Students and employers want a four-year college in Northern Santa Barbara County

Cathleen Rafferty is a busy person. She holds two full-time jobs working as a licensed drug and alcohol addiction counselor for at-risk youth at the Serenity Group Home in Santa Maria and at the Good Samaritan Shelter in Lompoc.

She’s also a well-educated person, but not in the traditional sense.

She holds two associate’s degrees—one in administration and one in justice and human services—and she’s currently earning her third associate’s in human services from Allan Hancock College, focusing on addiction studies. But the 47-year-old mother of two longs to earn a four-year degree close to home in Santa Maria.

click to enlarge Students and employers want a four-year college in Northern Santa Barbara County
PHOTO BY DAVID MINSKY
MATRICULATION: In recent surveys conducted by the Economic Alliance of Northern Santa Barbara County, both students and employers said they would benefit from a four-year university in this part of the county.

“Having all of these associate’s degrees looks good on paper,” she said, “but organizations and businesses are looking for four-year degrees. Some of them even want master’s degrees.”

Rafferty is only one out of thousands of students in Northern Santa Barbara County who could be affected by the addition of a four-year, fully-accredited college in Santa Maria. According to a recent report released by the Economic Alliance of Northern Santa Barbara County (EconAlliance), both Santa Maria employers and students responded favorably to having a four-year college option.

The report resulted from two surveys conducted by the local nonprofit, which were presented at the Santa Maria Public Library on Nov. 11 by Ken Parker, the founder of Orcutt Academy who now leads the EconAlliance University Attraction team. He said the survey was prompted two years ago after meeting a group of at least 60 people at the library and asking them if it was important to bring a four-year school to the area. One hundred percent of the group raised their hands in affirmation, according to Parker.

One of the surveys asked questions of Allan Hancock College students. Out of more than 300 students surveyed, 80 percent indicated they would attend a four-year college or university in North County. Among the same group of students, 56 percent of them considered choosing the local option over existing branches from both of the state’s university systems even if they were offered admission.

A second survey questioned chief executive officers and general managers from some of the largest businesses in town. The majority of the 58 businesses that responded showed strong support for hiring employees educated with four-year bachelor’s degrees in the arts and sciences. Among employer needs, according to the survey, business degrees were the priority with specializations in administration, marketing, and management/organizational management in the top three spots, respectively. Information systems technology and human resource management were four and five, respectively. Degree categories related to the local farming economy, such as agri-business and wine-viticulture-enology, were less of a priority, although they were among the top 10.

Parker estimated that 50,000 annual high school and community college graduates could be affected by a four-year college in Santa Maria. That number includes graduates between Santa Ynez and San Luis Obispo. The number increases dramatically when non-traditional students (age 24 or older) are added. Even with Cal Poly to the north and UC Santa Barbara to the south, the universities can’t accommodate all of the students in North County seeking a four-year degree. Parker said if both schools did not enjoy high acclaim, then they could take as many students as the Santa Maria and Santa Ynez valleys would give them. But they can’t, he said.

“Even though those two schools are near us, with this research we had to pretend they didn’t exist,” Parker said.

But the students may not be thinking about attending either campus after all. Attendance to both universities has dropped, and county statistics show that the number of students pursuing four-year degrees after completing community college is down, according to the report.

Not every student who applies to those two schools is able to get in; both schools attract students worldwide, increasing competition; and, even though Parker says that Hancock College (which only offers two-year degrees) is doing a good job at matriculating students with associate’s degrees, survey responses show that students want to pursue a bachelor’s locally.

A study conducted by UCLA in 2011 indicated that students who stay with family while completing their degree are more likely to graduate than those who do not. After the presentation, Parker indicated that in a still-shaky economy, it might be more beneficial for a student to attend college close to home.

At least 70 percent of student respondents indicated that they’d be willing to drive anywhere between 11 and 49 miles to their post-Hancock school. But a commute north to Cal Poly or south to UCSB would take about an hour’s drive one way.

For someone like Rafferty, who dedicates most of her life to a full-time career, driving about an hour in one direction to attend class is simply out of the question. For her, it’s a matter of whether to sacrifice part of her livelihood.

“I would be losing work having to drive to San Luis or Santa Barbara when you can just have it here,” she said.

Distance learning is also out of the question for Rafferty. She cites several reasons. She prefers classes that require human interaction—such as role-playing with other students in an ethics course—be taught face-to-face. Requesting transcripts or grading papers, Rafferty said, are also tasks better conducted face-to-face rather than over the phone or through email.

Traditional students, most particularly ones from low-income households, could benefit as well. Most students who attend Hancock are from the city or surrounding area. Some want to finish their degrees in Santa Maria. Thalia Guillen is studying biology at Hancock. She attends the community college because costs are lower with school close to home.

“It’s more of a money-save to stay here,” said Guillen, who eventually wants to become a pediatrician. “Having a university nearby would be perfect for low-income students. It affects their parents as well.”

So which universities are interested in coming here? Thousand Oaks-based Cal Lutheran University is one possibility. Parker is currently in talks with the university about getting an extension program on this end of the county.

More universities than Cal Lutheran could also put a stake in the Santa Maria area. The EconAlliance report suggested that several universities offering upper-level baccalaureate courses could all be housed in one building known as a “University Center.” The report recommended working with Hancock to find college partners that could be interested in this idea.

 Despite the positive findings of the surveys, Parker said they’re not conclusive and hinted that more data would be released in the coming months. Another key finding in the report is that at least 80 percent of students are concerned about tuition and financial aid that could be associated with attending a local four-year college

“Any regional four-year university venture must take very seriously the issue of student financial aid,” the report said.

 

Contact Staff Writer David Minsky at [email protected].

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