Monday, October 3, 2011

NEWS LINKS | Oct. 3, 2011

SBCTC NEWS LINKS | Articles about – and of interest to – Washington state community and technical colleges


 

SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS

 

Aerospace loans available soon to students

Student loans are available for people seeking training through the Washington Aerospace Training and Research Center at Paine Field. … Much of [the] hiring is due to an increase in aircraft production rates at the Boeing Co. In turn, Boeing's suppliers also are adding workers to keep up with the jet maker's pace. The training center at Everett is one piece of a multi-layered approach to filling the aerospace workforce requirement. …  The Legislature approved the loan program earlier this year. But students couldn't start applying for the loans until this Monday, said Cyndi Schaeffer, with Edmonds Community College, which helps manage the center. … The student loan program, operated through the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board, allows eligible students to take out loans of up to $4,800, which pays for 12 weeks of training at the center.

The Herald, September 28, 2011

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110928/BIZ/709289877/1005

 

Hundreds of job seekers attend Herrera Beutler job fair

Entek had a table at Wednesday’s event, and Jones said finding workers is still an issue. “These jobs don’t require four years of college,” he said. “We hired a tech trainee who went to Lower Columbia College for one year.”  In fact, the heating and air-conditioning industry is facing a labor shortage as today’s workers begin to retire, he said. Madden Industrial Craftsmen Inc., a Vancouver heavy industrial staffing company, was advertising 12 openings at its client companies for skilled workers including machinists, millwrights and fabricators.

“It’s just finding the right people with the right skills and matching them up,” said recruiter Mirelda Villagomez.

The Columbian, September 28, 2011

http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/sep/28/herrera-beutler-job-fair-today/

 

Learning and Growing: Clark College dedicates new Oliva center

Thursday’s dedication of the Oliva Family Early Learning Center is just the most recent transition Laurie Cornelius has seen in 36 years at Clark College. Some changes have been in programs, like a recent agreement with Concordia University in Portland. It allows Clark students to earn a four-year degree in early childhood education without leaving campus.

That innovative partnership was showcased during Thursday’s ribbon-cutting.  Clark also helps college students prepare for careers in child care and early learning. So, the new site will expand their opportunities for practical experience, said Tim Cook, Clark’s interim vice president of instruction.

The Columbian, September 29, 2011

http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/sep/29/learning-and-growing-clark-college-dedicates-new-o/

 

In Our View: 2 Kinds of Learning -- Clark College celebrates opening of new building for kids and teachers-to-be

Talk about a success story, look what’s happening at Clark College’s Early Learning Center. For more than three decades, the center on the north end of the main campus has served two purposes: a place where preschool children can learn, and a place where college students can learn how to teach the kids.  … Part of the necessary funding for Phase I — $1 million — came from the state, but it carried the requirement that matching funds had to be found. Enter Jan and Steve Oliva, and not for the first time as local philanthropists. … Their matching gift — plus a donation from Kitty Welsh of Vancouver to cover costs of the “Little Penguins’ Gardens” in the new facility — completed the partnership. … Clark College President Bob Knight explained, “At a time when our state funding continues to decline, it’s clear that donor support will be vitally important to our future, for today’s students and to help us meet our region’s needs for the future.”

The Columbian, September 30, 2011

http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/sep/30/2-kinds-of-learning/

 

Edmonds Community College Launches New Concert Band and Music Degree

After years of groundwork, the Edmonds Community College music department announces two fresh offerings: concert band and associate of arts music degree. “One thing required of music players when they transfer to a four-year school is that they have had participation in a large ensemble, a concert ensemble,” Sanders said. “I had one very blunt high school band director who said, ‘I’m not sending you any students because you don’t have a concert ensemble.’ ” So after much preparation and years of planning, Sanders is excited to finally announce the addition of a concert band at Edmonds Community College. Not only does it give students valuable instruction and practice, but it fulfills the instrumental gap that was missing for students wanting to pursue an associate's in music. Like the first community band Sanders developed, this concert band is a mix of students and community members.

Edmonds Patch, September 30, 2011

http://edmonds.patch.com/articles/edmonds-community-college-launches-new-concert-band-and-music-degree

 

Editorial | Higher education: Budget should not be balanced on the backs of state's college and university students

Washington state lawmakers heading into a brutal special session next month should not aim their budget knives anywhere near higher education. Our universities and community colleges have already endured historic disinvestment by the state Legislature. We urgently need an approach that treats higher education like the economic boosters and job generators they are. Start by letting universities and colleges run themselves as well-managed businesses with strict accountability.

