CBHE approves the college to offer bachelor’s degrees in respiratory therapy.
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Online Editor
On Mar. 3, STLCC was given approval by the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education (CBHE) to offer bachelor’s degrees in respiratory therapy beginning in the fall 2022 semester. The approval makes STLCC the first community college in the state of Missouri to offer a bachelor degree in any subject. Currently, the college does offer an associates degree for respiratory therapy.
In a press release sent out by the college earlier this month, it is stressed by Chancellor Jeff Pittman that “This is the first step in a multi-tiered process that includes approval from the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care and the Higher Learning Commission.”
According to STLCC’s news website, the college’s respiratory therapy programs must now seek approval from the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) and the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
The bachelor’s programs will be offered at the Center for Nursing and Health Sciences at STLCC-Forest Park or the STLCC-Florissant Valley campus.
The demand for respiratory therapists is expected to grow by nearly 28% by the year 2026, according to studies done by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center.
Ozarks Technical Community College, an institution based out of Springfield, MO, was also approved to offer the bachelor’s degree.
