Nancy Acheoual finished her studies at Allan Hancock College a year ago and left to pursue a nursing degree at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, but she went back to Hancock this December to see what had changed.
Touring the campus over Christmas break, the 30-year-old student wanted to see what the campus looked like after completing construction. Aside from being impressed with the sleek look of the campus, she was surprised, albeit happy, to know that Allan Hancock is now in the running for a four-year degree program.
On Dec. 17, Allan Hancock’s President/Superintendent Kevin Walthers submitted an application for the school to be able to offer a bachelor’s degree in viticulture at the college. The application of intent, which was due no later than Dec. 19, was submitted to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. As many as 30 colleges submitted applications, hoping for a chance to add one bachelor’s degree to their curricula.
And out of that group, Walthers said, up to 15 are expected to get approval from the chancellor. Walthers thinks his college has a good shot.
“It’s hard to say because it’s kind of being done on the fly,” Walthers said. “We’ve never done this before, but I think we wrote a really good proposal.”
Viticulture is the study of growing grapes and turning them into wine. Wineries dot the landscape of both San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. With the area’s robust wine-making economy, Walthers believes the program is a perfect fit for the college.
Implementing the program will not be that difficult, he said, because most of the infrastructure is already here. The college already maintains a 4-acre vineyard and recently completed construction on a new winery for the existing viticulture program.
Walthers said the degree would offer more than similar programs taught at nearby colleges. The biggest difference is that Hancock’s program would contain elements of sustainability and water management in addition to the standard viticulture classes.
“It’s about the actual maintenance of the vineyard rather just how to make wine,” he said.
Acheoual believes the program would be perfect, too, in more ways than one.
But there are several other factors aside from the relevance of the economy that make Acheoual believe the program would work. She cited several reasons, including the close-knit community of the campus, student diversity, top-notch teachers, and the cafeteria—all of which she said would make students want to stay. Acheoual said she would go back to Hancock if the college started offering more bachelor’s degrees.
“It’s pretty hard to move, and gas is expensive,” she said. “Everything they would learn is literally right here.”
Associate Superintendent and Vice President of Academic Affairs Luis Sanchez said there would be an economic windfall for taxpayers if the college gets to have the four-year program. The economic benefit to taxpayers is the difference between the amount paid by the state to community colleges and the amount it pays to schools in California’s public university systems. The state pays Hancock approximately $4,500 per full-time student per year. The state pays roughly twice that for California State University students and roughly four times that for University of California students, according to Sanchez.
Walthers credited California Senate Bill 850, which was authored by Marty Block (D-San Diego), for allowing the college to submit the application. He also wanted to make it clear that the effort was driven by faculty members, specifically professors Alredo Koch and Eric Shiers.
If approved, the viticulture degree would be offered in the 2016-2017 school year, and it would cost $84 per credit, with a three-credit course costing roughly $250. More part-time faculty would most likely need to be hired, Walthers said.
This article appears in Dec 25, 2014 – Jan 1, 2015.