Seattle Times, October 1, 2011

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2016370555_edit02highered.html

 

Shoreline CC Dental Hygiene Instructor Wins National Award

Shoreline Community College Dental Hygiene Instructor and Interim Director Rosie Bellert was one of eight dental hygienists in Canada and the U.S. to receive a 2011 Sunstar/RDH Award of Distinction which recognizes dental hygienists who make a positive difference in the lives of their patients and students. Rosie has practiced or taught dental hygiene for 37 years and was recently named the director of Shoreline Community College’s dental hygiene program. …  Bellert’s biggest influence to become a hygienist was from a high school job. "When I was a junior in high school, I was a nanny for a family of four boys. Their father just happened to be a dentist. I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. He was instrumental in helping with the process of applying and completing prerequisites. He let me shadow in his office to see what the RDH position is like in an office. I was 16 years old and had never been to the dentist’s. Coming from a family of nine children, we went to the dentist when we had a toothache. I was fortunate enough to not have had one."

Shoreline Patch, October 1, 2011

http://shoreline.patch.com/articles/shoreline-cc-dental-hygiene-instructor-wins-national-award

 

Snohomish high school students training now to ‘build the next 787’

Mott, 17, likes using computers for design because he's not a good artist. He's taken this class all through high school, hoping it will help him with his career. "I want to go into aviation and become and aerospace engineer," he said. The school district and Everett Community College have been awarded a $879,725 grant used to develop a curriculum and replicate the class in other schools around the Western Washington region. The goal is to get students more excited about manufacturing careers and land better-paying jobs." We are looking for people to build the next 787," said Steve Cotterill, director for Career and Technical Education for the district.

The Herald, October 1, 2011

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20111001/NEWS01/710019949/-1/news01#Snohomish-high-school-students-training-now-to-%2526%25238216build-the-next-787%2526%25238217

 

Monday Lite News:   Back Seat Driver

Topaz enjoys the breeze in the back seat of Susan Boone’s car Thursday as the pair drive back to Kennewick, Wash. after dropping Boone’s daughter off at Columbia Basin College.

Spokesman Review, October 1, 2011

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2011/oct/01/dfos-critters-back-seat-driver/

 

Dental grants aim to improve oral health in Clark County

The ABCD (Access to Baby and Child Dentistry) project at Lower Columbia College Head Start will help children under 6. The grant will help with the coordination of an oral health curriculum at local preschools, as well as train medical and dental providers to care for this vulnerable population.

The Columbian, October 3, 2011

http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/oct/03/dental-grants-aim-improve-oral-health-clark-county/

 

Tacoma Community College named education 'leader'

Tacoma Community College (TCC) was recognized as a leader in the national student completion movement by "Achieving the Dream," leader in the national student completion movement by "Achieving the Dream,"  … TCC, one of 23 institutions designated as a 2011 Leader College, was recognized for demonstrating sustained improvement and accomplishments on key student achievement indicators. Highline Community College and Renton Technical College were the only other Washington schools on the list. … "We are pleased to see our completion efforts paying off for our students," said TCC President Pamela Transue. "We have built systems from first point of contact through graduation to help students succeed. Data show that it's working."

Tacoma Daily Index, October 3, 2011

http://www.tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=2046089&more=0

 

Big Bend receives $1.8 million grant

Big Bend Community College will receive $1.8 million for aerospace education, training and services over the next three years. The money is Big Bend's share of a $20 million grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to Air Washington, a consortium of 14 colleges, two aerospace companies and an apprenticeship committee.

The Columbia Basin Herald, October 3, 2011

http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/news/article_6dc2872c-eba3-11e0-bc91-001cc4c03286.html

U.S. to provide $20 million for state jet training

Local schools receiving a portion of the money include Everett, Edmonds and Skagit community colleges and the Washington Aerospace Training and Research Center and the Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Materials Manufacturing, both in Everett. Together the consortium will target unemployed and underemployed Washingtonians for training in the aerospace field.

The Herald, October 3, 2011

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20111001/BIZ/710019921/1005

 

TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION


Beyond Super- and Ill-Prepared Students, How About Some With Creativity?

We're quickly headed toward a future in which college students will either be super achievers or unprepared for the workplace. … We're quickly headed toward a future in which college students will either be super achievers or unprepared for the workplace. At least that's according to dueling op-ed pieces in two of our nation's most influential newspapers on Sunday. On one hand, you have "super people" whose abilities and activities as students are literally off the charts (James Atlas, The New York Times). On the other hand, you have college graduates lacking basic skills because of colleges "coddling" them (Kathleen Parker, The Washington Post). …  It's been widely reported that many of the best jobs of tomorrow don't even exist today, so the successful colleges of the future will be those that graduate students who have the imagination to figure things out. Already, at both the top and bottom ends of the employment ladder, we have jobs that are going unfilled because they require technical skills many of the unemployed lack. The Huffington Post, October 3, 2011

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-selingo/jobs-post-college_b_992372.html

 

Super People

Preparing for Super Personhood begins early. “We see kids who’ve been training from an early age,” says Charles Bardes, chairman of admissions at Weill Cornell Medical College. “The bar has been set higher. You have to be at the top of the pile.”  And to clamber up there you need a head start. Thus the well-documented phenomenon of helicopter parents. In her influential book “Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety,” Judith Warner quotes a mom who gave up her career to be a full-time parent: “The children are the center of the household and everything goes around them. You want to do everything and be everything for them because this is your job now.”  …  Just as the concentration of wealth at the very top reduces wealth at the bottom, the aggressive hoarding of intellectual capital in the most sought-after colleges and universities has curtailed our investment in less prestigious institutions …. Affluent families can literally buy a better résumé.

