CSULB's innovative program helps working adults complete degrees

Just as there are many good reasons to earn a bachelor's degree - professional opportunity, knowledge, personal growth - there are many reasons why the high school-to-college path doesn't work for everybody.

Major responsibilities like military service, parenthood and full-time work can arrive early in adulthood, yet people who take these routes can still aspire to a degree later in life. That's why Cal State Long Beach offers the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts (BALA) program, a specialized degree-completion option designed to enhance communication and problem-solving skills that can be applied in a wide range of professions.

BALA graduates include Brandon Irving '17, a father of three and U.S. Army veteran who earned his bachelor's after enrolling in multiple community colleges and a more traditional degree program at The Beach. Irving, however, experienced difficulties stemming from his need to find night classes that left time for his day job. He chanced upon a radio ad for BALA while driving home from work, and "after that, the rest is history."

"By all means, would I recommend this program," Irving said.

The College of Continuing and Professional Education (CPaCE) runs the BALA program in concert with College of Liberal Arts faculty. BALA is for students who have already earned a good deal of college credits and CPaCE offers include similar options for students seeking a bachelor's in nursing and psychology.

Additional CPaCE programs include several master's degrees in fields including business administration, emergency services administration and information systems. Certificates are available via the data analytics, emergency medical technician and global logistics professional programs, among others.

"The BALA program is a great example of the innovative programs we offer for lifelong learners - students who used to be considered 'nontraditional,' but are now becoming much more common," said Alysa Turkowitz, associate dean at CPaCE. "With our partners on and off campus, CPaCE is helping The Beach to provide multiple points of access for the educational needs of many different learners, from young adults entering the workforce to experienced professionals upskilling for career transitions. Working together, we're paving new pathways for a diverse range of students to achieve success."

A meaningful education

BALA is for students who have already earned about half the amount college credits needed for a bachelor's degree at The Beach. Students who find their way to BALA may have previously tried a major that wasn't a good fit for them, faculty coordinator Maythee Rojas said.

Others may have confronted health problems on the way to a degree or needed to shift their energies toward work or family. Whatever the reason a degree went unfinished, BALA students are motivated to earn their diplomas.

"Our students really want this," said Rojas, who is also a professor of Chicano and Latino studies. "What they were missing before was guidance and support."

Like Irving, BALA graduate Midiam Gonzalez '23 completed her degree after earning several community college credits. A single mother, she enrolled in Fall 2021 and completed her degree while raising two sons and working full-time for the Los Angeles County Department of Social Services.

"Every class was amazing," said Gonzalez, shortly before she participated in Commencement. "It was a lot of work, but it was an amazing experience."

BALA students take classes from College of Liberal Arts faculty who also teach Beach students enrolled in traditional programs. BALA classes are drawn from such disciplines as anthropology, communication studies, economics, philosophy, political science and religion.

"CLA is delighted to partner with CPaCE to provide our non-traditional learners with a broad-based liberal arts education that provides students with an invaluable set of skills that are transferable to almost any industry," said Donna J. Nicol, associate dean at the College of Liberal Arts. "Critical thinking, problem-solving, creative thinking, and global awareness are just some of the skills students gain from the program, through a carefully structured cohort format which helps students build a strong sense of community."

Irving recalled a specific time when his degree directly applied to his professional life. When he interviewed for his current job with the Los Angeles City Attorney's office, he was asked to explain the value of diversity, equity and inclusion to city government.

"I flashed back to my experience in BALA, and I was able to speak to how diversity, equity and inclusion and how it can help me in L.A. city, how it affects Los Angeles and how it affects the nation," he said. "DEI teaches you how to work with people from different cultures."

Setting a positive example

Irving and Gonzalez both shared how their family lives were important to their college experiences. As parents, it was important to them for their children to see them complete their degrees.

"I try to motivate my children to let them know what I'm doing," said Gonzalez, a first-generation college graduate raising 13- and 10-year-old sons. "My graduation, I said, 'I'm doing this for you,' and I'm dedicating it to them."

Children of parents who have completed bachelor's degrees are more likely to complete college themselves. "First-Generation Students: College Access, Persistence, and Post-Bachelor's Outcomes," a 2018 report prepared for the National Center for Educational Statistics, revealed that among collegians who started at a four-year institution during the 2003-04 academic year and had at least one parent with a bachelor's degree, 83% had earned their own degrees or had maintained their enrollment as of 2009. Among first-generation students, 65% had earned their degrees or remained in higher education over the same time frame.

Irving's children are on the college path. Although his daughter is still in high school, one son is enrolled at Cal State Fullerton while contemplating business school. Another son recently completed his doctorate at Stanford.

"I told him that it blew my mind that he went to the PhD level," Irving said. "He was like, 'I watched you and you didn't quit."

Mutual support

BALA is designed to strike a balance between providing a community of learning and students' needs for time with career and family. The program has a hybrid schedule during the fall and spring terms, so students take online courses one weeknight per week and come to The Beach every other Saturday for in-person sessions. Classes are all-online during summer and the winter inter-session.

Students enroll as members of a cohort, taking the same courses as a group throughout their enrollment. This makes it easier for them to turn to each other for advice, support and help with assignments.

"You're connected to people," Gonzalez said. "It's not just one semester and you don't see them again."

Although Irving and Gonzalez have now completed their bachelor's degrees, they are not done with higher education. Gonzalez is now working toward a Master of Public Health from Cal State San Marcos, and Irving aspires to return to The Beach for a Master's in African American Studies.

In the meantime, he said he's still in touch with his BALA cohort.

"We'll still text and call each other, and we can still reach out to our director (Rojas)," he said. "She's still there for us."

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