This should be the future of education. No need for expensive tuition. No need to finance radicals, discrimination or a student government that closes the campus. Get the education you need without the frills.
“North Santa Barbara County students will be able to earn a bachelor’s degree close to home as part of a new partnership unveiled Monday morning in Santa Maria.
Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria and Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo are joining forces to significantly expand access to in-person bachelor’s degrees, officials from both educational institutions announced.
Beginning in fall 2026, Cal Poly will offer a bachelor of science degree in business administration at Hancock’s Santa Maria campus.”
This should be the start of the transformation of higher education. What do you think, does this work for you?
Hancock College, Cal Poly Team Up to Expand Bachelor’s Degree Programs
by Janene Scully | Noozhawk, 3/17/25 https://www.noozhawk.com/allan-hancock-college-cal-poly-team-up-on-bachelors-degree-programs/
North Santa Barbara County students will be able to earn a bachelor’s degree close to home as part of a new partnership unveiled Monday morning in Santa Maria.
Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria and Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo are joining forces to significantly expand access to in-person bachelor’s degrees, officials from both educational institutions announced.
Beginning in fall 2026, Cal Poly will offer a bachelor of science degree in business administration at Hancock’s Santa Maria campus.
“This is a game-changer for students in our region who want to continue their education but face barriers to relocating,” Allan Hancock College Superintendent/President Kevin Walthers said. “President Armstrong and his team at Cal Poly are really stepping up for students and our local workforce.”
Cal Poly also committed to launching two additional yet-to-be-named bachelor’s degrees in 2028 and 2030.
“We are pleased to be able to open the doors to a Cal Poly education for even more residents in our local area,” Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong said. “These programs illustrate Cal Poly’s broader commitment to fostering strong partnerships with our nearby community colleges and providing greater opportunity and access to academically qualified local and transfer students.”
For years, North County and Hancock leaders have worked to bring higher-education offerings so students wouldn’t have to leave the area to earn four-year degrees or graduate degrees.
That involved Hancock asking the California Community Colleges Board of Governors to authorize a bachelor’s degree program, including as recently as last month during a meeting in Santa Barbara.
“We’re placing our bachelor’s degree application on hold as we work with Cal Poly on the new program,” Walthers said. “This new partnership should satisfy the need that our proposed program was designed to fill.”
Assemblyman Gregg Hart, D-Santa Barbara, recently introduced Assembly Bill 1462 to remove barriers limiting community colleges from offering bachelor’s degrees. In the wake of Monday’s announcement, Hart said he does not plan to pursue the legislation.
“I’m very excited about this collaborative new college degree path that will help local students pursue good-paying, in-demand jobs that support the Santa Maria Valley,” Hart said. “This collaboration will bring new opportunities for economic mobility to the next generation at home.”
The new degree options at Hancock follow a previous effort to launch a 25-student cohort for a bachelor of arts degree in sociology at Hancock.
The new degrees will be structured specifically for Hancock students seeking to continue their education at Cal Poly.
Once students complete an associate degree at Hancock, they can apply for the Cal Poly program as part of a cohort to complete upper-division coursework with Cal Poly professors on the Hancock campus in Santa Maria.
Initially, classes will be held in dedicated spaces on Hancock’s campus. Eventually, both institutions hope to develop a dedicated university center in Santa Maria.
Once admitted into the Cal Poly program, students will pay the university’s tuition, but the institution will provide financial aid and scholarship opportunities.
Hancock students also can apply for transfer scholarships from the Allan Hancock College Foundation.
During the state board’s meeting last month at Santa Barbara City College, Hancock representatives noted that North County students’ options to pursue bachelor’s degrees can be limited.
While the campus sits 45 miles away from Santa Maria, Cal Poly admission can be difficult since the programs remain highly competitive. CSU Channel Islands is more than 100 miles away.
Some students help care for younger siblings and can’t leave the community to pursue the bachelor’s degree. Others are parents and are unable to move away.
One student previously shared that time, distance and commitment put a bachelor’s degree out of reach for her.
Multiple community leaders and students gathered for Monday’s announcement, held in the Fine Arts Complex in Santa Maria.
A Batchlers from a 4-year college in California and from a 2-year community college that has expanded its progrfams to offer a 4-year Batchlers degree are both worthless. But why not? The new 4-year degree should cost less money for the taxpayers!