Bellevue College currently offers six 4-year degrees, including the Information Systems and Technology (IST) Bachelor of Science degree. The IST degree will have its first graduates this spring.
BC’s IST degree, the first of its kind in the state, provides a broad base of theoretical and technical knowledge, and students specialize in one of four concentrations: application development, business intelligence; systems administration; and information security. Like BC’s other bachelor’s degrees, it provides area residents with affordable paths to family-wage jobs in a high-demand and growing field.
Since the IST degree was first offered, the program has added two upper division certificates in Business Intelligence (Intermediate BI Analyst & Intermediate BI Developer certificates) using the 300 and 400 level classes from the BAS in IST. This provides a pathway for students who may already have a bachelor’s degree but are looking to pick up additional skills in high demand/emerging fields.
Leslie Heizer Newquist, Dean of the Health Sciences, Education and Wellness Institute at BC, said, “BC’s bachelor’s degrees provide a win-win situation for both students and area employers. Citizens of the Eastside and the Puget Sound region get access to bachelor’s degrees with affordable tuition that can help them land jobs with good salaries. And employers have ready-access to qualified workers.”
BC’s decision to develop an Information Systems and Technology (IST) BAS degree was based in part on findings by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS found that a bachelor’s degree is now considered the minimum level of education for a variety of IT occupations, including computer programmer, computer systems analyst, and database administrator. As a result, more students, along with existing IT professionals, will need to continue their education at the bachelor’s level. Demand for jobs in this field in King County and Washington state is expected to be strong through at least 2020.
While BC has historically offered only two-year degrees and certificates, it offered its first 4-year degree in 2010 in Radiology and Imaging Sciences. Since then, including the IST degree, BC has added five more bachelor’s degrees: Interior Design, Nursing, Healthcare Technology and Management, and Data Analytics. On the horizon are two more degrees that will bring the number of 4-year degrees to eight. A BAS in Molecular Biosciences is pending final approval, and an Applied Accounting degree is pending SBCTC and NWCCU approval, expected this year.
A study by the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Board (now the Washington Student Achievement Council) several years ago concluded that existing universities could not provide enough graduates with bachelor’s degrees to meet the employment needs of companies and organizations in Washington.
– by Sharon Berg
Last Updated October 3, 2016