SBCTC NEWS LINKS | Articles about – and of interest to – Washington state community and technical colleges
SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS
How sequestration could affect your campus
Article by David Baime, senior vice president for government relations and policy analysis at the American Association of Community Colleges regarding sequestration and its impact on community colleges.
Community College Times, February 25, 2013
Community college grads out-earn bachelor's degree holders
"There is that perception that the bachelor's degree is the default, and, quite frankly, before we started this work showing the value of a technical associate's degree, I would have said that, too," says Mark Schneider, vice president of the American Institutes for Research, which helped collect the earning numbers for some states.
CNN Money, February 26, 2013
http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/26/pf/college/community-college-earnings/
Giving Back
Recently I joined the Adult Basic Education team at Wenatchee Valley College teaching reading, writing, and math. … What I wasn’t prepared for was the commitment, enthusiasm, motivation, and respect these students displayed. … Some simply want to earn their GED so they can improve their work situation. Some have high school and college diplomas earned in a different country and now they want to improve their English. Some want to be prepared to take “real” courses at Wenatchee Valley College and then move on to a 4-year college. All want to provide better opportunities for their families. … Santos … writes like a poet and reads at a college level. ... In two quarters he never missed a class, so I was surprised last week when he wasn’t there. One of my colleagues came to say that he was in Olympia as part of a committee to plead that money for the Wenatchee homeless and disabled community wasn’t cut by 2 million dollars. He was very excited to have met Linda Evans Parlette, Cary Condotta, and other state politicians. … He said it gave him “chills” to be in the capitol and listen to these important people. But it’s why he was chosen that is most impressive. Santos has worked with the homeless population in Wenatchee for a long, long time. He volunteers at Bruce House and the Women’s Resource Center. He works with these people because he was once homeless himself, and he wants to do whatever he can to help people find their way and change their lives. For him, going to school is the big factor. “I will always continue my education,” he announced. “And I will always help others.” There is nothing else to say, except , “Thank you to everyone who quietly gives back to this community.”
The Wenatchee World, February 20, 2013
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/weblogs/good-habits-great-grades/2013/feb/20/giving-back/
BBCC program prepares graduates for workforce
Many of the growing careers of the future will require knowledge of SQLs, DOMs, LANs and WENs and beyond, not to mention Windows. And Cisco. Helping students master the techniques and language necessary to make a career in computing is the goal of the revived computer science program at Big Bend Community College.
Columbia Basin Herald, February 21, 2013
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/news/article_a2ae9934-7c67-11e2-b3ae-001a4bcf887a.html
Hundreds pack CBC for 29th Annual Career Expo
Hundreds of students and job seekers flooded the Columbia Basin College Campus Thursday for the 29th Annual Career Expo. More than 60 companies set up booths, collected resumes, and even conducted some onsite interviews.
KNDU TV, February 21, 2013 http://www.kndu.com/story/21302946/29?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8450750
Tri-City Herald http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2013/02/21/2284054/career-expo-at-cbc.html#wgt=rcntmulti
KVEW TV http://www.kvewtv.com/article/2013/feb/21/hundreds-job-seekers-attend-career-expo-pasco/
Ex-con helping inmates cope with life after prison
A Kent woman turned the hardest part of her life into a lesson. One so powerful that it's caught the eye of several ivy league schools. KING 5's Teresa Yuan shows how Lizzie Reid, Green River Community College, alumna is making a difference for the post-prison education program. She has a 4.0 GPA and a full ride scholarship to transfer to UW in the fall.
KING 5 News, February 21, 2013
Kamiakin grads now at helms of area squads
The two [Lane and Todd Schumacher]grew up in Kennewick, graduating from Kamiakin in the late '80s and early '90s. They starred on the Braves teams back then, later moving onto Columbia Basin College and eventually playing at Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. Lane was busy spending time with his family, while working as an academic adviser at Columbia Basin College in Pasco.
Tri-City Herald, February 22, 2013
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/02/22/2889716/kamiakin-grads-now-at-helms-of.html
Taming fire vehicles
Firefighters representing the Mount Vernon, Bay New and La Conner Fire Departments watch a demonstration on how to operate a new BullEx Fire Prop Friday afternoon at the training facility at Skagit Valley College ...
Skagit Valley Herald, February 23, 2013
https://www.skagit.edu/files.asp_Q_pagenumber_E_2960
College on the cheap
It takes a little pluck and some ingenuity, but it’s possible to work the Washington state college system to shave thousands off the cost of a degree or boost a career without drowning in debt. So say recent and soon-to-be college grads who have used new state programs, or taken full advance of existing ones, to finish their college careers. … Can technical training from a community college earn you a higher wage than a bachelor’s degree? Absolutely. Two years ago, Heather Shute swapped her keyboard for a mechanic’s hand tools and began working on a license in aircraft maintenance at South Seattle Community College.
… Angie Weiss knocked a year off the cost of going to college by taking advantage of a program that’s nearly free and is widely available, but seldom used to its full potential.
She enrolled in Running Start, a 23-year-old state program that allows high-school students to earn both high-school and college credit by taking classes at state community colleges.
… Elaine Melnik used a dual-credit strategy to get a jump-start on college. She spent her junior and senior years of high school at the public Lake Washington Institute of Technology in Kirkland, in a free program similar to Running Start that allowed her to graduate at 18 with both her high-school diploma and an associate degree.
… Daron Vchulek was in his 40s, working in radiation technology, when he went back to school to get a bachelor’s degree — at a community college. In 2007, Bellevue College was one of a handful of community colleges in the state that began offering bachelor’s degrees in specific fields, called applied bachelor’s degrees.
