Texas Community Colleges Can Now Offer Four-Year Bachelor Programs

TEXAS CITY, Texas (KTRK) – Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill allowing community colleges to offer multiple bachelor’s programs.

House Bill 3348 is now law in Texas, meaning community colleges in the state can offer up to five four-year bachelor’s degree programs.

On Thursday morning, the College of the Mainland announced that its first four-year program will be for students seeking their bachelor’s degree in nursing.

“This is a step forward in the history of the College of the Mainland,” said Dr Jerry Fliger, vice president of education at the school. “This is not a new step, it is a continuation of where we have been going for some time.”

At the same event, Representative Mayes Middleton said the rising cost of tuition fees was one of the deciding factors for the bill to be brought to the governor’s desk.

“(It’s) giving people in our community the tools they need to achieve well-paying careers without this crushing student debt,” Middleton said. “I mean, that’s really the problem with four-year colleges, traditional four-year colleges, and that’s the way to do it.”

For students like Charles Everts, who is currently in a nursing program at the College of the Mainland, that means he will graduate by 2022 with his Bachelor of Science in Nursing and can continue his career in the community where he was born and has. grown up.

“Is it a great relief not to have to worry about what I’m going to do next?” said Everts. “How am I going to pay my bills and go to school?” I can now do something that is affordable while continuing my education and myself. ”