News Links | June 5, 2014

SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS

Editorial: Today’s graduates are a fresh wind in our world These kids of today. The Class of 2014 will graduate over the next week or so from our community’s high schools, South Puget Sound Community College, The Evergreen State College and Saint Martin’s University. Many of these kids started kindergarten just as terrorists were attacking America at the World Trade Center buildings. The Olympian, June 4, 2014   EvCC builds greenhouse made out of pop bottles A building shaped like a house with walls constructed out of two-liter plastic bottles was recently erected in the play area of the Everett Community College’s Early Learning Center. Snohomish County Tribune, June 4, 2014 GRCC's Spring Concert Featuring: Matt Kearney, Naomi Wachira, Carson and Tess Henley Although not highly publicized, the Spring Concert at Green River Community College still attracted 300 or so fans, who were treated to a wonderful evening of music. Seattle Music Insider, June 4, 2014 DelBene checks in with Skagit Valley College Rep. Suzan DelBene stopped by Skagit Valley College’s Mount Vernon campus Monday morning in part to see the campus’ new Lewis Hall take shape. Skagit Valley Herald, June 3, 2014 Host families help international students settle in far from home The three Pierce County colleges that have host family programs — Tacoma Community College, Pierce College and Clover Park Technical College — have more than 500 students taking part. The News Tribune, June 3, 2014 WWCC students disappointed with low turnout for Veterans Benefit concert The student council at Walla Walla Community College is disappointed with the small turnout at their Veterans Benefit concert which took place on Friday. KLEW, June 3, 2014 Governor Inslee to Visit Kent School District’s iGrad program Governor Jay Inslee is visiting iGrad in the Kent School District today. ... The first of its kind in Washington State, iGrad, which stands for “Individualized Graduation and Diploma Program,” started as a partnership with Green River Community College as a way to recover dropouts. Maple Valley Reporter, June 3, 2014 Costumed crime fighters combat Layton’s cancer with Super Hero Fun Run Runners and walkers alike threw on their fantastic costumes and participated in the Super Hero Fun Run on Saturday. The fundraiser, which was put on by first-year nursing students at Walla Walla Community College, was held in honor of three-year-old Layton Tannahill a local boy diagnosed with cancer. KLEW, June 3, 2014 Foundry Preparing Centralia College Statue for Dedication Tacoma art foundry 2 Ravens Studio is putting the final touches on a statue honoring the two women who helped preserve Centralia College through the Great Depression and World War II. Centralia Chronicle, May 30, 2014 Competency-Based Education Programs versus Traditional Data Management As competency-based education (CBE) programs continue to develop across the country, administrators and faculty members find their campuses' information systems too rigid for this new learning modality. To assist colleges in transforming traditional campus programs into competency-based ones — as well as to investigate the challenges entailed — Western Governors University (WGU) worked with 11 community colleges in five states to design and implement CBE academic projects [including Bellevue College and Spokane Falls Community College], with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the US Department of Labor's Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) program. Educause Review, May 19, 2014

TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION

Winning Combination for Whom? What the authors fail to acknowledge, however, is the fact that how students “do” college is often governed by pre-existing inequalities that our higher education system does little to ameliorate. Inside Higher Ed, June 5, 2014 Patty Murray: ‘Crushing’ college costs hurt students, entire economy The nation’s $1.2 trillion — and growing — student debt is reshaping Americans’ economic lives in far-reaching ways, from slowing rates of homeownership to retirement security to choice of specialty for medical students. The Seattle Times, June 4, 2014 The Good That Community Colleges Do, Part 2 The truth is, much of what community colleges do is difficult to measure empirically and must therefore be explained to key stakeholders like state education officials, legislators, and policy makers. The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 4, 2014 A Global Push to Reduce Dropout Rates All around the world, dropout rates—and their corollary, retention—are a major concern. They are, of course, a particular concern of American universities, in part because of the Obama administration’s focus on the issue. The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 3, 2014 Want more tax dough? Start with STEM, business group says Complaints about the dearth of students graduating from high school with adequate math and science skills have been voiced so loudly, and for so long, that they threaten to fade into background noise. The Seattle Times, June 3, 2014 How Stereotypes Keep Women From Computer Science Marcie Sillman speaks with University of Washington professor Sapna Cheryan about how the nerd stereotype is keeping women away from the field of computer science. KUOW, June 2, 2014 [High School] Graduation Rate Trends 2006-2007 to 2011-2012 The graduation rates displayed in the map for 2006-07 through 2011-12 were calculated by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics using its Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate formula. Education Week, June 2, 2014

POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL

Disunited Front Hardly anybody in higher education seems to like the Obama administration's proposed ratings system. But college leaders are certainly not united in their views about the appropriate role for the federal government in holding institutions accountable. Inside Higher Ed, June 5, 2014 UW students pitch plan for college cost they can afford A University of Washington student group is asking lawmakers and university administrators to increase student aid, change the way it is distributed and lower college costs enough that Washington students could work their way through college. The Seattle Times, June 3, 2014