At a time when almost everything in the country seems to tilt either to the right or the left, community college baccalaureate (CCB) degrees are a notable exception. Twenty-four states now confer CCB degrees, according to the Community College Baccalaureate Association (CCBA) national inventory, with 12 states colored blue and 12 colored red.
The map below represents the results of the 2020 presidential contest, with 12 blue states electing President Joe Biden and 12 red states supporting former President Donald Trump.
Sources: National Governors Association, Former Governors, NGA Archive; and the Federal Election Commission, Official 2020 Presidential General Election Results
Digging deeper, we found CCB degrees have received support historically from both parties since their introduction to West Virginia in 1989. Since the time CCB degrees were first authorized by the 24 states, governors of both parties have played a role in advancing these degrees (See table, below). While not quite the 50/50 split we saw in the 2020 presidential election, 14 states had Republican governors and 10 states had Democratic governors when CCB-authorizing policy was first adopted.
Comparing each governor’s party affiliation to the 2020 presidential election results, the governors of 16 states were from the same party at the time of CCB authorization as the 2020 election, while the governors of eight states came from different parties at these two points in time. Importantly, once CCB legislation passed, there have been no reports of a weakening of support when the governing party changed to the other party.
We’ve also seen CCB policy expand in recent years in states with Democrat and Republican governors. For example, the lifting of CCB pilots in California under Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), bills authorizing community college bachelor of science in nursing degrees in Ohio under Gov. Mike DeWine (R) and Oregon under former Gov. Katherine Brown (D), and most recently, state policy expanding CCB degrees to three of four community colleges under Idaho’s Gov. Brad Little (R).
Why it matters
Why would support for CCB degrees cross party lines? Authorization of these degrees rests rather extensively on demonstrating that CCB degrees will meet community and workforce needs, a message officials affiliated with both parties agree upon. Community colleges across the country are well positioned to help grow regional economies that, in turn, provide access to college for residents who seek an opportunity to earn a living wage to support their families and contribute to productive civic life.
As college students become increasingly diverse and workplaces evolve to capitalize on their skills, the long history of sub-baccalaureate education offered by community colleges provides a platform to expand programming for jobs that increasingly require baccalaureate degrees, according to research from the Center for Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University. In this time of contested positions, CCB degrees bridge red and blue to better meet student, community and economic needs.