MOSES LAKE – Big Bend Community College’s last day for new students to sign up for new student enrollment sessions is June 10. For those still deciding on what they would like to study, Big Bend has recently expanded their programs with the addition of new bachelor's degrees. 

“Big Bend has a long history of building and sustaining collaborative relationships with local employers and developing educational programs that prepare students for local employment,” said Dr. Bryce Humpherys, Vice President of Learning and Student Success. “The BAS degrees the college is offering are a continuation of the college’s efforts to provide higher education programming that addresses local employment demands.” 

Anne Ghinazzi, the director of Title V and Other Grants at BBCC was the one to kick start the push for the new bachelor’s programs being the Bachelor of Applied Science in Business Management and the Bachelor of Applied Science in Behavioral Health. These BAS degrees were created in response to the needs of students as well as the needs of companies that needed more educated workers in the area. 

“The bachelor’s degree was a way for us to provide that next level of education and have it be available locally, so students aren’t needing to leave their jobs or the community,” said Ghinazzi. 

The BAS program builds on any associate degree and supports students who have completed workforce programs like welding, automotive technology, medical assistant, and early childhood education, she said. This also gives the opportunity for those who have already completed an associate's degree with the college to return if they would like to earn their bachelor’s. 

The BAS-Management program was launched in the Fall of 2021 and has allowed for working students, students with limited financial resources and those coming from workforce education programs to get their bachelor’s degree without the need for transfers. This program has had local employers assisting with ensuring that students receive on-the-job training and can apply what they learn in the classroom to the workplace. 

“We really were intentional about making sure that the program was going to provide students with the workforce skills that they would need to go into local management positions,” said Ghinazzi. 

The bachelor's in behavioral health is set to launch this Fall and is currently enrolling for its first cohort of students. This program will directly address the behavioral health workforce shortage in North Central Washington and improve the availability of local services. 

“That degree is going to be offered in partnership with Wenatchee Valley College,” said Ghinazzi. “We’ll be admitting a full cohort of 30 students and those students will be split evenly between the two colleges for our inaugural cohorts this fall.” 

BBCC programs of major industries in the area, such as health, agriculture, and manufacturing, will benefit from the addition of the BAS degrees and have seen increasing support from local organizations. Those currently undecided on classes can earn an associate in these programs to create a bridge toward the bachelor’s programs. 

Students wanting to enroll in BBCC’s nursing and other health care programs will have to focus on completing their prerequisites first, said Katherine Christian, director of Allied Health Programs at Big Bend. BBCC provides detailed degree maps on its website for choosing what classes to enroll in based on degree. 

“We’re just getting ready to see our next incoming group,” said Christian. “Our current cohort will be finishing up this summer, and those people will be working in doctors' offices and clinics around the Basin.”  

Graduates from the nursing program at BBCC have a high success rate in finding employment in their first year out of college and have consistently received positive feedback from employers, she said. 

BBCC’s agricultural programs have seen steady growth in the past couple years and have become a sustainable program, said Dr. Aaron Mahoney, head of Agriculture and Chemistry programs at Big Bend. He said most students in the program were individuals who had prior agricultural experience when he first started teaching but have recently seen an increase in interest from people who have never had any experience wanting to get into the industry. 

“That’s been really interesting because it’s a fun and unique experience to be able to pivot that type of education for our program,” said Dr. Mahoney. 

Mahoney said because of this around 20 labs have been created across the six courses that he teaches in the program. BBCC recently added a greenhouse learning center where they can work on year-round crop production and crop research education as well as a raised bed project that will allow for the use of irrigation, soil fertility and pest and disease management. 

The Manufacturing and Process Technology program is also relatively new to the school and has been building steady enrollment, said Justin Henley, head of the Manufacturing & Process Technology department. This program was created from combining the curriculum and skills learned from the industrial systems, electrical, mechatronics, automation and maintenance programs. 

They have also been increasing their relationships with industry partners and companies in the community to get them involved and receive direct input for the students 

“For those students that are looking to get into electrical apprenticeships like with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, previously they were coming in and doing a two-year degree,” he said. “Now we have the majority of that focused in that first year so that students can get certificates of accomplishment in the areas of electrical and electronics and be able to put that on their application to get into those union apprenticeships without having to do a two-year degree.” 

    Juan Servin started in BBCC’s English as a Second Language program with English as his second language and earned both his associate of arts and his Bachelor of Science in Business Management.
  

    Students from BBCC’s nursing program. Those looking into going into the health programs at BBCC must complete their prerequisite classes before they can enter each program.