Expanded Opportunities

Texas may allow community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees

Texarkana College advertises itself as a “great place to start, or start over,” highlighting the school’s commitment to helping young students begin their higher education and older students return for greater skills and qualifications.

Well, sometime in the future, it could become a place to finish your degree.

Since 1927, TC has been a mainstay in local education, giving students the chance to complete two years of college at a reasonable cost before transferring elsewhere to finish the path to a bachelor’s degree.

That’s what community colleges were intended to do. Indeed, Texas state law limits their scope, disallowing them from offering bachelor’s or higher degree programs.

That may change.

In 1971, TC partnered with East Texas State University, and the combination allowed students to get a bachelor’s degree on campus. ETSU is now Texas A&M University-Texarkana, which offers four-year programs of its own.

But if lawmakers in Texas get their way, TC may be free to offer a limited number of bachelor’s degree programs.

There are several bills pending that would expand community college offerings across the state, most specifically in nursing but also in education, science and technology.

The bachelor’s programs would be limited—one proposal would allow a community college to offer just three fouryear programs—but if successful, would open doors for the future.

There’s no guarantee any of this will happen. And no guarantee TC would offer four-year programs even if allowed, though the fit for it’s already well-regarded nursing program is obvious to us.

We think it would be a good opportunity for community colleges. We hope the Legislature gives serious consideration to the idea.