News Links | July 15, 2014

SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS

OPINION: McCleary not the end: Education funding should extend to college By Beth Willis, chair of the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, and Terry Leas, president of Big Bend Community College. Thousands of Washington high school seniors recently walked across stages to receive their diplomas. For the college bound, the question is, “Where are they walking?” Lawmakers will answer that question in January when they write a new spending plan influencing everything from tuition and course offerings to academic advising and campus construction projects. iFIBER One News, July 14, 2014 Peninsula College foundation given gift of more than $17,000 for math, engineering scholarship The Peninsula College Foundation is the recipient of a gift of more than $17,000 to go toward an endowed scholarship for students majoring in mathematics or engineering. Peninsula Daily News, July 14, 2014 Pierce alum brings a sense of home to international students Each Wednesday night without fail, Elizabeth Sierra-Arruffatt prepares a home-cooked meal for a group of students who have traveled across the world to study here at Pierce College. As a Pierce alum, Sierra-Arruffatt got to know many international students while she was in school, and developed a great respect for the bravery it takes to study in a foreign country. The Suburban Times, July 14, 2014 School winners Everett Community College has received an $18,500 grant from Washington Campus Compact for a program that encourages low-income students from two Snohomish County high schools and four middle schools to attend college. Everett Herald, July 14, 2014 Opinion: Partnership aims at getting teenagers college-ready By Tod Treat, executive vice president for academic and student affairs at Tacoma Community College. For many years, a problem has festered at colleges and universities around the country: Many graduating high school seniors are not transitioning smoothly into college-level classes. The blame has been passed around from students to parents to high schools to the colleges themselves, for expecting too much. The issues, however, are complicated. In Tacoma, we’re ready to move beyond finger-pointing to working together to solve the problem with a partnership between Tacoma Community College and Tacoma Public Schools. The News Tribune, July 13, 2014 CPTC to Debut Two New Programs Fall Quarter To better support local manufacturing businesses, Clover Park Technical College will introduce a Bachelor of Applied Science in Manufacturing Operations (BASMO) and an Associate in Applied Science in Mechatronics beginning Fall Quarter (Sept. 22). The Suburban Times, July 13, 2014 So You Think You Can Educate Adults? So you think that edtech (and school reform in general) are full of buzzwords and hot new trends? Well, that may be true. But edtech’s got nothing on adult education, which freely adopts jargon and innovation from the K-12 and postsecondary worlds and then adds its own particular set of terms and approaches. ... Students in Washington State’s Integrated Basic Education Skills & Training (I-BEST) programs learn basic skills and credit-bearing career content simultaneously, team-taught by a basic education teacher and a college course instructor). The state’s newest variation on the model, Integrated Digital English Acceleration (I-DEA), includes a blended English language instruction program that includes flipped classes and 1:1 computer deployment. [Both are State Board for Community and Technical Colleges' programs.] EdSurge, July 11, 2014 Grant will help Clark College job training efforts Three years ago, Chris MacMillan was working as a jack-of-all-trades in a coffee business, roasting beans, building coffee stands and setting up for events. But then the business sold, and he was laid off. ... He found the answer in Clark College's diesel technology program. MacMillan will earn his associate degree in diesel technologies in December. The Columbian, July 11, 2014 CPTC announces first bachelor's program Clover Park Technical College will offer the school's first bachelor's degree program, with a bachelor of applied science in manufacturing operations degree set to debut in the fall quarter of 2014. Business Examiner, July 10, 2014 Jonathan Wagner named VA 2014 Member of the Year It takes one to know one, and for Jonathan Wagner, the Veteran Navigator at Clover Park Technical College, that familiarity has led to his success guiding and providing support for veteran students. Northwest Military, July 10, 2014 Local Artist Creates Public Artwork for CPTC When local artist Norman Courtney was tasked with creating a piece of public art for Clover Park Technical College, he wanted the artwork to convey one word: transformation. The Suburban Times, July 9, 2014 Seattle Goodwill Industries Announces New President & CEO Daryl Campbell Markee Foster, the Chair of the Board of Directors for Seattle Goodwill Industries, is pleased to announce that Daryl Campbell has been named the organization’s President and CEO. Mr. Campbell leaves his post as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Shoreline Community College and will join Seattle Goodwill on August 18. Ballard News-Tribune, July 9, 2014 CPTC: Automotive Technician Program Receives Biodiesel Machine The Automotive Technician Program at Clover Park Technical College recently acquired a Freedom Fueler Biodiesel Processor. The machine not only serves as a teaching tool but also allows CPTC to reuse what would otherwise be disposed. The