SBCTC NEWS LINKS | Articles about – and of interest to – Washington state community and technical colleges
SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS
Chances are, you know Don
One sandwich at a time, Finsen has saved enough money to give significant donations to the community so others can learn the culinary arts and rescue unwanted animals. Finsen’s Turkey House, which started in 1948 on Sharpes Corner, became famous for its hot sandwiches. … He didn’t retire until he was 75 years old. ...Through it all, Finsen made enough money to stash away and later contribute to the community. Most recently, he set up a $20,000 endowment for the culinary arts program at Skagit Valley College. “That’s a fantastic amount,” said Carl Young, the college’s Foundation director. “It means that we can start to help students in a significant way very soon. We’re always grateful for people wanting to pass along support for students in their field.”
Skagit Valley Herald, January 23, 2012
http://www.skagit.edu/files3.asp_Q_pagenumber_E_2960
Centralia College Sells Rare 1812 Art Book
It’s expected to fetch up to $120,000 at New York auction
Centralia Chronicle, February 23, 2012
http://www.centralia.edu/news/chronicle/Rare-Art-Book_02-23-12.pdf
From dropout to doctor-in-training
Mark Litton didn’t have high hopes for his life. A small-town high school dropout, he was content working a minimum-wage job selling paint and wallpaper. “If you’re a high school dropout, that’s the end of it,” Litton said. But life had more in mind for Litton, who at 41 is in the final stages of becoming a doctor. Through a series of serendipitous events — and a lot of hard work — Litton transformed his life into a success story and says he’s as shocked as anyone. “I feel like I was the lucky one who happened to be in the right place and the right time,” he said...“He is one of the most memorable students I can recall in my 26 years here at Skagit Valley College,” said Shelley Lacey, who works in the financial aid office and assisted Litton in funding his education...One thing led to another. He received a full-ride McIntyre scholarship from Skagit Valley College to attend Western Washington University. He double majored in biology and anthropology and applied for medical school...
Skagit Valley Herald, February 26, 2012
http://www.skagit.edu/files3.asp_Q_pagenumber_E_2960
Bellevue College instructor wins national teaching award
For a second straight year, a faculty member of Bellevue College's interior design program has received national recognition for innovative teaching. The Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) recently announced that instructor Peter Benarcik has won a merit award in the 2011 Innovative Education Awards for the entry, “Literal/Actual: Folding – a vertical design studio dealing with the nature of the built environment – literally and actually.”
Bellevue Reporter, February 28, 2012
http://www.bellevuereporter.com/news/140739303.html
City, Issaquah Chamber of Commerce honor innovators
The top small business in the Innovation in Issaquah contest, video production company Impact Studio ProImpact Studio Pro “is a business that was started by a graduate of Eastlake High School and then Bellevue College, and is operated out of a small apartment in the Issaquah Highlands,” Harrison said. “They’re homegrown Issaquah innovators.”
Issaquah Press, February 28, 2012
http://www.issaquahpress.com/2012/02/28/city-issaquah-chamber-of-commerce-honor-innovators/
Centralia College Sponsors Tree Planting
Students, faculty and staff from Centralia College met Saturday at the Chehalis Industrial Park to plant trees in an effort to help reduce the college’s carbon footprint and boost sustainability in Lewis County. “The goal is to work toward offsetting climate impact,” said Lisa Carlson, an associate professor of biology and chair of Centralia College’s sustainability committee.
Centralia Chronicle, February 28, 2012
http://www.centralia.edu/news/chronicle/Tree-Planting_02-28-12.pdf
Big Bend fares better under budget / Expects $500,000 cut over two years
Big Bend Community College would receive cuts of $540,000 over two years under a budget proposal released Tuesday by the state House of Representatives. (Albeit, this is from the “yesterday’s news is tomorrow’s fish-and-chip paper” file.)
Columbia Basin Herald, February 29, 2012
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/news/article_1edeb8c4-6231-11e1-bb8c-001871e3ce6c.html
‘Green’ runs deep on UW-Bothell, Cascadia Community College campus
Weed-eating goats and composting, smart lights and salmon. At the University of Washington, Bothell and Cascadia Community College campus, all of these ideas and more have come together to form a “green system” unique to any other college campus in the country.
Bothell Reporter, February 29, 2012
http://www.bothell-reporter.com/community/140931303.html
Auto Collision Repair Technician training program is flourishing
The auto collision repair technician training program is flourishing at Lake Washington Institute of Technology.
Parts & People Northwest, March 2012
http://www.partsandpeople.com/node/3472
Whatcom college grant will help early childhood educators advance in careers
A nearly $200,000 federal grant will be used to help low-wage adults already working in early childhood education earn college credits and move up in their careers. Classes begin in spring through a collaboration launched by Whatcom Community College and Skagit Valley College. The colleges formed the Northwest Corner Professional Development Partnership in Early Learning, and earned the grant for the workplace-based effort. The money will go toward 40 scholarships split between the two schools.
