SBCTC NEWS LINKS | Articles about – and of interest to – Washington state community and technical colleges
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SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS
Walla Walla Community College finalist for $1M prize
Walla Walla Community College has been named one of 10 national finalists for a $1 million prize to highlight two-year colleges that do exceptional work in educating students and training them for good jobs. The winner and up to three runners-up will share the Aspen Prize for College Excellence, which will be awarded by the nonprofit Aspen Institute in December. … Walla Walla has been successful at graduating students, in part, by offering a variety of support programs, said college President Steve VanAusdle. "Our door is open to all kinds of students," he said. "Once a student is here, we want them to finish what they start." VanAusdle said that in rural Walla Walla, the biggest challenge is creating jobs. "The more prepared the workforce is, the more it will lead to jobs," he said.
… The school's enology and viticulture program has won national acclaim. It was the first community college in the country to set up its own commercial winery, College Cellars. … In the initial round, the Aspen Institute selected 120 finalists, including Pierce College at Fort Steilacoom in Lakewood, Spokane Falls Community College and Spokane Community College. Walla Walla was the only Washington school to make the finalists list.
The Seattle Times, September 13, 2011
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016188940_wallawalla13m.html
Community College Draws Foreign Students by Serving as a Gateway to Universities / Green River has made itself into a pipeline for those hoping to attend big-name programs.
When American community colleges attend student-recruitment fairs abroad, they are often greeted with blank looks. That's because "community college" is frequently an unknown concept overseas. … One exception is Green River Community College, outside Seattle, which has built up its foreign enrollments from just 200 in 1993 to more than 1,200 two decades later, 10 percent of the student body. The students come from 40 different countries, including Indonesia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Green River has succeeded overseas by positioning itself as a gateway to highly competitive programs in top universities across the United States. Through careful advising, well-tailored course selection, and strong relationships built over time with destination institutions, Green River sends nearly every one of its international students on to a university, in greatly sought-after programs like business and engineering. … Admissions officials at four-year campuses also began to notice the stream of well-prepared foreign transfer students from this previously unknown community college in the Pacific Northwest. A former international-admissions director at Indiana swung by the campus during a visit to Seattle, Mr. Jennings recalls. "He said, 'Who are you guys?'"
The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 11, 2011
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Lake Washington Tech to Open New $35 Million Health Building
Lake Washington Institute of Technology (LWIT) in Kirkland is inviting the public to the grand opening of its new $35 million Allied Health Building Wednesday at 4 p.m.
“The new Allied Health Building is an exciting addition to our Kirkland campus,” LWIT President Dr. David Woodall said in a press release. “Its state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories simulate actual hospital settings and provide the backdrop for training that will help meet the regional demand for nursing and allied health employees.”
Kirkland Patch, September 12, 2011
http://kirkland.patch.com/articles/lw-tech-to-open-new-35-million-health-building
Boeing training program takes off / The program can offer students the training to enter the work force
Daagon Mosley found the job market challenging before he started working with composite materials at the Boeing plant in Frederickson. But a program setup by Boeing and a handful of other schools, put him in line to work on the 787 Dreamliner and the 777. "I started up at Clover Park Technical College and Boeing played a big part in that," Mosley said. The program is an example of how Boeing is providing curriculum and materials to teach a new generation of workers. Schools like Clover Park are teaching students like Mosley to work in the growing field of composites.
Q13 Fox Spokane, September 12, 2011
http://www.myfoxspokane.com/news/kcpq-boeing-training-program-takes-off-20110912,0,6480114.story
Health care providers save nursing program
Donations from two Moses Lake health care providers helped save a faculty position in Big Bend Community College's nursing program. Samaritan Healthcare and Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, on behalf of Moses Lake Clinic, each committed $60,000 to help pay the salary of a nursing faculty member salary for the next two years. The move means BBCC's registered nursing program can continue to serve 24 students this fall rather than decrease enrollment to 18 students, said BBCC President Bill Bonaudi.
… Several years ago, the BBCC Foundation used their "Access to Good Health Campaign" to increase enrollment in the college's RN program from 18 to 24 students. State budget cuts almost reversed the increase.
… The decision to contribute to the nursing program was a "no-brainer," according to Samaritan CEO Andrew Bair, who said it would cost more to recruit RN's from out of the area.
"This community has a relative abundance of RN's, which is not the case in the rest of the nation," he said. "As long as BBCC is producing nurses, we are safe from having a shortage. But that was being put at risk.”
