Anais Diaz wants to earn a bachelor’s degree but faces multiple hurdles along the route, she told the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. 

“Between time, distance and financial commitment, I am looking at an uphill battle,” the Allan Hancock College alum told the Board of Governors Tuesday during a meeting at Santa Barbara City College.

“That is why I’m here today to advocate for a broader bachelor degree program at community colleges,” she added. “Having options closer to home would provide more opportunities for students like me.”

A handful of Hancock representatives spoke during the state board’s retreat, urging support for Hancock’s proposal to offer a Bachelor of Science in Applied Professional Studies. The item wasn’t on the agenda, and board members did not comment. 

Last fall, Hancock received provisional approval from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office for a bachelor’s degree. Provisional approval pushed the program one step closer to approval.

Traditionally, community colleges have offered associate of arts and associate of science degrees along with certificates. But any bachelor’s degree program at a community college cannot duplicate those offered at California State University or University of California campuses.

Hancock officials have lobbied to get CSU to expand in some way to the northern Santa Barbara County. 

“We have worked with our local leaders and businesses for more than a decade to get CSU to serve our community only to have the rug pulled time and time again, usually relying on technical bureaucratic rules to justify denying access to our neighbors,” Hancock Superintendent/President Kevin Walthers said. 

While 45 miles away from Santa Maria, getting admitted to Cal Poly can be difficult since the programs remain highly competitive. CSU Channel Islands is more than 100 miles away.

The bachelor’s degree Hancock hopes to offer is admittedly different, he said, adding it takes a broader approach. 

“Our community needs a pathway to a degree that would allow people to advance in a wide range of industries — agriculture, space, public service, nonprofits, logistics, early childhood education,” Walthers added.

The proposed degree isn’t designed as a pathway to Wall Street. 

“It is a degree designed to foster generational change for our community that is the very epitome of the historically marginalized population that you discussed earlier,” Walthers added. 

Genevieve Siwabessy, Hancock’s vice president of student services, noted the nearest four-year university sits more than 100 miles away. 

“Many of our students are accepted to CSUs but are unable to move away from home due to financial constraints, family responsibilities or other personal reasons,” Siwabessy said. “This situation leaves them with limited options to further their education and career prospects.”

Many students care for younger siblings while parents hold jobs, she added. Others are parents and unable to move away from the area.

“If you want to act for justice in a way that changes the odds for this community, you should act to approve the bachelor’s of applied professional studies at Allan Hancock College,” said Lawanda Lyons Pruitt, president of the NAACP’s Santa Maria-Lompoc Chapter. 

There’s a second path toward launching a bachelor’s program at Hancock— Assembly Bill 1462, introduced Feb. 21 by State Assemblymember Gregg Hart, D-Santa Barbara. 

Existing law allows community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees, but allows CSU or the UC systems to file written objections which would require the Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to establish a written agreement before the program is approved.

If ultimately approved, Hart’s bill would authorize the board of governors to approve a new degree at Hancock College without a written agreement. 

“Transfer rates out of community colleges are abysmally low when no accessible, affordable universities exist within a 30-mile radius,” Walthers said. “That’s why providing local baccalaureate degrees in broad fields like business or education is so important for students in Northern Santa Barbara County.

“And that’s why we’re asking the California Community College Board of Governors to take the bold step of approving Hancock’s proposed degree that will best serve our students, our community, and our economy,” Walthers said.

More education would allow for advancement opportunities in a career she is passionate about, Diaz said, adding she worked for a nonprofit organization involved in helping homeless residents.

“Removing barriers to a local bachelor’s degree would result in opening the doors for many other individuals like me who seek to make their lives better to provide for their families,” said Diaz. “A local bachelor’s degree would help us to contribute more fully to our local culture and our local economy.”