Race to the Finish: The Rise of Faster Bachelor’s Degrees Raises the Question: What Is College For?

To Gordon Jones, president of the College of Western Idaho, the case for allowing community colleges like his to offer baccalaureates is clear: Employers are in desperate need of skilled labor, and workers need faster, cheaper ways to advance in their careers. But when the College of Western Idaho sought state permission to award a bachelor of applied science in business administration late last year, Idaho’s public four-year colleges protested — loudly. Boise State University, 18 miles to the east, called the degree duplicative and warned that it would cannibalize limited state resources.