KANE'OHE — Windward Community College students will soon have the chance to earn a four-year degree without ever leaving the shadow of the Ko'olau mountains.

The school this fall plans to begin offering criminal justice courses from Chaminade University, the first step in an effort to develop more partnerships with four-year colleges and universities throughout the state and the Mainland.

The idea is to give Windward students a chance to complete a bachelor's degree while doing all their classwork in Kane'ohe, said Connie Turner, head of the school's Office of Partners.

"We're trying to partner with other schools to bring the last two years of their classes to our campus," Turner said.

Starting this fall, Windward students will be able to enroll on campus in criminal justice and forensic sciences classes taught by Chaminade, the only university in the state that offers a criminal justice degree. The students can simultaneously take some Windward and Chaminade classes. Eventually, students would be able to obtain their associate degrees from the community college, then complete their bachelor's degree from Chaminade in Kane'ohe, Turner said.

Students would pay the state's tuition rate ($63 per class hour) for WCC classes, and the higher rate charged by Chaminade ($131 per class hour) for the criminal justice classes. Chaminade will count the WCC classes toward its basic graduation requirements, Turner said.

If the project is successful, Windward hopes to partner with other institutions to offer new four-year degrees in fields that could include veterinary technician, geology, oceanography, nursing and art illustration, all subjects that have been requested by students in the past.

No school in Hawai'i offers a degree to become a veterinary technician, Turner said. "There's a potential to establish a program using local veterinarians as well as partnering through distance-learning classes with schools on the Mainland," Turner said.

"What we've discovered is that there are a lot of students who start their schooling here and would prefer to continue, rather than transferring to another university elsewhere in the state or the Mainland," Turner said. "There are all kinds of potential to expand what we have here."

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.