BCC's makeover could end up a beauty

BELLEVUE Community College's request to transform into a blend of two- and four-year degree offerings is a smart response to a changing economy and the need for retrained and better-educated workers.

The Legislature may have laid the groundwork when it approved a pilot project allowing two-year colleges to offer a four-year degree. BCC wants to go farther.

We should explore the possibility. Other states, such as Florida, have gone this route. But caution and proper planning must be part of the journey.

State lawmakers should encourage creative thinking when it comes to broadening access to higher education. But it ought to have limits, at least temporarily, to the new authority handed over to BCC.

The goal is to allow an attractive plan to take shape while not getting ahead of the state Higher Education Coordinating Board's task to develop a statewide vision matching educational needs with institutional offerings. With so much churning in the waters of higher education, smart steering by the HEC Board is critical.

BCC's plan is workable. Eastern Washington University already offers several degree programs on the BCC campus,

The matter ought not turn into a turf battle. The University of Washington — which opposes the plan — left a gaping hole in educational access when it closed spring enrollment on its Seattle campus to about 370 students because of budget challenges.

Access to higher education needs to be broadened. A comprehensive review of Washington's K-12 system criticized the creaky pipeline from high school to college. At the very least, the state would need to increase its production of four-year degree holders by more than 3,900, or 14 percent.

Yet, in the Puget Sound region, such options are limited to the University of Washington or going up to Bellingham or down to Tacoma. Those choices are too narrow for a state facing a decline in the number of high-school graduates earning two- and four-year degrees.

BCC is going about this the right way. It is seeking to fill a need, not encroach on another's turf. It seeks to offer four-year degrees in applied sciences, a move that for students would result not just in a degree, but in a job.