As Diana Rodriguez worked toward her associate degree in information technology at 鶹Ƶ, she had a meeting with her advisor who asked where she saw her future in the profession going.
“I mentioned that I was thinking about management, and he said that to get on that management track, most companies require you to have a bachelor's degree,” Rodriguez recalls.
That’s how she learned about YVC’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Information Technology (BASIT) program, designed specifically for working adults like Rodriguez.
“I liked that it was local and that it was at the same place where I was getting my associate degree, so it was going to be the same instructors who I already knew,” said Rodriguez, who graduated with her bachelor’s degree in 2024.
Since then, she’s started her career as an IT support technician for , and the first-generation college graduate also recently became the first member of her family to buy a house.
While community colleges awarding bachelor’s degrees is a relatively recent development, Rodriguez’s experience reflects a growing body of research that shows community college baccalaureate degrees pay off, with graduates seeing sizeable increases in salary following completion of their program.
ABOVE: YVC alumnus Diana Rodriguez checks a server at Certinet Systems in Yakima, where she works at an IT support technician. TOP: Rodriguez, who graduated with her Bachelor of Applied Science in Information Technology in 2024, was the first person in her family to be able to buy a home.
Creating opportunity
For students like Rodriguez, who was working and a single mother while also going to school, community colleges offer an essential pathway to achieve their education and professional aspirations thanks to their affordability and location close to home.
While community colleges often don’t possess the same prestige as four-year universities, recent research from Washington and three other states that collectively award of community college baccalaureate degrees in the United States shows that, when it comes to earnings, their graduates stack up.
In Washington state, for example, on the employment and earnings of community college and university baccalaureate graduates between 2009 and 2017 showed the employment rate of community college graduates was higher than that of university graduates in similar programs in the first and fourth quarters after graduation, and continuing to retain a small advantage 12 quarters after graduation.
“Access to quality bachelor programs at YVC helps students achieve the required education to advance in their careers and earn higher wages.”
— Herlinda Ruvalcaba, BAS Director
Additional on the 2019 cohort of Washington community college bachelor’s graduates shows they earned a median annual wage of $68,000 within one year of graduation, compared to a median early career salary of all bachelor’s graduates in the state of $67,000.
YVC data backs up statewide data showing that earning a bachelor’s degree pays. In a survey of YVC students who graduated with their bachelor’s degree in June 2024, prior to completing their BAS degree 54% reported earning a salary of less than $40,000. After completing their bachelor’s degree, all respondents reported a salary of at least $40,000. Moreover, the share of those earning $90,000 or more rose from 27% prior to earning their BAS degree to 51% after completing their degree.
Even before graduating, 33% of students indicated that working toward their bachelor's degree at YVC helped them gain new employment or advance with their current employer.
“Access to quality bachelor programs at YVC helps students achieve the required education to advance in their careers and earn higher wages,” says BAS Director Herlinda Ruvalcaba.
The community college advantage
Norma Garcia is a mother of three who needed to work while earning her Bachelor of Applied Science in Business Management at YVC. The program’s hybrid format, in which students attend class in-person one night a week and do the rest of their coursework online, made that possible.
“The flexibility of the program as a working professional who has to maintain a full-time job and family responsibilities and still be able to get a quality education was really important,” Garcia said.
Norma Garcia, left, speaks with an employee at Yakima Valley Business and Mail Center, the business she started after graduating from YVC's Bachelor of Applied Science in Business Management program.
YVC’s survey of June 2024 graduates illustrates just how essential it is for community members to have degree options close to home and designed for working adults. Distance from home and having evening/hybrid classes were both rated by 94% of graduates as at least moderately important factors in their decision to enroll in one of YVC’s bachelor’s programs.
“Our community is filled with talented and bright minds,” said Ruvalcaba. “Our students have a variety of circumstances and challenges that may limit financial resources and the ability to move outside of the Yakima Valley.”
"The BASM program really was able to provide me the skill set that I needed in order to bring my vision to fruition.”
— Norma Garcia, YVC alumnus and business owner
With tuition and fees for community college bachelor’s programs in Washington state being than bachelor’s programs at four-year public universities, that can make them an ideal fit for students.
“YVC BAS programs address the large barriers of cost and proximity, which make these programs an ideal fit for a student to achieve their educational and career goals,” Ruvalcaba said.
Thanks to what Garcia learned in the BASM program, she was able to open her own business, , in April 2025. Garcia’s business, located in Toppenish, offers flexible office spaces, secure mailbox rentals, translation services and more.
“I saw a real gap in the community as far as the available services, especially for the Spanish-speaking community,” Garcia said. “The fact that we're able to provide so many different services under one roof I feel really sets us apart, combined with the bilingual part of it. And the BASM program really was able to provide me the skill set that I needed in order to bring my vision to fruition.”
In fact, while starting her own business was something Garcia had been thinking about for some time before enrolling in the BASM program, she felt the program would provide the tools she needed to make it a success.
“I felt like I really got what I needed out of the BASM program,” Garcia said. “From the project management aspect of it to the marketing to the building of a financial plan, I feel like I used all of those skill sets because there's just so much involved with opening a business.”
Norma Garcia organizes mail for customers of Yakima Valley Business and Mail Center, located in downtown Toppenish.
Serving the community
Like Garcia, YVC graduates largely agree that their bachelor’s program not only provided technical skills, but also prepared them for leadership. In the survey of 2024 graduates, 73% of respondents said their program’s curriculum was very or extremely useful and relevant in preparing them for leadership and management roles. Moreover, graduates noted the strong reputation of YVC’s bachelor’s programs with employers, with 83% saying that was at least moderately important to their decision to pursue a degree.
Ruvalcaba noted that community partners were included in the design process for each of YVC’s Bachelor of Applied Science degrees.
“Each step in the development of a new program is intentional to serve our local community,” she said.
Part of that process also includes addressing the local and state-wide gaps in who holds bachelor’s degrees. While of white state residents hold at least a bachelor’s degree, only 28 percent of Black and 20 percent of Hispanic Washingtonians do. But in YVC’s bachelor degree programs, 65% of those starting one of the college’s five programs are historically underrepresented students of color.
“YVC BAS programs demonstrate success in serving our community as the alumni and current students are a direct reflection of our diverse community,” said Ruvalcaba.
“I love working with technology because it pushes me to keep learning and inspires me to grow alongside its evolution. I love my job, and completing my degree was absolutely worth it for the knowledge and skills I’ve gained."
— Diana Rodriguez, YVC alumnus and IT support technician
Alumni like Rodriguez and Garcia appreciate the opportunity they have to contribute to the Yakima Valley.
One of the reasons Rodriguez chose to pursue a career in IT is because technology constantly evolves, so she’s always seeing new problems that need to be solved.
“I love working with technology because it pushes me to keep learning and inspires me to grow alongside its evolution,” Rodriguez said. “I love my job, and completing my degree was absolutely worth it for the knowledge and skills I’ve gained.”
Garcia said launching a new business has been both exciting and challenging, but seeing more new customers come in and many repeat customers is rewarding.
“In these first few months I feel the fact that we've been able to add on so many new services because of customer feedback just reinforces the need that existed,” Garcia said. “We're very proud of the fact that we've been able to make this a reality and are able to provide these essential services to the community.”
Story and photos by Dustin Wunderlich, director of community relations.