Suburban Times, July 9, 2014 CPTC Receives Funding for Mechatronics and Material Science Programs Clover Park Technical College is one of 21 state community and technical colleges selected to receive funding to grow high-demand aerospace programs, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges announced in June. The Suburban Times, July 8, 2014 LCC classes move into $38 million state-of-the-art facility this fall As its three sprawling floors received a polish last week, Lower Columbia College’s new health and science building sat quietly in the sun as the airy halls and advanced classrooms awaited their first quarter, coming this fall. Centralia Daily News, July 5, 2014 WWCC makes best of more budget cuts Colleges and universities in Washington state are, once again, faced with budgets so tight a quarter would bounce off them — assuming there were quarters available. Higher education continues to be an area that gets short shrift by the Legislature. The economy has been stagnant and the state Supreme Court has mandated that lawmakers put $1.5 billion to $2 billion into basic education over the next year. As a result, Walla Walla Community College — like other schools in Washington — was faced with a projected shortfall. WWCC was $250,000 short in its $23 million budget for its Walla Walla campus programs. Edmonds CC appoints student trustee Edmonds Community College has named Girish Chummun as the newest member on its Board of Trustees for the 2014-15 academic year. Edmonds Beacon, July 3, 2014 Alaska Airlines Names Shaunta Hyde Managing Director of Community Relations Alaska Airlines has named Shaunta Hyde to the newly created position of managing director of community relations. ... She is the current vice chair of the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges, a member of the International Association of Women in Aviation and a board member of Pioneer Human Services. The Wall Street Journal MarketWatch, July 3, 2014 College degrees are money in the bank Exiting service members undecided about pursuing continuing education might consider a study published by The Federal Reserve Bank of New York that shows workers with a bachelor’s or associate degree make more money over their lifetimes than those without a degree. ... Tacoma Community College Veteran Program specialist Frank McDougald knows the pressures military members feel when it comes to deciding on their future. ... Programs, like the kind offered at Clover Park Technical College, help service members find a job right out of school. Northwest Guardian, July 3, 2014 City looks to move urban center to include LWIT The city of Kirkland is looking for ways to have the Lake Washington Institute of Technology take advantage of the Totem Lake neighborhood’s higher priority access to transportation funding as a part of the city’s urban center. Kirkland Reporter, July 3, 2014 Clover Park Technical College offers Medical Assistant Program Sometimes all you need is a path. For Tiffany Nguyen, that path came in the form of an Army uniform and a glimpse into a career field she hadn't considered before: medicine. Nguyen entered Tacoma Community College after high school but wasn't feeling motivated, not to mention she was paying for classes out-of-pocket. She realized she had a passion for helping people and that joining the Army Reserves might be the answer to everything. ... Nguyen enrolled in the Medical Assistant Program at Clover Park Technical College last year and her experiences in the military have helped her to succeed in the program. Northwest Military, July 3, 2014 Community colleges shorten their names Small but growing numbers of community colleges are moving to drop the word “community” from their name, inspiring a sometimes passionate parsing of its meaning. The move comes as more states allow two-year colleges, which are popular with military veterans, to confer bachelor’s degrees, which typically take four years or longer to complete. Alert drivers in the Seattle area will notice over the next few months that 10 highway signs for three Seattle community colleges are being replaced with signs that say Seattle Colleges. Navy Times, June 30, 2014 Super Kid: Ria Montenegro, 18, Lake Stevens High School graduate Ria Montenegro was active in Lake Stevens High School's DECA program, serving as the community chapter president in her senior year. She graduated with a 3.9 GPA, was a Running Start student at Everett Community College and plans to attend Western Washington University in the fall. Everett Herald, June 23, 2014 2 Mill Creek students graduate from EvCC’s Ocean Research College Academy Forty-two students from Everett Community College’s Ocean Research College Academy – including two from Mill Creek – graduated June 13, earning both their associate’s degree and high school diplomas. Mill Creek Beacon, June 20, 2014

TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION

