JUSTIN OTTO
The Corsair
PJC will soon offer a limited number of baccalaureate degrees in addition to continuing to offer associate degree programs as they have offered for 61 years.
“I think to meet the needs of the local service area we will have to look at a limited number of bachelors programs as demand comes along,” said Dr. Martin Gonzalez, vice president of academic affairs.
When the idea of offering a four-year program at PJC was first put forth in 2008, there was speculation it would not come into fruition until 2011. Now, due to the diligence of the staff involved, PJC may see change as soon as fall 2010.
“Though it might be happening sooner than expected, the reason behind the change remains the same,” Gonzalez said. “Florida has a very poor production record of people with baccalaureate degrees. In other words, for the size of the state, we graduate very few people, per capita, compared to other states with baccalaureate programs.”
Florida is on the low end of the scale when it comes to bachelor degree production, ranking 47th out of 50 states.
“That’s not ranking by size either. By size it may be worst,” Business Professor Dr. Carla Rich said. Florida’s population is also fourth highest in the nation.
PJC is requesting a Bachelor of Applied Science in administration and supervision. This BAS program would consist of four tracks: General Business, Health Care Administration, Graphic Design and Public Safety/Public Service. PJC is also asking for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, which is a separate four-year degree.
Dr. Joan Ziel, who serves as director of the department of testing and assessment, feels the addition of the new programs will definitely make an impact on the economy of both the school and the future of students who decide to utilize these programs.
While UWF holds the throne of higher education in the Santa Rosa and Escambia county area, PJC hopes to fill a function that will be more accessible to retuning students as well as a variety of new matriculators. However, bachelor programs such as Journalism, Computer Science, Education, and so forth will continue to only be offered at universities.
“I think there is a definite market for the Associate in Applied Science student. It allows the Associate in Arts and Associate in
Science student an opportunity to build on the degree that they have and move directly into a bachelors program that will enable them to enter into a management level position right away. A lot of career options are available for these types of students,” Ziel said.
However there is still a lot to be done before the new programs are opened. PJC still lacks state and accrediting approval, which are both vital for the idea to get started.
“The state will hopefully approve us in January or February and then we have to submit a change request to the accrediting agency. That would go in April 15 and they would hopefully approve us at their June meeting. Once we get by the accreditation approval, we’ll be ready to get started,” Gonzalez said. “Hopefully we begin recruiting as early as July, with the first classes starting in August 2010.”