Representatives of the U.S. Air Force, the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy and a number of high-technology firms on Maui, made a compelling case for the critical need for bachelor's trained technicians on Maui.
reprinted courtesy Maui News 5/30/09
HILO - The University of Hawaii Board of Regents voted Friday to approve a proposed bachelor's of applied science in engineering technology degree at Maui Community College.
The second baccalaureate degree offered at the college will begin accepting upper-division, degree-seeking students in the fall of 2010.
Those in favor of establishing the program included representatives of the U.S. Air Force, the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy and a number of high-technology firms on Maui, according to an announcement from the University of Hawaii system.
The representatives made a "compelling case for the critical need for bachelor's trained technicians on Maui," the announcement said. The degree "will fill a need that is likely to grow if these entities receive further federal funding for their activities."
The creation of the degree will trigger a move in accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges' junior to senior commission, which accredits four-year colleges and universities.
* Claudine San Nicolas can be reached at claudine @mauinews.com.
If 2nd bachelor’s OK’d, college may take on the
UH-Maui name
By CLAUDINE SAN NICOLAS, Staff Writer
reprinted courtesy Maui News5/29/09
KAHULUI - A proposal to offer a second bachelor's degree at Maui Community College has raised concerns and even skepticism on the campus.
But MCC officials say they have addressed the concerns and have garnered the support of their faculty, the community and University of Hawaii President David McClain.
Today, MCC will need the endorsement of the UH Board of Regents, which has on its meeting agenda in Hilo the approval of a new bachelor's of applied science in engineering technology degree at MCC. If approved, the college could see its name changed to the University of Hawaii-Maui.
"I'm very skeptical about this," said English professor Vinnie Linares, MCC's former Academic Senate chairman who said he helped to push the first bachelor's degree on campus.
Linares said Thursday he's not opposed to four-year bachelor's degrees, but he questions the second degree proposal's timing and whether there are enough resources in the state system to support both two- and four-year degrees at the Kahului campus.
"Can Maui afford to do four-year and two-year programs?" Linares asked.
Bruce Butler, the chairman of the college's Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Department, said a second bachelor's has been in the works for some time now, and there are plans to seek state and federal funding to support it.
Katie McMillan, the college's director of marketing and community relations, said the school has already received $3.2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Labor to support the new degree and other degree programs.
She said school officials are also actively pursuing additional resources to ensure the long-term sustainability of the new bachelor's degree.
Butler said his department is working on establishing at least two other bachelor's degree programs - possibly one in the field of sustainable energy.
Both Butler and MCC Chancellor Clyde Sakamoto said the new degree would address the need for bachelor's-trained technicians on Maui as well as Kauai and the Big Island.
"We wouldn't be doing this without the support of good job possibilities," Butler said.
MCC already offers a bachelor's degree in applied business and information technology, and students can take distance learning classes on Maui for bachelor's and master's degrees from UH-Manoa, UH-Hilo and UH-West Oahu.
John Morton, UH vice president for community colleges, and Linda Johnsrud, UH vice president for administration, have both urged caution in the approval of another bachelor's degree on Maui. This is, in part, because the creation of a second baccalaureate degree would trigger a move for the college from the junior to the senior commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The senior panel accredits four-year colleges and universities.
Elaine Yamashita, MCC's Academic Senate vice chairwoman, said faculty members had very intense and involved discussions about accreditation issues and, in the end, decided to support the second bachelor's degree.
Butler, who actively participated in the Academic Senate discussions, said faculty members concluded that it would be to MCC's advantage to go forward with a second bachelor's degree program.
In a memorandum to McClain, Johnsrud said she'd prefer that the university engage in more systemwide academic planning before a second Maui degree is approved.
She said it's evident that Hawaii needs more engineering degrees from academic programs, "but the evidence is less clear as to what engineering-related degrees are needed, where they are needed and which campuses are best situated to deliver them."
Associate-level degrees in engineering technology are the norm in many places, Johnsrud continued, saying it will be important "that students be clear that this degree is not equivalent to an engineering degree nor does it serve as a means for transferring into an engineering degree."
Morton said he would prefer UH to meet the need for more bachelor's degree-trained technicians on Maui through cooperative programs within the university system.
If Maui were allowed to go forward, Morton recommends that it begin accepting upper-division, degree-seeking students beginning in the fall of 2010.
"This additional year will allow adequate time for Maui to recruit and orient a second faculty member to develop the first-year courses and to address all accreditation issues associated with this second degree," he said.
Sakamoto said that if the degree were approved, he and his staff would follow up with addressing new accreditation requirements.
In a memo to Board of Regents Chairman Allan Landon, McClain recommended the second bachelor's degree approval and said he would support renaming the campus as UH-Maui. The process in which the renaming would occur would probably not take place until after McClain leaves his office at the end of July.
Community college degrees would still be from MCC, but the bachelor's degree would be awarded from UH-Maui, according to McClain.
McClain made his recommendation after meeting with representatives from the U.S. Air Force, the UH-Manoa Institute for Astronomy and a number of high-technology firms on Maui. He also toured the adaptive optics laboratory at MCC and talked with faculty to assess MCC capabilities in engineering technology today and in the future.
McClain said he concluded that "the needs of the county should outweigh the concerns over the locus of accreditation."
He also said the alternative of addressing these needs via cooperative programs with the baccalaureate-granting institutions within UH "is less likely to be responsive to the situation in a timely fashion, and also less likely to be successful in the long run."
Linares said he believes MCC needs to do a better job of supporting the University Center on Maui, which brokers degree programs from within the UH system.
Yamashita said MCC's Academic Senate supports the University Center on Maui and its work in providing access to 26 certificates and bachelor's and master's degrees. There were more than 60 graduates honored earlier this month at commencement, and last year there were more than 90 graduates.
* Claudine San Nicolas can be reached at claudine @mauinews.com.
reprinted courtesy Maui News 5/30/09
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