Inequitable Access to Loans Community colleges across the country that don’t offer access to federal student loans are imperiling nearly one million students who may turn to riskier forms of credit to fund their education, according to a report released Monday by the Institute for College Access & Success. Inside Higher Ed, July 15, 2014 Education Dept. Will Review For-Profit U. of Phoenix The Apollo Education Group, parent company of the University of Phoenix, disclosed in a corporate filing on Monday that the U.S. Education Department would conduct an “ordinary course program review” of the university’s financial-aid administration and other areas. The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 15, 2014 Colleges Must Make ‘Good-Faith Effort’ on Clery Act Compliance, U.S. Says The U.S. Department of Education said on Monday that colleges must make a “good-faith effort” to comply with changes in the campus-crime reporting law known as the Clery Act before the department issues final rules outlining how colleges should work to prevent crimes such as sexual assault and domestic violence. The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 15, 2014 Companies That Offer Help With Student Loans Are Often Predatory, Officials Say Student loan debt hovers at more than $1 trillion, a threefold surge from a decade ago, and a record number of college students who graduated as the financial system nearly imploded have an average debt load of more than $20,000. More than half of recent graduates are unemployed or have low-paying jobs that do not require that expensive college degree. Some Americans, including baby boomers whose savings were devastated by the financial crisis, are still struggling to pay off their student loans well into their 50s. For the debt settlement industry, all this means a tantalizing gold mine of new customers. The New York Times, July 13, 2014 Some graduates of beleaguered Everest College allege deceit Graduates of four Everest College campuses in Washington say the schools misrepresented the wages they could make and did a poor job preparing them for national certification exams. The schools are under investigation by multiple agencies and are all for sale. The Seattle Times, July 12, 2014 Survey: Young People See College as Worthwhile But Overpriced A new survey of Americans from the so-called millennial generation finds that three-quarters feel that college is "definitely" or "probably" a worthwhile investment. But they also think it can be made more affordable. Education Week, July 11, 2014 Leaving the System The portion of first-time U.S. students who return to college for a second year has dropped 1.2 percentage points since 2009, according to a report that looks like bad news for the national college completion push. Inside Higher Ed, July 10, 2014 Tuition and Fees Rise, but Cost of Living—by Colleges’ Estimate—Falls As usual, the U.S. Department of Education is a bit behind when it comes to data. Published tuition and fees increased by about 4 percent at public and private nonprofit four-year colleges and by nearly 5 percent at public two-year colleges from 2011-12 to 2013-14, when adjusted for inflation, according to a new release from the National Center for Education Statistics. The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 10, 2014 Most with college STEM degrees go to work in other fields, survey finds People with bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering and math are more likely than other college graduates to have a job, but most of them don’t work in STEM occupations, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released Thursday. The Washington Post, July 10, 2014 Teaching With Tech Across Borders As colleges look for cost-effective ways to internationalize the on-campus learning experience, globally connected courses such as Pallant’s may become more common. The use of technology to enable virtual exchanges and collaborative assignments between geographically distant classrooms is not brand-new – faculty, especially foreign language faculty, have been doing it in pockets for as long as there’s been email – but there seem to be an increasing number of efforts to scale up and institutionalize these kinds of activities. Inside Higher Ed, July 9, 2014 Employment After the Recession Four of five students who graduated college in 2008 were able to find some sort of employment in the four years after their graduation, despite entering the work force during the worst of the economic recession, a federal report shows. Inside Higher Ed, July 8, 2014 The Younger International Student A new research brief from the Institute of International Education finds that the pool of international students attending American high schools is rapidly expanding, and the majority of those students are pursuing diplomas rather than enrolling in more traditional semester- to yearlong cultural exchange programs. Inside Higher Ed, July 8, 2014 6 Everest College campuses in Washington up for sale Corinthian Colleges has put six of its Everest College campuses in Washington up for sale. The Seattle Times, July 8, 2014 Corinthian To Close Campuses In 11 States A for-profit education company sought to reassure nervous students Tuesday that they'll be able to finish their degrees even though their campuses were being closed amid concerns from the Education Department about its practices. Huffington Post, July 8, 2014 Corinthian's Dismantling Begins The U.S. Department of Education and Corinthian Colleges agreed late Thursday to a plan to close or sell the for-profit provider's 107 campuses and online programs. It remained unclear which of the company's Everest, Heald and WyoTech chains will be sold. Inside Higher Ed, July 7, 2014 Down but Not Out? ITT Educational Services missed a deadline last week for filing financial documents with the U.S. Department of Education. The for-profit chain’s scramble to comply with the feds drew comparisons to the struggling Corinthian Colleges. But ITT’s situation is less dire. Inside Higher Ed, July 7, 2014 Problem With Online Fafsa Makes Some Low-Income Filers Look Like Millionaires An update to this year’s federal student-aid application is making some low-income filers look like millionaires—and could cost some their