News Links | May 8, 2014

SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS

Inland NW middle school girls try hand at industrial trades The event [Pizza, Pop & Power Tools], presented by Spokane Community College, invited the girls to experience trades such as welding, plasma cutting, backhoe operation and construction – jobs with living wages. Spokesman-Review, May 8, 2014 May gallery features works of GRCC art educators, faculty The group exhibition at City Hall Gallery for May features the artwork of Green River Community College School of Art instructors and faculty. Auburn Reporter, May 8, 2014 Big Bend student receives honor society recognition Sarah Schutt, a student at Big Bend Community College, was elected as a district officer for Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for community and technical colleges. Columbia Basin Herald, May 7, 2014 Good Deeds: Step by Step receives grant from The Everett Clinic Foundation The Everett Community College Foundation's April 22 community breakfast raised more than $71,000 to support student scholarships and college programs. More than 400 people attended the breakfast, which included recognition of student veterans and veteran donors to the EvCC Foundation. The Herald Business Journal, May 7, 2014 Peninsula College gets $150,000 grant from College Spark Washington Peninsula College was recently awarded a $150,000 College Spark Washington Community Grant to help low-income students become college-ready and successfully transition to college. Sequim Gazette, May 6, 2014

TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION

This Year’s Graduates Are Optimistic, Perhaps Overly So, About Job Prospects The job-market expectations of 2014 graduates don’t match up with what their peers who graduated in the two previous years have experienced. The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 8, 2014 Helping transfer students succeed Low-income community college students who transfer to highly selective four-year institutions can succeed academically if they receive adequate financial aid, according to an analysis by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's Community College Transfer Initiative. Inside Higher Ed, May 8, 2014 Nation's report card: No gains for 12th-graders In an abysmal showing, only about one-quarter of U.S. high school seniors performed solidly in math in a major assessment known as the nation's report card, reinforcing concerns that large numbers of students are unprepared for either college or the workplace. The Seattle Times, May 7, 2014 Interest Rates on New Federal Student Loans Will Rise for 2014-15 Interest rates on new federal student loans will rise for the 2014-15 academic year, with the rate on undergraduate Stafford loans increasing to 4.66 percent, Bloomberg reported. The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 7, 2014 Guest: Bruce Shepard right to say WWU should be less white Like other state colleges and universities, the student body at Western hasn’t kept pace with changing K-12 demographics. The Seattle Times, May 6, 2014 WSU might freeze tuition again The Washington State University Board of Regents will consider freezing all tuition rates for the second straight year when it meets in Pullman later this week. Tri-City Herald, May 6, 2014 'Napping Stations' at U. of Michigan Library Help Students Face Exams Universities have long embraced digital technology that improves students’ academic performance. Now the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor is embracing another, simpler performance booster—sleep. The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 6, 2014 Opinion: She Had to Tell What She Knew [Mary] Willingham went to the university in Chapel Hill in 2003 as an academic adviser to the school’s athletes, primarily its football and basketball players. ... But right from the start, she realized that there was a problem: Many of the athletes were coming into college unequipped to do college-level work. The New York Times, May 5, 2014

POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL

Backed into a corner As the Obama administration weighs public comment on its second proposal to more tightly regulate for-profit colleges, the industry is once again fighting in earnest to fend off the regulations. But this time the debate over the “gainful employment” rules is playing out across a different landscape. Inside Higher Ed, May 7, 2014 Bill Would Let Student-Loan Borrowers Refinance at Current Rates U.S. Sen. Elizabeth A. Warren introduced legislation on Tuesday that would allow student-loan borrowers to refinance their debt at current interest rates. An identical bill is expected to be introduced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday evening. The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 6, 2014 Congressional representatives petition for college safety rankings [Aurielle] Smith’s hindsight is one of the reasons 12 members of Congress sent a letter petitioning U.S. News and World Report to add campus safety as a criterion in the magazine’s highly cited annual college rankings. ... According to The Huffington Post, the congressional representatives – 10 Democrats, two Republicans – urged the publication not to rank schools that have issues dealing with sexual assault highly, calling faults with campus safety a “widespread problem.” USA Today, May 6, 2014 Editorial: State Supreme Court should accept McCleary report, leave K-12 to Legislature What the court ought to do is to take lawmakers at their word, recognize that the Legislature plays a role as important as its own, and let it get down to business. The Seattle Times, May 5, 2014