The Bellingham Herald, March 1, 2012
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/03/01/2417205/whatcom-college-grant-will-help.html
Getting it write
… in a classroom at Tacoma’s First Creek Middle School, a group of boys is slouched around a table after school. … After the group begins the next assignment – adding and editing – a grizzled 62-year-old man sits quietly beside him. “You may think what you have is no good,” he says, so only the boy can hear him. “But you’ve got something to say, and when you present it to someone else, they might get something real new out of it. And when you have others read your work, you learn.” The man is Don Lawrence, who once had bad writing grades himself and is now a student at Tacoma Community College. He’s volunteering at First Creek as part of a fledgling group of Tacoma writers called Write@253. … At a college writing conference last year, I got talking with some other teachers,” said Mary Fox, Lawrence’s writing instructor at TCC. “We were concerned that we were always getting students who hate to write. They find it boring, they have no control. We were really sad about that. We believe that creativity and literacy go hand in hand. We wanted to bring excitement to writing, to foster a love of language.”
The News Tribune, March 2, 2012
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/03/02/2048875/getting-it-write.html
Group rallying to save Seattle Central film program
Students in the Film & Video Communications program at Seattle Central Community College likes to make movies. But now they face rolling the credits on a 26-year-old program that's produced graduates who have even played their part at the Oscars.
Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, March 5, 2012
http://capitolhillseattle.com/2012/03/05/group-rallying-to-save-seattle-central-film-program
Lake Washington Institute of Technology [and Walla Walla CC] students to compete in culinary competition
Six teams from several colleges in the West .. will put their brainpower to the test March 12 in the American Culinary Federation’s (ACF) Western Region Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl … at the Nugget Hotel Resort in Nevada on March 12-14. … Lake Washington Institute of Technology team is coached by Matthew DiMeo and Janet Shaffer, CWPC. Walla Walla Community College team is coached by Gregory Schnorr.
Kirkland Reporter, March 5, 2012
http://www.kirklandreporter.com/community/141521063.html
Students try to save Seattle Central Community College film program
KING 5 News, March 5, 2012
Tacoma Community College names its 2012 All-Washington Scholars
Caldoon (Cal) Farrah’s goal is to earn his master’s degree in chemical engineering and eventually become an instructor. He is currently a pre-engineering student at Tacoma Community College. … Currently enrolled in the nursing program at Tacoma Community College, Donald Missel would like to become a Certified Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), a certification which requires a master’s or doctoral degree.
University Place Patch, March 5, 2012
Big Bend celebrates 50 years in the Columbia Basin
People celebrated Big Bend Community College's 50th anniversary … Saturday evening. The event is aimed at celebrating the community, which supports the college, said LeAnne Parton, the Big Bend Community College Foundation's executive director. "… it's the 50th anniversary. It's a huge draw, and then President (Bill) Bonaudi has just announced that he's retiring so it's the President's Ball and it's his last ball," she said.
Columbia Basin Herald, March 5, 2012
Impact Studio Pro rolls innovation into video production
Inside the video marketing agency Impact Studio Pro, a Mountain Dew-fueled operation creates TV commercials, promotional spots, public service announcements and music videos for more than 100 clients. … Major clients include the Issaquah Schools Foundation, Gene Juarez Academy, Hyundai of Kirkland, and municipal governments in Sammamish and SeaTac. … The tight-knit staff… includes Bellevue College alumni John Campbell, Nathan Bosseler, Jahn Flaatrud; and Alex Elsayed, Bellevue College Web developer intern.
The Issaquah Press, March 6, 2012
http://www.issaquahpress.com/2012/03/06/impact-studio-pro-rolls-innovation-into-video-production/
Peninsula College finalist meets with Jefferson County residents today
Port Townsend Leader, March 6, 2012
http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=55&ArticleID=31016
Kent's iGrad aims to help dropout recovery effort
[Kent School District]Superintendent Vargas and Green River Community College President Eileen Ely partnered with Individualized Graduation and Diploma Program (iGrad) to recover students who have dropped out so that they can complete their graduation requirements and take community college courses as well. ... iGrad will offer high school classes using web based software … and will provide individual and small group tutoring and counseling services along with GED classes from Green River Community College.
Kent Reporter, March 6, 2012
http://www.kentreporter.com/community/141654293.html
High school students protest budget cuts
KUOW RadioActive student reporter examines what state budgets cuts in education mean for local high school students. Classroom supplies, impact of fees and tuition for Running Start (2:30), overcrowding at CTCs and high schools, interview with Rep. Reuven Carlyle (4:00).