federal student aid. The problem with the online Free Application for Federal Student Aid has already affected thousands of borrowers, and is likely to affect more in the future, Jeff Baker, policy liaison at the Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid, told student-aid administrators here on Wednesday. The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 3, 2014 6 for-profit Everest College schools face probe, may close A California company that operates six Everest College for-profit schools in Washington, is expected to close or sell the schools in the next six months. The company is being investigated by state and federal agencies for its business practices. The Seattle Times, July 2, 2014 Measuring Colleges’ Access and Diversity Efforts Not only do colleges have different goals when it comes to diversity, they don’t all define the term the same way. That has made one committee’s efforts to develop an index for rating colleges’ commitment to access and diversity a challenge, writes Sarah Pingel in a guest post. The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 1, 2014

POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL

Veterans vs. Land Grants As Congressional lawmakers seek to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions of Veterans Affairs Department reform legislation, one provision on the negotiating table has sparked a clash between veterans groups and public universities. Part of the Senate-passed bill would, in effect, require public universities to offer in-state tuition to any veteran within three years after he or she comes off active duty. It would also extend that benefit to spouses and dependents. Under the bill, states or institutions that don’t make those changes to their in-state tuition policies would be unable to continue to accept federal veterans educational benefits. Inside Higher Ed, July 14, 2014 In Our View: Cheers & Jeers Jeers: To continuing reluctance by the state Legislature to fully fund basic education. The Columbian, July 12, 2014 State hopes to avoid court sanctions over school funding in McCleary case Lawyers for state government on Friday cautioned restraint on the Washington State Supreme Court. The state’s latest legal brief in the McCleary case raises the issue of separation of powers, pushing back delicately against a high court that has grown increasingly bold in pressing for more state money for Washington schools. The News Tribune, July 11, 2014 House Starts In On HEA The U.S. House education committee on Thursday advanced a package of legislation that would boost federal support of competency-based education, overhaul how cost information and other data is provided to prospective college students, and require more counseling for federal student loan borrowers. Inside Higher Ed, July 11, 2014 State Higher Ed Spending on the Rise in 2015 States are poised to provide 3.6 percent more in higher education operating support in 2015 than they did in 2014, an informal survey by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities shows. Of the 49 states that have passed a budget, 43 increased higher education funding for the new fiscal year, while only six cut funding. Inside Higher Ed, July 11, 2014 Net Neutrality Offensive Colleges and universities, higher education associations and ed-tech companies aren’t always in agreement on issues facing academe, but on the topic of "net neutrality," they are sending a clear message to the federal government: Don’t touch the internet. Inside Higher Ed, July 11, 2014 U.S. House Passes Job-Training Bill A key federal job-training bill has been updated for the first time in more than a decade. The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which governs more than $3 billion in programs, many of them aimed at community colleges. Inside Higher Ed, July 10, 2014 House Republicans Propose $8-Million Cut in Humanities Endowment Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives this week proposed a 5-percent reduction in the budget of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 10, 2014 Education Department Didn’t Set Out to Shut Down Corinthian The U.S. Department of Education didn’t know how shaky the financial ground was under Corinthian Colleges Inc. when it turned off the spigot of federal financial aid to the company in mid-June, according to a "background" briefing an official gave to reporters on Monday. The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 8, 2014 It’s time to give college graduates a future free of debt With outstanding student debt now topping $1.2 trillion, 40 million Americans are facing the consequences of our failing national commitment to higher education. This situation poses a threat to America’s economic vitality and its promise of opportunity. ... It’s time to address the student debt crisis and the toll it’s taking on the economy. Allowing refinancing will save borrowers thousands of dollars in interest payments. That will free up disposable income, boost consumer spending, and strengthen the economy. Central Kitsap Reporter, July 6, 2014 Supporters of small classes advance ballot measure Sponsors of an effort to decrease class sizes in Washington state turned in more than 325,000 signatures supporting their proposed ballot initiative Wednesday, saying it represents "a clear message" from voters on education reform. More than 30 children and their parents carried the signature pages into the secretary of state's office in Olympia for review. About 246,000 valid signatures are needed to qualify for the November ballot. Longview Daily News, July 2, 2014