This first Data Note on the "Scaling Community College Baccalaureate Degrees: The Equity Imperative" research project provides baseline information on relatively new forms of baccalaureate degrees, Applied Baccalaureate (AB) and Community College Baccalaureate (CCB), the reasons colleges adopt these degrees, and the concerns identified…

Community and technical colleges in Washington state were early adopters in the growing trend to offer bachelor's degrees, actively expanding these degrees over the last 15 years. This study describes the evolving state policy landscape on community college baccalaureate (CCB) degrees in Washington in certain programs previously classified as…

This study examines employment and earnings outcomes for Bachelor's of Applied Science (BAS) degree-holders who graduated from a Washington community and technical college baccalaureate (CCB) program in business, computer and information sciences, healthcare, and visual and performing arts. These graduates are compared to graduates from public…

This data note presents results from qualitative interviews with Community College Baccalaureate (CCB) students in Washington state. We use in-depth, longitudinal interview data to describe three CCB students' experiences prior to CCB-program enrollment and through their programs to graduation and employment. The three students we profile credit…

This study examines the employment and earnings of Washington Bachelor's of Applied Science (BAS) graduates in business, computer and information sciences, healthcare, and visual and performing arts. Complimenting research by Kaikkonen (2020), we report results of two studies that find high employment match rates and increasing annualized earnings…

This chapter discusses methods and measures that are needed to conduct research on newly developing Applied Baccalaureate degrees that enable students to transfer applied college credits heretofore considered terminal to bachelor's degree programs.

As part of our research on the community college baccalaureate (CCB), we studied the prospects of adopting and scaling CCB degrees in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Higher education leaders in these six Great Lakes states recognized the potential for CCB degrees to increase academic, geographic and financial access to…

This study analyses the perspectives of four stakeholder groups towards Applied Baccalaureate (AB) degrees in the United States. Perspectives towards AB degrees that are held by community college personnel, university personnel, employers and student participants are analysed using the Policy Narrative Framework. Findings show the stakeholder…

In 2012, five foundations launched the Credit When Its Due (CWID) initiative that was "designed to encourage partnerships of community colleges and universities to significantly expand programs that award associate degrees to transfer students when the student completes the requirements for the associate degree while pursuing a bachelor's…

The applied baccalaureate degree, which integrates once-terminal applied associate degrees and course work into a four-year degree, is a relatively new phenomenon in higher education. This article presents findings from the first of two phases of research conducted--utilizing Kingdon's (1995) Multiple Streams framework--exploring the status of…

The evolution of AB degrees has been influenced by an increased emphasis on workforce development, baccalaureate degree attainment, and transfer on the state and institutional levels. Beginning as primarily programmatic decisions made by a few institutions, over time AB degree program decisions have involved more institutions, and eventually…

In the nation's changing economy, there is an increasing necessity for baccalaureate level education for jobs that have never before required that level of education. One potential solution to issues related to baccalaureate attainment and workforce development is the applied baccalaureate degree. Applied baccalaureate degrees have arisen from a…

Increasing demands for economic competitiveness and educational effectiveness have led states and institutions to implement new approaches to facilitating baccalaureate completion. This study examined one of these approaches, the applied baccalaureate degree, which is designed to incorporate applied associate course work and degrees once…

Without appropriate education, American workers are hampered in their ability to have the requisite technical skills needed to participate fully and effectively in the modern workforce. Higher education as a system must develop programs and infrastructures that ensure adult learners receive postsecondary education, including at the baccalaureate…