For the first time in its 76-year history, El Camino College is offering a baccalaureate degree program.
Starting in the fall, students will be able to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in respiratory care, an accelerated 18-month bachelor program that is taught in online format across three semesters.
“We are proud to launch El Camino’s first-ever bachelor’s degree program, which will help students further their education in respiratory care while training in areas such as personnel management, policy design, and case management of patients in a clinical setting,” said El Camino College President Dr. Brenda Thames in a statement.
California Senate Bill 850, signed into law in 2014 by then Governor Jerry Brown, allows community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees.
In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom approved Assembly Bill 927, which eliminates the 2026 sunset date on existing baccalaureate pilot programs in fields where there’s high demand. AB 927 stipulates that new bachelor programs at community colleges can’t duplicate existing programs at California State University or the University of California campuses.
El Camino College currently offers a two-year associate degree program in respiratory care that prepares students for careers as respiratory therapists.
Unlike the associate degree program, which focuses on the technical aspect of the career, the bachelor program will teach students evidence-based medicine, case management and other advanced skills so graduates can go into managerial positions, said Dr. Russell Serr, dean of health sciences and athletics at El Camino College.
“A lot of the hospitals have mentioned, the students come in, their technical skills are great, but for supervisory positions, they need some more soft skills; they need some more education to make them better managers and supervisors,” he said Friday. “So this program will allow those students to have that type of training to better their job prospects and…
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