SBCTC NEWS LINKS | Articles about – and of interest to – Washington state community and technical colleges
SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS
EdCC enrollment rises as unemployed seek new career paths at the college
When the economy gets tough, the tough go back to school. The unemployed and underemployed are eyeing college education as a means to retool, retrain and deepen their skill arsenal. "Plan A and Plan B didn't work. It's a common struggle for people my age," said 27-year-old Nicole Kellar, who is pursuing a teaching certificate through Central Washington University's Career Switcher program at Edmonds Community College after watching her radio career tank with the economy. "I got a degree and hit a wall. There are no jobs." Edmonds Community College has seen steady increases in enrollment since the start of the recession, said Marty Cavalluzzi, EdCC's vice president for instruction. Enrollment at the Lynnwood-based school hit 13,399 in 2010, up from 12,243 in 2008.
Everett Herald, June 28, 2011
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110628/NEWS01/706289941/-1/news01
SVC program will not be cut
Skagit Valley College’s Life Transitions Program will not be cut this coming year as college officials had planned. The program, formerly called Displaced Homemakers, was scheduled to be cut from the college because of lack of state funding, said Carl Young, executive director of college advancement and global partnerships...
Skagit Valley Herald, June 28, 2011
www.skagit.edu/files3.asp_Q_pagenumber_E_2960
Summer Aerospace Workshop at Spokane Community College gives teens glimpse of aerospace jobs
Need a career, kids? Consider the aerospace industry. Spokane educators and industry leaders created a three-week aerospace workshop that gives area high school students a taste of careers in aviation maintenance, flight operations and air traffic control with the hope of piquing their interest in an industry where jobs are in demand and on the rise. The inaugural workshop is in its second week at Spokane Community College's Felts Field facility — one of five air frame and power plant schools in Washington where students earn a two-year certificate to work on anything from a small aircraft to a commercial airliner.
Spokesman Review, June 29, 2011
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/jun/29/high-school-students-explore-jobs-in-flight/
WSU & CBC receive $994,600 DOE grant
Washington State University Tri-Cities and Columbia Basin College collaborated with TRIDEC to receive a $994,600 award from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management to train project managers, nuclear engineers and radiation safety professionals.
Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, June 16, 2011
http://www.tricitiesbusinessnews.com/2011/06/wsu-cbc-receive-994600-doe-grant/
Editorial: Many hands expedited Caterpillar’s Spokane pick
Although Washington can offer few incentives, Gov. Chris Gregoire set aside $100,000 in discretionary Workforce Investment Act funds for worker training. Spokane Falls Community College already offers a two-term transportation and logistics course. Mark Mattke, executive director of the Spokane-area Workforce Development Council, says he is already working with Caterpillar on customized courses that will prepare program graduates for positions at the new warehouse.
Spokesman Review, June 29, 2011
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/jun/29/editorial-many-hands-expedited-caterpillars/
A Program That Puts Students Behind The Lens
Students at Shoreline Community College’s film department step out of the classroom and behind the camera to spend the summer bringing their stories to life.
http://shoreline.patch.com/articles/a-program-that-puts-students-behind-the-lens
Whale skeleton being reassembled in Tacoma
A whale that beached itself and died in Seattle last year is slowly taking shape – bone by giant bone – in a vacant Tacoma storefront. Marine biologist Rus Higley, his Highline Community College staff and a volunteer team are bleaching and assembling the gray whale skeleton…
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/06/27/1723319/whale-skeleton-being-reassembled.html
Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/06/27/1723319/whale-skeleton-being-reassembled.html#ixzz1QiUV8bZ2
Chat with Lisa Toomey, Columbia Basin College Agriculture Program
Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, June 16, 2011
http://www.tricitiesbusinessnews.com/2011/06/chat-with-lisa-toomey-columbia-basin-college-agriculture-program/
Everything will be OK
Once projected to be a 10th round MLB draft pick, former Gaston standout Cody Fassold fell off everyone’s radar…With his I’m-going-to-throw-it-by-you attitude, Cody amassed huge strikeout numbers, but despite his big arm and big frame, he found himself generating little interest from any colleges. There was no talk of being drafted. The only scholarship offer came from Lower Columbia College, when renowned pitching coach Rob Hippi approached him after a game. Hippi, who retired at the end of the 2010 season, spent more than 25 years at Lower Columbia as a pitching coach and oversaw the development of major leaguers, such as Bud Black... Hippi himself spent time in the Yankee organization as a pitcher. Under Hippi’s experienced eye, Cody blossomed from hard thrower to pitcher. “He saw my raw tools, and carved me into a pitcher,” Cody said. “He really showed me the ropes. He helped show me how to keep my composure and shaped me to get to where I am now.”
