In the February 4, 2010, issue of the Summit Daily News, Caitlin Row reports that State Senator Dan Gibbs, who was a former student at Colorado Mountain College which has a brand new building in Breckenridge, wants to see the 2-year college become a 4-year one, providing 4-year degrees. He has introduced a bill to the Colorado Legislature to do just that.
As of now, the community college only provides two-year associates' degrees. The CMC board of trustees already approved making four-year degrees a reality, but the measure must be passed by the state Legislature first.
According to Gibbs, expanding CMC's degree offerings would be good for Summit County's business community, as it would diversify the local tourism-based economy.
The Colorado Department of Higher Education is in the process of reviewing the future of Colorado higher education, and plans to finish the review by the end of the year. Thus, they are opposed to Gibb's bill, based on its timing in relation to the review process.
However, Lin Stickler, executive vice president of CMC, has concerns with waiting for a new strategic plan. She thinks the new CMC legislation is already aligned with the state's core goals -- to increase completion and lower costs for degrees, and to improve access and success for Colorado high school students, especially Hispanics and low-income students.
Gibbs and Stickler both noted that the bill would create no additional expense to the state, as CMC schools are funded locally, and four-year degree start-up costs could be absorbed by the institution.
CMC public information officer, Debra Crawford, noted that "lots of people on the Western Slope aren't getting advanced degrees because they can't leave home due to work and family commitments, etc. Online degrees don't work for everybody. We're trying to give High Country folks more options. We'd love to have it ready for next fall ... It's remaining to be seen how long it will take for all the pieces to fall into place."
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