The Columbia Basin Herald, September 13, 2011
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/news/article_5bc04658-dd99-11e0-acee-001cc4c002e0.html
Be a bright light in a dim economy - EvCC Foundation
By David Iseminger, member of the Everett Community College Foundation Board: Bleak news about the economy surrounds us. Unemployment is high. Factories are closing. The Great Recession from which we've ostensibly emerged still hovers, dropping cold water on the recovery with statistics like last week's Labor Department revelation: August's nationwide net new job creation was zero, the first time that's happened since 1945. … For most, the path to such new beginnings is education -- whether with college degree work or college technical training. It's the road to a new and brighter future, for those with the desire to take it. But sometimes desire needs a little help.… The Everett Community College Foundation has been helping students with grants for 25 years. Many recipients have circumstances we recognize: recently laid off, the first in their family to attend college, recent high school graduates looking to earn credits toward a four-year degree.
The Herald, September 10, 2011
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110910/OPINION03/709109981
Sloan-C Honors Excellence in Online Teaching and Learning
The Sloan Consortium, an association of individuals, institutions and organizations of higher education engaged in online learning, will present its 2011 Awards at the 17th Annual International Conference on Online Learning: Online Learning, Teaching, and Research in the New Media Ecology, in Orlando, Florida. … Recipient for Excellence in Online Teaching: Ellen B. Bremen, Highline Community College …
Digital Journal, September 13, 2011
http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/418870
Why aren’t more universities offering parenting classes?
Studies show that being a parent can be a full-time job, yet most colleges don’t offer any preparation … Those interested in parenting courses – especially ones offering college credit – must often look to community college programs. Centralia College, the oldest operating community college in the state, offers over a dozen for-credit parenting classes to students and community members alike. “[Community colleges] are serving a smaller area, smaller community or reaching out to the general population in a different way,” said Cristi Heitschmidt, Associate Dean of Child and Family Studies at Centralia College. “Part of their mandate is to offer community-type programs.”
USA Today, September 10, 2011
Magazine Names Tacoma Community College A Military Friendly School
Tacoma Community College was named a “Military Friendly School” by G.I. Jobs Magazine for the third year in a row. The annual list honors the top 20 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace America’s service members and veterans as students.
University Place Patch, September 12, 2011
Start college in high school to help solve Washington's job-skills gap (AP, IB, College in the High School)
Highline School Board member Susan Goding urges lawmakers to find ways to expand access to college courses in high school. She argues the approach will increase academic rigor but longer term help to fill Washington's job-skills gap. [Running Start gets heavy mention in comments.]
The Seattle Times, September 9, 2011
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2016161206_guest10goding.html?prmid=obinsite
Remembering with Music
Skagit County musician Jerry Schrueder plays the saxophone during a performance of “Remembering 911” Sunday at McIntyre Hall [Skagit Valley College] in Mount Vernon. Six performances of “Remembering 911” took place at the performing arts center over the weekend.
Skagit Valley Herald, September 12, 2011
http://www.skagit.edu/files3.asp_Q_pagenumber_E_2960
TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION
Show Us the Money
Despite their newfound popularity with lawmakers, community colleges face an uphill battle to make proposed $5 billion for facilities a reality.
Inside Higher Ed, September 12, 2011
Crisis in state's funding of higher education puts our future at risk
The University of Washington's sesquicentennial is cause for cheer. The state Legislature's dwindling support for the UW and other public universities is cause for outrage and action.
The Seattle Times, September 12, 2011
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2016188622_edit13campaign.html
The Right Measures
I’ve been following with interest the stories about the Federal government trying to decide which measures to use to judge the performance of various community colleges against each other. Unfortunately, it appears that some of the measures chosen are far too simplified to give good information. … In the wrong hands, too much of a focus on graduation rates could also lead to pressure to move the academic standards downward, thereby defeating the purpose of college in the first place. Some of the confounding variables are less obvious. Looking at comparative cc graduation rates by state, I’m struck that the states with the highest rates generally have the least viable four-year sectors.
Inside Higher Ed, September 9, 2011
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions_of_a_community_college_dean/the_right_measures
POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL
Revenue forecast due: agencies contemplate potential 10 percent loss
The Olympian, September 13, 2011
http://www.theolympian.com/2011/09/13/1797801/state-sharpens-knife.html
Compiled by the Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges
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