College of Western Idaho should offer a Bachelor of Applied Science Degrees (BAS) in Business Administration

Last month I was invited to attend Gov. Brad Little’s announcement of his “Idaho LAUNCH” program which aims to prepare Idaho’s students for Idaho’s workforce needs. Idaho LAUNCH provides grants for education and training programs. Legislators and a host of businesses participated in Gov. Little’s announcement.

As a former member and chair of the College of Western Idaho Board of Trustees, I was pleased to lend my support for this needed program.

At the same time, I am fully supporting CWI’s goal to deliver a Bachelor of Applied Science Degrees (BAS) in Business Administration for under $20,000. I am pleased to see some many businesses join the effort.

The Idaho LAUNCH and CWI’s BAS in Business Administration is a “win-win” for everyone especially students who need that targeted education to succeed.

The Idaho LAUNCH program received legislative approval and students are applying.

However, CWI’s proposal needs the State Board of Education approval.

THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION WILL DECIDE ON THIS BAS DEGREE ON DECEMBER 13 AT 10:00 AM. ALONG WITH LEGISLATORS AND BUSINESS LEADERS, I ENCOURAGE THE BOARD TO APPROVE THE PROPOSAL.

Though this BAS is new for CWI, it is not a new concept. When I was the Chair of CWI the board considered a similar program. In addition, 24 states have already gone into the realm of offering low-cost, bachelor’s degrees focused on adult learners and CTE graduates.

There some who worry that this CWI initiative will divert resources from other program especially workforce development and training which Treasure Valley businesses rely on. I have also been told that this innovative program will lead CWI to be a university.

That is a false narrative. As a founding CWI trustee who served 13 years, I would never jeopardize the quality of CWI’s programs. Though I have been involved in CWI since the first day, I am also a proud BSU alumni who was the Chair of the BSU Alumni Association in 2001 and the Vice President of Institutional Advancement at BSU in 2005.

In reality, this degree is about addition to the system, not subtraction. The CWI BAS degree is designed to complement, not compete with Idaho universities. It targets students who are currently underserved rather than drawing away from existing university populations.

This is NOT a distraction for CWI. This is CWI’s lane - offering BAS degrees aligns with CWI’s strengths. Leveraging CWI’s success in Associate of Applied Science degrees and the expertise in career and technical education, CWI is well-prepared to deliver high-quality BAS programs.

In addition, the CWI faculty and administration is eager to offer the BAS. The new BAS won’t take away from programs and CWI already have faculty who can teach the courses. They have masters and many have PHD’s.

Some have asked me about oversight of the new BAS. CWI is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). NWCCU currently accredits 16 community colleges offering both associate and baccalaureate degrees.
Additionally, CWI’s current Business majors hold a voluntary ACBSP (The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs) accreditation. Currently, 100% of CWI’s undergraduate business credit hours are taught by faculty with master’s or doctoral degrees, positioning us well to offer the BAS degree.

And finally, some folks have questioned the need for the program.

From August 2022 to July 2023, 18,262 jobs were posted within a 100-mile radius of CWI that required a business-related baccalaureate degree and only 31% of adults over 25 in Idaho have bachelor’s degrees. Employment in the area of management is projected to grow over 19% in the next decade – salaries increase on average $20,000 with a baccalaureate degree.

The Idaho LAUNCH and the CWI BAS degree will help thousands of students and business succeed. Those programs will benefit Idaho’s economy, students and businesses for decades.

CWI planning to offer bachelor's degree option

The Two Faces of the American Dream

The massive wave of Norwegian immigration to Minnesota from the 1850s through the early 20th century wasn't a casual choice; it was an escape from crushing land scarcity and economic desperation. My ancestors, the Dunhams, arrived in 1851 and built a life in Otter Tail County in Minnesota. My great-great-grandfather, Jens Christian Dunham, didn’t just survive—he thrived. He served in the Minnesota legislature as a Republican from 1888 to 1890 and later became a staunch advocate for President Teddy Roosevelt. He was the literal embodiment of the American Dream: an immigrant who fled poverty to become a lawmaker in his new home. Fast forward a century, and a new wave of immigrants—this time from Somalia—is following that exact same blueprint. Like the Norwegians before them, they fled hardship to build a future in Minnesota, and many have run for office to serve the state that welcomed them. Yet, the political rhetoric surrounding these two groups couldn't be more polarized. Don...

Phantom Blindness and Taking a Break after Strokes

I met with my eye doctor last week about taking some time off from my vision therapy. I have been doing therapy since my stroke almost two and a half years ago. I am tired, and a need a break. My doctor said, “This is completely understandable. Take some time off.” At the appointment, my doctor tested my vision. Because of the strokes, my vision was affected, and I have a problem in my field of vision on the right side. I have a deficit with my right side peripheral vision. However, it is getting better. During the test, I told him that I “sense things on the right side of my peripheral vision.” It seems that I know that something is there, but I cannot really distinguish what it is. He told me that there is a body of thought describing phantom vision or phantom blindness. A Polish researcher, L. Bieganowski, described this phantom blindness this way: “The subject of the paper is the phenomenon of phantom vision. It occurs among the blind (or almost blind...

Greek orthodox and Catholic‘s

Being a history buff, I’ve always understood that the Catholic Church was split in about 1000 A.D. Our Greek tour guide mentioned the differences a little bit yesterday, but she did not capture the full history. Today I saw a small Greek orthodox by the roadside and I’m going to insert about the history. Eastern Orthodox Catholics and Roman Catholics are the result of what is known as the East-West Schism (or Great Schism) of 1054, when medieval Christianity split into two branches. The Byzantine split with Roman Catholicism came about when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne, King of the Franks, as Holy Roman Emperor in 800. From the Byzantine viewpoint, this was a slap to the Eastern Emperor and the Byzantine Empire itself — an empire that had withstood barbarian invasions and upheld the faith for centuries. After Rome fell in 476, Byzantium was the only vestige of the Holy Roman Empire. Charlemagne’s crowning made the Byzantine Emperor redundant, and relations between the East and...

Dunham Family and My Stroke Story!

Search This Blog