Currently, Santa Ana College only offers a two-year degree in occupational studies, but this is set to change in just over two years’ time.
By the 2017-18 school year, a Bachelor’s degree program will be in place, offering something different to that available at any California four-year universities.
In March, the California Community College Board of Governors will finalize their selection of the two-year institutions it will allow to start offering four-year degrees. The Board voted 9-0 to select 15 community colleges from 34 that have applied to offer a limited number of baccalaureate programs.
Santa Ana College is one of those hoping to be selected and, if chosen, will have the only four-year occupational therapy program in the state. While the concept of community colleges offering four-year degrees is new to California, 21 states already have this.
If approved, students would pay approximately $10,000 for a Bachelor’s degree from a community college. This would represent a considerable savings over a traditional four-year college course that currently costs about $22,000 at a California State College, and this is without the addition of campus fees.
It is likely that Santa Ana Community College will request that its catalog printing service should include the information regarding its new four-degree in advance of its inaugural year.
Nearby Cypress College is also hoping to be included among the 15 chosen community colleges. The institution now operates one of only two accredited programs for mortuary science in California, with the nearest four-year degree program located in Oklahoma.
