Centralia College information technology Instructor Chris Carlson, center, works with students, Jason Costi, left, and William Ide during class on Wednesday afternoon in Centralia.
Centralia College is welcoming its newest bachelor of applied science degree in information technology: application development.
The degree has been approved by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, said John Martens, vice president of instruction, in an email.
The college can now officially begin marketing and recruiting for the fall quarter start-up.
Martens said the year-long process has been successful because of the work of Sam Small, Durelle Sullivan, Connie Smejkal, Cheryl Williams, Kay Rohr and Patrick Allison, who spearheaded the effort from the beginning.
“At long last we can stop using waffle words when discussing our BAS-IT degree and flat-out state that we have one,” Martens said.
The information technology bachelor’s degree expands on the associate degree program.
An earlier interview with college officials said 20 students would be able to enroll in the bachelor degree program, with the potential for up to 60 students in the future.
The program curriculum centers around application development — creating software or web-based applications. It focuses on the entire software cycle from creation to retiring the application.
The bachelor's program is competitive and focuses on students with computer-based skills.
Allison told The Chronicle earlier that internships and industry certifications will be built into the program.
