THE BCC BACHELORS DEGREE LEGISLATION IS STALLED IN COMMITTEE!

YOU CAN DO SOMETHING TO HELP!!

The current legislation that would allow BCC to offer 4-year degrees has stalled in committee. This means that some of the Senators on the Higher Education + Workforce Development Committee have not agreed that the bill should move to the Senate floor for a vote. If this bill does not get out of committee then this issue will not be addressed again until the 2010 Legislative Session. The time to act is now!

PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL THE FOLLOWING LEGISLATORS! And forward this list to everyone you know (get your family and friends and fellow students to call too!!) Let them know why they should support this legislation!


Senator Randi Becker (R) 2nd LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Phone: (360) 786-7602
becker.randi@leg.wa.gov

Senator Mike Hewitt, (R) 16th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Phone: (360) 786-7630
Fax: (369) 786-1266
hewitt.mike@leg.wa.gov

Senator Ken Jacobsen (D) 46th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Phone: (360) 786-7690
Fax: (360) 786-1999
jacobsen.ken@leg.wa.gov

Senator Val Stevens (R) 39th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Phone: (360) 786-7676
Fax: (360) 786-7819
stevens.val@leg.wa.gov

HERE ARE THE TALKING POINTS: (PLEASE Add a Personal Note or Information About Yourself, DO NOT just cut and paste this message because it will not be as effective. The legislators want to know your personal story and why this bill is important to you!)

I support Senate Bill SB 5575, legislation that would grant Bellevue College the authority to offer upper-division classes.


(1) BCC can co-exist as a BA program and an AAS program.

a. The current plan will be considered a 2 + 2. After 2 years you can graduate with an AAS in Interior Design, or you can choose to continue for 2 more years to complete your BA.

(2) The state will feel virtually no monetary impact from this bill.

a. Currently the state has in-state and out-of-state tuition rates for students. If the BA is approved then 300-level and 400-level classes will be priced at out-of-state tuition rates. This means that the state will not be responsible for reimbursing students for the in-state tuition rate for these courses. Ultimately, offering upper level courses will not cost the state more money.

b. The faculty will not be paid more to teach 300-level and 400-level courses.

c. The number of units required is just short of a Bachelors degree – only 5 more classes are required for an accredited program, 3 of which already are offered at BCC. Therefore, virtually no curriculum development or staff increase is required.

(3) A bachelor's degree in Interior Design will make its graduates more competitive in a difficult economy. The high quality of BCC's Interior Design graduates is no longer the advantage it once was in the Puget Sound region. Given the competition for jobs, a bachelor's degree in interior design is highly valued.

AND there is no other state school that offers a 4-year program in western WA. Many students are changing careers and enhancing their job skills to earn a better income and cannot face the hardship to their families by transferring to WSU in Spokane , the only other BA program available at a state school.

(4) The Interior Design program is currently accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), an independent, non-profit accrediting organization for interior design education programs at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada . BCC's program is one of only three non-baccalaureate programs in the United States to hold this distinction and is the only CIDA-accredited program in Western Washington , and one of only two in the state. This accreditation will be forfeited in January 2010 if the program does not culminate in a bachelor's degree by then. Losing accreditation jeopardizes the future of a vital and successful program, reducing the availability of qualified interior design professionals in Washington , and diminishing the value of students' degrees. The resources expended in building the program and conducting the self-study that led to accreditation represent a significant investment that should not go to waste.

(5) BCC will only offer Applied Bachelors degrees: degrees that apply directly to a trade or profession and these degrees will not be offered at any other state school in western WA.


PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE! The committee may vote on this as soon as today, so act now!