At this time, community colleges in Michigan cannot offer a BS degree that meets the needs of respiratory therapists.  But there has been a bill introduced in the Michigan Senate, SB 98, that will allow for this.  The MSRC is asking for your support in asking your legislators to vote for this bill.

Many Michigan respiratory therapists would like to further their education and obtain a bachelor in science (BS) degree, but the options for doing so are limited.  Part of the problem is cost: needing to complete the BS degree means transferring to a university, where the tuition is far higher than at a community college.  Another (and related) problem is time—most RTs in Michigan have come from a community college where they earned at least three years of credits, but the university will require them to complete at least two more years to finish the BS degree.  It feels to most of us inherently unfair to have to spend all that extra time and money to complete 5-6 years of college, and end up with a four year degree.  And this doesn’t even take into account issues like trying to juggle completing those classes with a full time job and family, as many respiratory therapists must do.

One way to address these issues of time and cost would be to allow community colleges to offer a BS degree.  Graduates could return to complete the degree at the same college where they completed their respiratory education, so that there wouldn’t be an issue with courses not transferring.  This would allow for faster completion—probably with only one more year of classes.  The classes at the community college would also be offered at a lower cost per credit than at a university.  

 Please consider contacting your local State Legislators in Lansing to Support Senate Bill 98.