HCC working toward 4-year computer degree
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
The first steps have been taken to turn the two-year Computer Electronics and Networking Technology — CENT — program at Honolulu Community College into the college's first four-year bachelor's degree program.
A four-year program at HCC would depend on state financing, and HCC chancellor Ramsey Pedersen said it won't be until at least the next legislative session that the school can ask for money to expand.
Nonetheless, approval has come from the school's accrediting agency for a third-year CENT certificate program, and students are in spring semester classes.
"It allows students to go into more advanced training and complete some of the more advanced material that Cisco and some of the other operating systems have," Pedersen said. "It's a steppingstone to a bachelor's degree."
HCC is still several steps behind Maui Community College in the drive to become the first two-year institution hoping to add a four-year degree to its offerings. MCC has completed a review of its Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Business and Information Technology, for the junior college accrediting commission and now must go before the senior commission for review.
But optimism is high at HCC.
"This is good stuff," said 23-year-old student Patrick Stuart, in the third-year program at HCC this semester.
He added that a fourth year would "allow students to continue at the same school and get a full-fledged bachelor's degree without spending an enormous amount of money. I think it would set the bar for other community colleges to do four-year degrees as well."
Pending HCC's ability to offer a fourth year, Hawai'i Pacific University is working with the community college to offer HCC CENT graduates a chance to complete their bachelor's degree at HPU.
"They're creating a special major in systems administration primarily for our students so they can continue their studies," said CENT professor Aaron Tanaka. "They're very accommodating, and they work with us very well. A number of our students are getting ready to take the right courses so they can transfer over."
Students also can transfer to UH-Manoa, said Tanaka, but the Information Systems program at the Manoa campus is predominantly computer programming, not administration.
"At HPU, what they're creating for us is something along the lines of system administration. Those are the people who manage the computer network."
Pedersen said HCC was able to add the third year by stretching resources. To go into a fourth year to make the bachelor's degree possible would cost about $500,000 annually.
"We're trying to reach the bachelor's in stages and the first is a third-year certificate," said Chad Taniguchi, interim dean of communication and services programs. With the money, Taniguchi said, a fourth year could be ready to go in a few months. Currently, 309 students are enrolled in CENT.
Eventually Pedersen envisions pulling all of the courses in science and technology together in one place — putting them in a new building that will eventually go up on the site of the old Kapalama incinerator that was demolished seven years ago. That land — 3.8 acres — has been promised to the state by the city for more than 25 years, but cleanup has never been done. Pedersen said the city is about to let contracts for removal of contaminated soil, which he hopes will be complete by the end of the year.
Even then, putting a new building in place for everything from CENT and architecture to engineering, communications arts, and other programs with digital content, could cost $35 million to $40 million, Pedersen said.
"We want to make sure we plan this thing out and sequence it so that we not only follow the requirements for accreditation, but create a state-of-the-art program that serves Hawai'i well," he said.
"At that point we'll have the facilities and synergy to go for industry donations and high-level equipment to run a program like that."
Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