… About 40 percent of bachelor’s degree graduates in Washington start their college careers at a community or technical college, where tuition and fees are about a third the cost of tuition at the UW. Sadia Anees is one of them. The Lake Washington High School graduate was accepted to several four-year schools, but Bellevue College was a relative bargain.
The Seattle Times, February 24, 2013
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020421470_cheapercollegexml.html
System of lifelong learning needed to better Washington education
There are many programs that are clearly on track. Whatcom Community College faculty told us programs like Achieving the Dream are successful because they provide valuable data to identify students who need extra help in our community colleges. Whatcom leaders say they are proud of their collaboration with local business leaders to develop relevant programs vital to training the workforce our employers need here at home. [by Scott Brittain, district projects director for the Ferndale School District and K-12 representative on the Washington Student Achievement Council.
Bellingham Herald, February 24, 2013
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/02/24/2887904/system-of-lifelong-learning-needed.html
BBCC graduate receives 'Transforming Lives' award
Big Bend Community College graduate Maria Hartman was among 35 people recognized for their efforts to improve their lives through education as the college's "Transforming Lives" nominee for 2013. … "I learned not to let anyone tell me, 'You can't do it,'" Hartman said. Hartman worked in retail locally for about nine years before losing her job when the business closed. That was when she decided to enroll in college, inspired by the example of her sister Lupe Hedges, who graduated from the college's registered nurse program in 2005.
Columbia Basin Herald, February 25, 2013
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/news/article_824eefb4-7fa9-11e2-8452-001a4bcf887a.html
Senate to vote on nomination of former Herald staffer to EvCC board
Former Herald editorial page editor Bob Bolerjack on Monday moved a step closer to securing confirmation as an Everett Community College trustee. Without dissent, the Senate Higher Education Committee recommended confirming Bolerjack, who was nominated to the Board of Trustees in November … Also Monday, the panel approved the confirmation of four other Gregoire appointees: Darrell S. Mitsunaga of Lake Washington Technical College, Lisa Chin of Bellevue College, Stephen Vincent of Lower Columbia College and Anna Franz of Big Bend Community College.
The Herald, February 26, 2013
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20130226/NEWS01/702269940
TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION
Digital Devices Invade Campus, and Networks Feel the Strain
One hundred students in the library with their smartphones and iPads can mean more than 200 bandwidth-guzzling Wi-Fi connections.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 11, 2013
http://chronicle.com/article/Digital-Devices-Invade-Campus/137217
Social Media: Could Ya, Should Ya, Would Ya?
How should financial-aid offices approach the use of social media to communicate with students? One former aid administrator shares her thoughts in a guest post.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 22, 2013
http://chronicle.com/blogs/headcount/social-media-could-ya-should-ya-would-ya/33935
There's A Skills Gap Because Companies Prefer Poaching Employees To Training Them
Business Insider, February 22, 2013
http://www.businessinsider.com/theres-no-skills-gap-just-a-training-gap-2013-2
Where and Who the College Graduates Are
The National Student Clearinghouse kept track of nearly 1.9 million first-time degree-seeking students who entered college in the fall of 2006. The data, released for the first time in the map and charts below, details the six-year graduation outcomes of those students, broken down by state, institution type, and type of student
The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 24, 2013
This premium article will be available to nonsubscribers at the link above for five days
Little Help for Low-Income Students
By providing data on colleges' "average net price," the Obama administration's College Scorecard has replaced one not-very-useful indicator (sticker price) with another, writes Abigail Seldin.
Inside Higher Ed, February 25, 2013
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2013/02/25/college-scorecards-flawed-focus-average-net-price
Scholars and Aid Officers Brace for Looming Budget Cuts
Unless Congress acts, thousands of scientists will lose their jobs and thousands of students will lose their financial aid.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 25, 2013
http://chronicle.com/article/Threat-of-Sequester-Has/137533/
High Debt Loads May Deter Men From Graduating, Research Finds
Women may tolerate student-loan debt more than men do because they have more to gain in earnings potential by completing a college degree.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 25, 2013
This premium article will be available to nonsubscribers at the link above for five days
Possible Probation for Phoenix
For-profit university's accreditation troubles deepen with probation recommendation based on alleged lack of autonomy from its corporate parent.
Inside Higher Ed, February 26, 2013
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/26/university-phoenix-faces-possible-probation-accreditor
POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL
Skills gap focus of Murray visit to Everett
Business leaders told U.S. Sen. Patty Murray last week that more people need to have the math and science skills to be ready to work in technical jobs. … Community colleges are expanding the number of technical skills classes they offer to meet local needs. People can go to classes at their own pace to gain training while working under what’s called “stackable training.” This is appealing to people, Murray said. “What I hear from young people is ‘I can’t go to college, I need to support my family.’” Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson is working to get Washington State University to build a four-year campus in Everett, and last year a WSU partnership created new engineering classes at Everett Community College.
Snohomish County Tribune, February 27, 2013
http://www.snoho.com/stories_2013/022713_murrayvisit.html
Congressman Says Federal Budget Cuts Will Hurt Local Schools
Congressman Rick Larsen says automatic federal spending cuts would have a severe impact on education in Whatcom County. … federal science grants would be reduced for Western Washington University and Whatcom Community College.
KGMI Radio, February 26, 2013
http://kgmi.com/Congressman-Says-Federal-Budget-Cuts-Will-Hurt-Loc/15658463
Compiled by the Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges
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