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Shannon O'Brien, dean of Missoula College, said her institution and Bitterroot College are fully embedded with UM. As such, they differ from the two-year community colleges in Dawson, Miles City and Flathead Valley, which each have their own boards and constituencies, albeit with similar oversight by the Montana Board of Regents.

She said students at Missoula College know that their education will be seamless if they want to get a bachelor's degree from UM. The schools offer "two plus two" programs, which allow students to do a couple years at the college and finish after a couple years at UM.

Peggy Kuhr, integrated vice president for communications at UM, directed questions about letting the community colleges grant bachelor's degrees to the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.

There, McRae and John Cech, deputy commissioner for academic and student affairs, said the system already offers an abundance of options for students to acquire four-year degrees without having to travel, including e-learning partnerships.

In Helena, for instance, Helena College UM is partnering with Montana Tech in Butte to provide baccalaureate options for citizens in Helena, Cech said: "So those citizens don't have to drive to Butte."