Last month I announced that Tillamook Bay Community College is celebrating its 40th anniversary. We are excited to share with you some of the good work being done to support students to earn a college education and to gain the skills needed for our local workforce. One way we do this is by working with business and industry to identify new programs that can train students to meet their workforce needs. A new program must be approved by the State of Oregon and we must demonstrate there are ample jobs available to support students who graduate through the program. The program must also show sustainability over time. Over the past three years, TBCC has added 24 new programs, both credit and non-credit, and many of these are career-technical programs, which provide the skills needed to get a good paying job right out of school. Some of these include Welding Technology, Medical Assisting, Healthcare Administration, Truck Driver Training, and Agricultural Technology.
The College is now looking at developing a Nursing degree program. TBCC is the only community college in Oregon that does not have a Nursing program. The need is high in Tillamook County for nurses and the profession can offer high-wages and benefits. For the past few years, we have been partnering with Oregon Coast Community College to offer nursing to our local students, but it involves travel to Newport along with other challenges. TBCC now feels the time is right to start our own program. We are actively looking for funding to help us get the program off the ground.
The other big focus of our credit programs is transfer to universities. We have started several transfer programs over the past few years, including Forestry, Natural Resources, Animal Science, and Agricultural Science. These programs transfer directly to Oregon State University, so students enter there as a full junior.
Over the past year, Oregon’s community colleges have been working with the public universities to develop seamless degree programs that will transfer directly to all seven public universities. These are called Major Transfer Modules, and TBCC is active in getting these approved to offer our students. So far, we will be able to offer students a transfer degree in the following majors next year: Education, Business, Biology, English, Spanish, Fine Art, Psychology, and Math. This is in addition to the other degree options we offer. These new degree paths will make it much easier for students to complete their first two years at TBCC and then transfer those credits to any public university in Oregon, having completed all of their general education credits.
TBCC will continue to listen to local industry and businesses to determine the need for skilled workers and will develop academic programs that prepare students for good paying jobs where there is a substantial need, and the program can be sustainable. We will also work to help students prepare for transfer to a university to complete a bachelor’s degree. TBCC is proud to be your community College and we look forward to meeting your needs as we continue to grow.