SBCTC NEWS LINKS | Articles about – and of interest to – Washington state community and technical colleges
SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS
REC Silicon donation boosts Big Bend Community College computer program
A Moses Lake manufacturer recently donated $88,000 in technology equipment to give a leg up to the revived computer science program at Big Bend Community College.
Columbia Basin Herald, December 12, 2012
Federal approval is latest win for new bachelor’s program
Last week we received word that the Centralia College Bachelor of Applied Science in Management degree program has been approved by the U.S. Department of Education, meaning that the 26 students pursuing the college’s four-year bachelor’s degree can be considered for federal financial aid.
The Chronicle, December 11, 2012
http://www.centralia.edu/news/chronicle/Federal_Approval_Bachelors_12-11-12.pdf
Centralia College to open new veterans center in January
Centralia College is working on a new center aimed at making the transition from the military to higher education easier for students.
The Chronicle, December 10, 2012
http://www.centralia.edu/news/chronicle/New_Veterans_Center_12-10-12.pdf
Everett Community College’s Monroe campus may need to add services as enrollment grows
The Everett Community College East County Campus is seeing a steady increase in the number of students who are taking college-level classes at the building at 14090 Fryelands Blvd. SE.
Everett Herald, December 12, 2012
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20121212/NEWS01/712129969
Smaller U.S. colleges try to crack Chinese market (Green River and Cascadia Community Colleges)
Admissions officers from some smaller colleges say they are interested in China partly because they want more globalized campuses, but also because they can find students to pay full tuition. Green River Community College, outside Seattle, charges $9,600 per semester; local students pay $3,522 for the same number of credits.
The New York Times, December 14, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/world/asia/17iht-educlede17.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Program bails out former prison inmates
A student in Walla Walla Community College's Automotive Technology program, Scott Andrews works to install fabric seating in the rear seat of a Honda Civic that was flooded in Portland and brought to the school's shop for repair. Andrews, a former prison inmate and STAR Project participant, is slated to graduate from Walla Walla Community College's automotive program in June.
The Columbian, December 11, 2012
http://www.columbian.com/news/2012/dec/11/program-bails-out-former-prison-inmates/
TRENDS| HORIZONS | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | EDUCATION
Progress in the first five years: an evaluation of Achieving the Dream in Washington state
In 2006, six community and technical colleges in Washington State joined the innovative national reform initiative called Achieving the Dream (ATD). This report describes the progress each college made in implementing ATD’s “culture of evidence” principles for institutional improvement, examines strategies implemented by the colleges to improve student success, and charts trends in student outcomes in the period before and after the colleges began their participation.
Community College Research Center, December 2012
http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=1157
Limits of performance-based grants
At a time when policy makers are faced with budget constraints, the idea of tying financial aid to desirable outcomes has a lot of surface appeal. But a new study -- one of a series being conducted to test the concept -- shows the limits of the approach.
Inside Higher Ed, December 14, 2012
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/12/14/study-finds-little-impact-student-grants-based-performance#ixzz2F31aQgXu
To close the skills gap, re-value the associate degree
A number of economists, policymakers, elected officials and employers cite a “skills gap” as the reason the nation is not putting more people back to work. The problem, they reason, is that too many people have the wrong skills for today’s jobs, and colleges and universities are not doing enough to prepare people with the right skills.
The New England Journal of Higher Education, December 10, 2012
http://www.nebhe.org/thejournal/to-close-the-skills-gap-re-value-the-associate-degree/
Crash course for remediation
Complete College America on Wednesday reiterated its urgent call for reforming remedial education, arguing that incremental fixes won’t be enough.
Inside Higher Ed, December 13, 2012
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/12/13/complete-college-america-steps-remedial-reform-calls#ixzz2F3CjfOhF
POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL
NATIONAL
Federal cuts could ‘devastate’ education, analysts say
With the clock ticking on the nation’s “fiscal cliff” crisis, education advocates are expressing mounting concern about how an automatic, across-the-board budget cut would decimate student financial aid and other higher education programs beginning January 1.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education, December 13, 2012
http://diverseeducation.com/article/50101/
Senators call for investigation of for-profit colleges’ tactics on default rates
Eight Democratic senators are urging the U.S. Department of Education to investigate the tactics they say some for-profit colleges use to artificially lower the rate at which their former students default on federal student loans.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 14, 2012
*This premium article will be available to nonsubscribers at the link above for five days
LOCAL
Former Wash. Governor Evans: speaker is not “alternate Governor”
Washington Speaker of the House Frank Chopp (D-Seattle) will “have to learn” to negotiate. That tough talk comes from former Republican Governor Dan Evans in reaction to the announcement that a philosophical majority of Republicans and two Democrats have formed to take control of the state Senate for the 2013 session.
NPR, December 12, 2012
http://nwpr.org/post/former-wash-governor-evans-speaker-not-alternate-governor
A plan to put politics aside is troubled by politics
The unprecedented offer by the new state Senate majority to share power might turn out to be the coalition of the unwilling. When two men elected as Democrats joined with 23 Republicans to form what they dubbed the Majority Coalition Caucus, they bragged at their generous offer to the folks they’d just displaced in power.
The News Tribune, December 13, 2012
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/12/13/2400994/a-plan-to-put-politics-aside-is.html#storylink=cpy
FRIDAY LITE
Why we buy those crazy, ugly holiday sweaters
why are so many people willing to plunk down their hard-earned money during hard economic times for something so tacky? Many buy the sweater for the social connection, said Kit Yarrow, a consumer research psychologist and chair of the psychology department at Golden Gate University. Then, there’s the satire factor…
NBC News, December 14, 2012
http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2012/12/14/15889969-why-we-buy-those-crazy-ugly-holiday-sweaters?lite
Compiled by the Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges
1300 Quince St SE | PO Box 42495 | Olympia, Washington 98504 | www.sbctc.edu
Distributed via email to State Board members, SBCTC staff, CTC presidents, PIOs, Trustees and NEWS LINKS subscribers.
Email subscription: NEWS LINKS | SBCTC News Links blog: http://sbctcnewslinks.blogspot.com/ |RSS feed subscription: NEWS LINKS BLOG
Links are time-sensitive and may expire after the date of publication. The SBCTC does not control or endorse the content of the links and websites.
All articles are copyrighted by the newspaper or website in which they appear. Please do not use these articles without following the permission process of the newspaper.
Some sites require free registration. SBCTC does not link to articles or news sites where a fee or paid subscription is required for viewing/access.
Alison Grazzini Smith | Legislative & Communications Associate
Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges
1300 Quince St SE, Olympia WA 98504
p: 360-704-4394 | e: agsmith@sbctc.edu | www.sbctc.edu
