I’ve had a few discussions with students, individually and in classes, about the progress we’re making toward a bachelor’s degree in Interior Design at Bellevue College (soon to be name change). It’s no surprise that rumors have circulated, because we have not officially communicated the facts.
Here are the facts, as succinctly as I can state them – it’s a complex situation:
§ There are two routes to obtaining a bachelor’s degree at a community college:
§ Through a pilot program authorized by the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), the college must await notice that the SBCTC will entertain proposals through the limited funding available to the pilot programs. BCC has one bachelor’s degree by this route. It may still be an option for us down the road, but the path is narrow and there are political roadblocks.
§ Approval of the State that Bellevue College be given authority to offer 300-400 level, upper-division classes. Should this be authorized, it would grant BC the ability to choose the number and type of degrees offered, and they would be approved by the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HEC Board). This option offers greater freedom to propose and offer bachelor’s degrees, and it fits closely with the HEC Board’s own mission of offering a greater number and variety of bachelor’s degree options.
§ Bellevue College is represented during the current State legislative session (Bill numbers: SB 5575/HB1726), in a bill that would grant authority to offer upper-division credits and bachelor’s degrees.
§ Approval of the bill allowing us to create a bachelor’s degree may require that the upper-division courses be ‘self-supporting’. In other words, the State would not reimburse BC the higher rate for upper-division courses, meaning students may have to pay something approximating out-of-state tuition for any of the 300-400-level classes.
§ Students can take some of these classes now, in their current lower-division, State reimbursed tuition. It’s highly likely that, pending approval by the State and college, certain courses taken prior to the upper-division course numbering change would be applied to the bachelor’s degree, even though they are now lower-division courses. (See DRAFT Four-Year Curriculum notes below.)
§ If the State approves Bellevue College ’s proposal (Bill numbers: SB 5575/HB1726), our next step is to present a proposed curriculum plan to the Bellevue College Curriculum Advisory Committee (CAC) for their approval.
§ If the CAC approves our proposal, it then goes before the HEC Board for their approval.
§ Meanwhile, we will be keeping the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) apprised of our plans, and will seek their input on the curriculum.
§ The current CIDA accreditation is good through Fall 2012, if we have a bachelor’s degree in place.
§ Our current status as an associate’s degree means we will forfeit our accreditation in January 2010, should we not have a bachelor’s degree by then.
§ CIDA has approved reinstating our accreditation as soon as we have a bachelor’s degree in place and begin offering it. We discussed a Fall 2010 date (actually Summer 2010 is the start of the new academic year and catalog). It might be sooner, but Fall 2010 is a realistic estimate. This might mean we are not accredited from January 2010 through July 2010, but we would pick up the accreditation again, with the next site visit scheduled for Fall 2012. CIDA says that as far as NCIDQ is concerned, this would not impact an future qualification for their exam.
§ Our current credit requirements of 161 quarter credits are just 19 credits shy of the minimum credits required for a bachelor’s degree. That is roughly two academic terms. In popular vernacular, this is a “shovel-ready” bachelor’s degree, with a record of success and high standards.
§ Having a bachelor’s degree would make our graduates (alumni and future) more competitive in a difficult economy.
We have created a DRAFT Four-Year Curriculum, subject to modification, but it falls within the requirements of the State, CIDA, and our own goals; to name a few:
§ Goal: Allow access to students who have already completed the Associate in Arts in Interior Design from BCC. Should they return for a bachelor’s degree, they would not face an entirely new curriculum and could “add on” to their existing degree.
§ Goal: Create a program that encourages a higher level of discourse and intellectual rigor.
§ Goal: Create a program that offers both an associate’s and bachelor’s degree option (2+2), requiring a higher standard of admission to upper-division courses, but ensuring that those with an associates degree remain highly marketable and motivated.
§ Goal: Create a “capstone” senior experience that allows students to focus on an area of interest. This senior thesis experience would give students in-depth programming, problem-identification, concept development, and design development experience not currently offered in our program.
§ The DRAFT curriculum proposal aligns the current curriculum so that an associate’s degree option is available on completion of INDES 260. This offers students a solid foundation in design, graphic communication, and technical skills. After renumbering existing courses, 300-level studios would begin with what is now INDES 270.
§ The DRAFT curriculum proposal adds five classes to the current three-year curriculum:
§ (1) Art History: require Art 201, 202, and 203, or other art history (non-western art; other options)
§ INDES 175 Theory (currently on Winter, Spring and Fall 09 schedule)
§ INDES 145 Introduction to Green/Sustainable Design (scheduled to begin in Fall 2009)
The above courses are already on the BCC catalog.
§ Senior Thesis (2 quarter sequence)
Approval of Senate Bill 5575 and House Bill 1726 would bring us closer to realizing our goals, so we are in a wait-and-see mode, pending what happens downstate.
Hope this clarifies our current situation and future plans.
Dan Beert
Program Chair :: Interior Design :: Bellevue Community College