The New York Times, October 2, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/opinion/sunday/meet-the-new-super-people.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

 

COLUMN: Something is wrong with American higher education

We often hear lamentations about declining educational quality, writes Kathleen Parker. Missing from the conversation is the quality of what's being taught. Meanwhile, we are mistakenly wed to the notion that more people going to college means more people will find jobs.

The Seattle Times, October 2, 2011

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2016370892_parker03.html

 

Saving the 'Lost Boys' of Higher Education

If the United States simply accepts that males will continue to lag behind their female counterparts in academic interest and performance, the consequences will be profound. This is no abstract issue: Ultimately, it could lead to a country in which millions of young men live with their parents and work lousy jobs with few or no benefits, and in which a class of highly educated, professionally engaged women is expected to support underemployed husbands. … The lack of progress may stem from our sense that males hold all the cards—an impression undiminished by the abundant research documenting their struggles, which affect boys and men regardless of race or socioeconomic status. Contemplated in the abstract, the image of hard-working women giving a bunch of masculine underachievers their comeuppance after eons of patriarchy might seem just. But the realities of the new gender gap are nothing to celebrate.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 2, 2011

http://chronicle.com/article/Saving-the-Lost-Boys-of/129243/

 

Fingers Crossed, Leaders of Community Colleges Hope for Cash to Fix Facilities

The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 2, 2011

http://chronicle.com/article/Fingers-Crossed-Leaders-of/129235/?key=SmhwJFZoZyRAMCxhYTxAbT1SPXFhYkoja3Idbix3bl5XFQ%3D%3D.

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Nobel? Sure. Parking Space? Maybe.

Exactly how bad is parking on some college campuses? This bad: After Andre Geim shared the Nobel Prize in Physics last year, administrators at the University of Manchester, in England, asked what would entice him to stay. A parking space near his building was Mr. Geim's sole request. He got it. … With just 2,000 spaces to serve 20,000 students and employees, Dalhousie, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, may have the most nightmarish campus parking in North America. … Some campus employees see access to nearby, economical parking—or the lack of it—as a measure of their college's regard for them.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 2, 2011

http://chronicle.com/article/Parking-on-Campus-a-Vanishing/129232/?key=GmhwJgNpY3cRbX9nZ21AamoBOHY4MUlxZXBLa3Jybl1VFA%3D%3D.

This premium article will be available to nonsubscribers at the link above for five days

 

Construction Career Fair shows high school students the ropes

Organizers say the construction career fair introduces students to fields or jobs that might be unfamiliar to them. "The goal of the event is to get kids seeing different kinds of trades that are available," said Kelso High career specialist Mollie DuBois, one of the event's organizers. "For us, it's our best recruiting tool," said Wayne Elliott, organizer for Plumbers and Steamfitters Union Local 26. Elliott acknowledged it's a slow time for jobs in the construction field around Longview, but he said the job market is picking up in the Portland area.

"The work will come back, and we have to be ready for it with these kids," Elliott said.

The Daily News,  September 29, 2011

http://tdn.com/news/local/article_a5af6b9a-eb04-11e0-b3ac-001cc4c002e0.html

 

Guns Come to Campuses

As more states allow concealed carry, colleges reluctantly make changes. Universities and anti-gun lobbyists have had many reasons to celebrate this year, with the death or delay of bills in more than a dozen states that would have allowed the concealed carry of weapons on campuses. But it seems the momentum may be shifting.

Inside Higher Ed, October 3, 2011

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/10/03/concealed_carry_in_oregon_wisconsin_and_mississippi_means_changes_for_college_and_university_campuses

 

Editorial: Keeping guns off our public university campuses

A decision by the Oregon Court of Appeals to reject the ban on guns on our seven public university campuses hardly restores confidence that our young people will be safer. It means people with permits may pack a concealed weapon and show up at biology class or for coffee at the student union.

The Oregonian, October 1, 2011

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/10/keeping_guns_off_our_public_un.html

 

POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL

 

In-state tuition for undocumented immigrants a hot-button for Gov. Rick Perry, voters, candidates

El Paso Times, October 2, 2011

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_19022046?source=most_viewed

 

Looking for a career that soars?

… there will be [aerospace] jobs-a-plenty for many years to come …

HDC Advance, September 30, 2011

http://hdcadvance.blogspot.com/2011/09/looking-for-career-that-soars.html

 


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