In 22 states, community colleges offer bachelor’s degrees. I am not prepared to say whether this addition is 1) a natural outgrowth of the colleges’ applied education, 2) a useful competitive tool to rein in university costs, or 3) inappropriate mission creep, although I somewhat lean toward the last of these.

But expansion seems inevitable, especially in one profession—nursing.

Since 1965, the American Nurses Association has tried to professionalize the field by changing the “basic” nursing level from R.N. to B.S.N. It is finally making some headway, since nearly 50 percent of all registered nurses (who can be licensed after two years of education) are pursuing bachelor’s degrees.

This is a natural market for community colleges that now offer an associate’s degree in nursing, especially since transfers from community colleges often pose difficulties. Rather than try to work out the kinks in transfers, community colleges could simply offer the full degree.

There may be some good reasons why they shouldn’t, but as Harry Painter writes on the Pope Center site, North Carolina is likely to join the five other states that offer bachelor’s degrees in nursing at the community college level.