Wyoming Bill Would Allow Community Colleges to Offer Bachelor Degrees

Even though top officials at the University of Wyoming have been pushing back, a bill has passed through committee to the Senate floor at the Wyoming legislature that would allow the seven Community Colleges in Wyoming to offer a Bachelor of Applied Science to students.

Republican Senator Tara Nethercott of Cheyenne sponsors the bill, looking to fulfill a long-term desire for Wyoming communities to be able to obtain technical degrees closer to home, and increase the access to education for rural Wyoming areas.

The University worries that this would undermine their desire to create a pipeline from Community colleges in the state to finish their degrees at UW in Laramie. Community colleges in 23 other states already offer some form of a bachelor’s degree to their students. Senator Nethercott says that she feels the push back is mostly focused on a fear of change.