RadioActive on KUOW NPR, March 7, 2012
http://kuow.org/program.php?id=26186
TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION
12 Tech Innovators who are transforming campuses
You may have heard the word "disruption" lately. College leaders are trying new approaches to teaching and research with digital tools, and some of those approaches could be transformative.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 26, 2012
http://chronicle.com/article/Rebooting-the-Academy-12-Tech/130926/
The Adult Market for Private Admissions Counselors
Inside Higher Ed, March 1, 2012
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2012/03/01/adult-market-private-admissions-counselors
The Rise and Fall of Graduation Rates
The way students go to college now makes the government's measure less useful than ever. / During the 1990s, higher education was in a state of rapid transition, with more students going to college part time and transferring between institutions, and more adults returning for their degrees. What were called nontraditional students then are today's traditional students. But very few of them are captured by the federal definition of the graduation rate. … Every year, the method by which the government measures the graduation rate gets further and further from what's actually happening on campuses. For example, about one-third of students now transfer from the college where they started, according to a recent report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 2, 2012
http://chronicle.com/article/The-RiseFall-of-the/131036/
Students Who Don't Count
National data-collection systems are set up to track the progress of those people: first-time, full-time students who enroll in the fall and get degrees from the places they started, in at most three years for an associate degree or six for a bachelor's. Transfers, part-timers, and students who take a break and re-enroll either later or elsewhere—even if they graduate—don't count.
That group would include President Obama. … But by national standards, first used in the mid-90s, he wouldn't even be a graduate. He'd be nothing. Same goes for the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 2, 2012
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Students-Who-Dont-Count/131050/
Colleges seek cash for educational technology as budgets shrink
A list of innovative ways to fund lecture-capture systems has grabbed the ed-tech community’s attention
eCampus News, March 2, 2012
http://www.ecampusnews.com/funding/colleges-seek-cash-for-educational-technology-as-budgets-shrink/
Putting college degrees to work
… In Boston last month, for example, no less an authority than US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan made the stunning pronouncement that he finds more and more graduates of four-year universities going to community colleges “to get that technical training to get a real job.”
… For now, it’s community colleges that are being counted on to shoulder much of this work. That’s because many of those vacant jobs turn out to be in so-called middle-skills occupations – lab technicians, early childhood educators, radiation therapists, machinists – for which professional certification or an associate’s degree is often adequate.
… Nearly 90 percent of employers want employees with verbal and written communication skills, according to a survey by the American Association of Colleges and Universities. Seventy-five percent want graduates who understand ethical decision making, and 70 percent say they need workers who are creative and innovative. … At a time when employers are pushing for better skills in science, technology, engineering, and math – the so-called STEM disciplines … universities and colleges around the country are rallying around their own acronym: LEAP, which stands for Liberal Education and America’s Promise.
… In the end, employers largely want what schools like [Wheaton already teaches], although he admits “it sometimes gets lost in translation.” He points out that Bureau of Labor Statistics research suggests that students graduating this year will have held more than 10 different jobs by the time they’re 38. “The truth is, things are changing so rapidly that, to thrive, you have to be an agile learner,” Crutcher says. “You have to be able to think critically, and narrow training for a specific job doesn’t do that. If you’re not focusing on those other knowledge-based skills, you’re going to be doomed to entry-level jobs.”
The Boston Globe, March 4, 2012
Tweet, Loc. Cit.
MLA has a format for citing Twitter? Scott McLemee looks at the shape of scholarly conversations to come.
Inside Higher Ed, March 7, 2012
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/03/07/column-twitter-and-scholarly-citation
$10,000 Degrees in Texas
Two Texas universities reported Tuesday that, working with community colleges, they can offer degrees that cost only $10,000 over four years.
Inside Higher Ed, March 7, 2012
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2012/03/07/10000-degrees-texas
Unregulated for-profits receive big chunk of military spouse tuition aid
Largely unregulated for-profit vocational colleges, which can't receive federal student aid, collect 40 percent of military spouse tuition benefits.
Inside Higher Ed, March 7, 2012
POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL
Guest commentary: Budget shenanigans a blow to transparency
By Sen. Nick Harper, 38th District
The Herald, March 3, 2012
Top lawmakers work toward budget deal
Thursday deadline: Gregoire pressures for agreement; GOP elements could end up in bill, House leader says
The Olympian, March 6, 2012
http://www.theolympian.com/2012/03/06/2017960/top-lawmakers-work-toward-budget.html
Sen. Kastama knows he’ll likely pay for vote
Lawmaker from Puyallup bucked Democratic party during budget debate
The Olympian, March 6, 2012
http://www.theolympian.com/2012/03/06/2017975/sen-kastama-knows-hell-likely.html#storylink=cpy
Can you spell s-p-e-c-i-a-l s-e-s-s-i-o-n?
The Olympian, March 7, 2012
Testosterone and Economic Decisions
Chapman University's Terence Burnham discusses how economic negotiations are often influenced by testosterone.
Inside Higher Ed, March 7, 2012
Listen: http://www.insidehighered.com/audio/2012/03/07/testosterone-and-economic-decisions
Transcript: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1908942
Compiled by the Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges
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Sherry Nelson | communications and outreach associate
Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges
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