Kansas has been doing so much wrong for so long in higher education that it would probably take forever to straighten it all out.
But the Kansas Board of Regents took a step in the right direction this week, when members approved a policy proposed by Pittsburg State to allow state universities to grant associate degrees to students who have the credit hours for an AA but don’t make it all the way to their bachelor’s.
That’s a good change.
Honestly, the way Kansas set up its higher education system never made sense to me.
I was astonished when I found out that Kansas doesn’t allow a community college to be based in the same county that has a state university … why not? Where I come from, they went hand in glove.
Community colleges and universities need to be partners, not competitors. From my own experience, I know we can do better.
When I started college in California, I was what they called “concurrently enrolled.” I attended Glendale Community College on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to take general education courses, and Tuesdays and Thursdays at Cal State Northridge, to take classes in my major.
All my credits transferred seamlessly, and my counselors at both schools communicated regularly to make sure I stayed on track to graduate on schedule.
But it depends on cooperation, which, from what I’ve seen, is sorely lacking here. The system is incredibly siloed and based on the premise that where you start is where you finish.
I actually once started quite a brouhaha at a Wichita State parent-student meeting, when my sons were exploring their college options.
I asked about the possibility of them doing the first two years at a community college and then transferring over, as many of my friends did, or concurrently enrolling, like I did.
The recruiter leading the meeting was dismissive of that idea. She said my boys could do it, but it’s not recommended, because the coursework at the community colleges isn’t as rigorous and they’d be way behind other juniors when they got to WSU.
There was a woman in the audience who worked at Dodge City Community College. She stood up, threw her folders down on her chair and started yelling at the recruiter that their classes are every bit as good as WSU’s, maybe better.
I honestly think if there hadn’t been a stage in the way, it might have come to blows. Ms. Dodge City was really worked up and Ms. WSU wasn’t giving an inch.
It was a minor incident, but a telling one.
