By Hector Gonzalez
Staff Writer

January 21, 2015-- Calling it a “landmark move for public higher education,” the California Community Colleges Board of Governors gave initial approval Tuesday to 15 colleges to develop bachelor’s degree programs, including Santa Monica College.

Along with the other selected programs SMC’s proposed four-year Interaction Design program now will undergo further review before going to the Board of Governors in March for final approval.

In announcing the 15 college districts selected for the pilot program, Chancellor Brice W. Harris said California’s community colleges were “embarking on a new mission” to give students “a range of programs from which…to earn high quality, affordable and in-demand degrees.”

SMC’s program will educate students in the emerging field of interaction design.  Sometimes abbreviated as IxD, Interaction Design involves the design of interactive digital products and systems.

The college was among 34 community college districts across the state vying to be among the first to offer 4-year baccalaureate degree programs, said Paige Marlatt Dorr, a spokeswoman for the chancellor’s office.

“I’m thrilled!” said Louise Jaffe, vice president of the Santa Monica Community College Board of Trustees. “It’s wonderful news. This is a relatively new field that’s just blossoming, and it’s centered in our city.”

SMC’s program is designed to meet an “overwhelming demand” in the fields of graphic and web design, which has exploded with the advent of the first iPhone in 2007, according the college’s summary of the course.

“Since then, technology and design are converging like never before with the proliferation of innovations such as e-commerce, mobile apps, smartphones, medical devices, wearable technology, connected appliances, and self-driving cars,” the summary said. “A new breed of designer who understands the user and a user-centered approach is required.”

“This comes at a time of great need,” SMC President Dr. Chui L. Tsang said in a statement. “Los Angeles’ red hot tech industry is painfully short on this talent and we are poised to provide that, grow our economy, and at the same time, equip our students with high demand skills.

“For many of them, this will be a ticket to a better life,” he said.

SMC’s Interaction Design course received wide support from the city’s business community, said Don Girard, Santa Monica College’s senior director of government relations and institutional communications.

“It’s the perfect outcome for a community that is so committed to the best of technology and deign,” Girard said. “This particular program received over 100 letters of support from local business and community leaders.”

A bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown this past September allowed as many as 15 community college districts to offer pilot baccalaureate degree programs “in a field of study not offered by the California State University or University of California,” the news release from the chancellor’s office said.

Programs selected Tuesday were in the fields of technology, health and science.

Students will pay $46 for lower division coursework, “and upper division coursework would cost $84…with an estimated total cost of about $10,000” to complete the four-year degree, according to state officials.

Under the law, the 4-year degree programs must be up and running by at least the 2017-18 academic year, but districts have the option of starting their programs as soon as this fall, Dorr said.

Other Southern California colleges selected for the baccalaureate program are: Antelope Valley College, airframe manufacturing technology, Cypress College, mortuary science, West Los Angeles College, dental hygiene, Mira Costa College in Oceanside, bio-manufacturing, Rio Hondo College in Whittier, automotive technology, Santa Ana College, occupational studies, and San Diego Mesa College, health information management.