very much like the science and education degrees already provided.

Unlike the applied management degree, which is Peninsula College's very own degree, environmental science, education and the new degree are all contracted through Universities. After coming to a conclusion on what degree to deliver, PC will then begin to shop and negotiate with universities to find the best deal.

Once partnered with another school, PC instructors will be permitted to teach the classes needed for completing the degree. Although Peninsula College teachers will teach most of the classes, there will be some interactive TV learning. Tuition costs for the new degree will be the same price as the three currently available four-year programs. The price runs slightly higher than the two years programs at PC, but is still relatively inexpensive.

The funding for the new degree has comes from a statewide program that allows Washington state legislature to select community colleges to offer four-year degrees.

Peninsula College was selected because of its rural location, which makes it difficult for any residents to attend a university elsewhere.

If everything goes according to plan, students returning next fall will have another option available to them, and thanks to ongoing funding from the Washington State legislature the new degree will be a permanent situation providing generations to come with the availability of a four-year degree without having to leave their home.

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