http://www.forestgrovenewstimes.com/sports/story.php?story_id=130930969057623400
TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION
New Voice for Asian Students
As they explained why they were forming a new association for colleges that serve Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students, higher education officials at a news briefing Monday cited themes they’ve discussed many times over. They lamented how this specialized population is growing faster than any other and yet lacks institutional support… “We know there are AAPI communities who do not have access to higher education,” Mark Mitsui, president of North Seattle Community College, one of the first-designated AAPI-serving institutions, said Monday.
Inside Higher Ed, June 28, 2011
How to train U.S. workers back into manufacturing jobs
Despite gloomy job prospects, many American manufacturers are on the prowl for top talent, but say that not enough workers are trained for the tasks… Manufacturers agree that the first step toward helping under-qualified applicants fill current and future openings is to ramp up training that will prepare job candidates for the factory floor. More than 30 states, with the backing of industry and the federal government, are introducing a new national credentialing system for community college students and employers across manufacturing sectors. The Manufacturing Institute developed a credentialing system to coordinate programs in community and technical colleges with skills certificate-granting associations like the American Welding Society to assist people seeking a certificate or degree, or both.
http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/06/29/how-to-train-u-s-workers-back-into-manufacturing-jobs/
Obama Calls on University Research to Help Create Manufacturing Jobs
The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 24, 2011
http://chronicle.com/article/Obama-Calls-on-University/128023/?sid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=en
Legislature gives Oregon University System freedom from agency status
The Oregon University System's quest for more independence and freedom from state regulations cleared its final major hurdle Monday with approval by the House. Senate Bill 242 would end the state agency status of Oregon's seven public universities, giving them more freedom in how they manage, spend and raise money.
Oregonian, June 27, 2011
http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2011/06/oregon_university_system_wins.html
Despite Faculty Opposition, CUNY Board Votes to Standardize Some Requirements and Streamline Transfers
The Board of Trustees of the City University of New York voted unanimously Monday to simplify transfer requirements and standardize core curricula across the 23-campus system, a move that many faculty members say dilutes academic standards and undermines their role in shaping academic policy.
Under the new guidelines, all CUNY campuses are required to grant credit for any course completed at another CUNY institution, a change designed to ease students' transfer from the system's community colleges to bachelor's-degree programs. The resolution also streamlines and limits general-education requirements, dismantling the extensive core curricula in place on many campuses.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 27, 2011
http://chronicle.com/article/Despite-Faculty-Opposition/128070/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
'Times' Ticks On
The New York Times Company plans to continue its slow advance into the realm of higher education this fall. It announced today that it is teaming up with the University of Southern California to offer continuing education programs to try to tap a growing market of adults looking to pick up new skills.
Inside Higher Ed, June 28, 2011
Plan to restructure British higher ed
The British government released its long-awaited "white paper" on the future of higher education, offering a sweeping set of proposals that would produce dramatic changes in how the country would educate students and fund institutions.
Inside Higher Ed, June 29, 2011
POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL
Editorial: Consolidation of state services creates streamlining, savings
Over the objection of the state’s largest employee union, state officials are about to enter a new era of agency consolidation in hopes of delivering services more efficiently and saving $18 million in the process. State managers have finally gotten serious about contracting out some state services – something they have been authorized to do for years. But few have taken advantage of the opportunity. Five major agencies will be consolidated into two new agencies and one old one – the governor’s Office of Financial Management. The biggest disruptions will come in the departments of General Administration, Information Services, Personnel and the State Printer. Financial Management also is gaining oversight over information technology purchases in all state agencies. The two new agencies will be the Department of Enterprise Services and the Department of Consolidated Technology Services. The merger is the result of adoption of Senate Bill 5931, which passed the House 54-42 and the Senate 31-13.
The Olympian, June 29, 2011
http://www.theolympian.com/2011/06/29/1705201/consolidation-of-state-services.html
Compiled by the Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges
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