Tuesday, July 29, 2014

News Links | July 29, 2014

SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS

Free textbooks: New website helps profs find best e-books and videos
Building on several years of work with free textbook development, the state’s community college board has created a website that highlights the best available free- and low-cost textbooks and other educational resources from around the country. The website is called OPEN Washington, and its aim is to help professors and college instructors find free or low-cost online textbooks, videos, curricula and other resources from a wide variety of sources. It was created by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC).
The Seattle Times, July 28, 2014

The Avista Center for Entrepreneurship program will give many ideas on starting, growing a business
Leaders from Walla Walla Community College in Clarkston are getting ready to start up an entrepreneurship program and they're looking for people interested in expanding their business or starting one from the ground up.
KLEW TV, July 28, 2014

Technical education comes into sharper focus
North Idaho College’s Trustees recently voted to establish the new home for NIC’s career and technical program adjacent to the Kootenai Technical Education Campus (KTEC). It appears that NIC is evolving an organizational structure similar to the successful model used at the Community Colleges of Spokane (CCS).
Northern Idaho Business Journal, July 28, 2014


CPTC: Nurse Camp
Twenty-one high school students from the MultiCare Health System Nurse Camp 2014 visited Clover Park Technical College July 24.
The Suburban Times, July 28, 2014


Clover Park Technical College launches its first bachelor’s degree program
The “Silver Tsunami” is on the horizon, and Clover Park Technical College is preparing for the worst. The term refers to the more than 40,000 manufacturing workers set to retire over the next 10 years in the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area, said Steve Addison, director of bachelor degrees and new program development at the college.
The Bellingham Herald, July 27, 2014

State money paves way for expansion of LCC children's education program
Low-income children will have a better chance of enrolling into Lower Columbia College’s Head Start/Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) this spring after the program has received almost $300,000 this year in expansion money.
The Longview Daily News, July 26, 2014

Archaeological dig planned for immigrant village site on Bainbridge
Archaeologists may soon begin excavating the site of a south Bainbridge village that teemed with Japanese immigrants a century ago. The Bainbridge Island Historical Museum is partnering with Olympic College and The Kitsap County Historical Society and Museum on a plan for the first intensive archeological survey and excavation at Yama, a village that had its heyday in the 1890s and burned down in the 1920s.
Kitsap Sun, July 26, 2014

New auto tech company donates to PC program
Electric and hybrid technology is the future for the automotive industry, and the Automotive Technology Program at Peninsula College just received a boost to its program that will have its students industry-ready.
KONP, July 25, 2014

School projects around the Valley are progressing
Yakima Valley Community College is working on a new building scheduled to be finished next spring. The nearly 44,000-square-foot Palmer Martin Hall will house the art, modern language, speech and communication and education departments. Ongoing work is visible from Nob Hill Boulevard and 16th Avenue as the exterior brick walls take shape. The total cost of Palmer Martin Hall is just over $19 million.
Yakima Herald, July 25, 2014

Obama Administration: These job-training programs are the most effective
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, signed Tuesday by Biden and the President, is a culmination of Biden’s review on the employment and training programs that are the most effective in getting skilled people into needed jobs. ... According to the report, there are currently over 30 programs across the country that are most effective in training skilled workers for jobs available now: [Listed in alphabetical order] 1. Big Bend Community College: Moses Lake, Washington, Big Bend Community College has implemented I-BEST classes that provide two instructors—one who teaches professional-technical content, and one who supports the development of basic skills. I-BEST programs support English as a Second Language students, and help train all students for a career or higher-paying jobs.
eCampus News, July 24, 2014


Trustees extend LCC President Chris Bailey's contract
Lower Columbia College President Chris Bailey will be around at least through the 2016-2017 school year, after the Board of Trustees voted to extend his contract by a year earlier this week.
The Longview Daily News, July 24, 2014


Taxiway at Grant County International Airport to be replaced
A new taxiway is slated for the Grant County International Airport. ... “This is one of our busiest runways and it’s used by (Big Bend Community College) for virtually all of its flight training activity,” Port Executive Director Pat Jones said.
iFIBER One News, July 24, 2014

YVCC Students Quadcopter to Aid With Potential Fire Areas
Four students and a professor at Yakima Valley Community College have teamed up with The Nature Conservancy to create a quad-copter to aid in forest health and restoration.
KAPP TV, July 24, 2014

Pierce College hires Col. Mark Haskins as new Executive Director for Military Programs
Retired United States Air Force Col. Mark Haskins will join Pierce College as the new Executive Director of Military Programs later this summer.
The Suburban Times, July 24, 2014

CPTC: An Evening of Glamour at Midsummer Night’s Hair Show
The McGavick Student Center at Clover Park Technical College was turned into a fashion runway July 22. Hair models walked the catwalk to showcase the creative talents and imaginations of students from the Cosmetology Program for the Midsummer Night’s Hair Show and 50th Anniversary event.
The Suburban Times, July 24, 2014

TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION

Within Striking Distance
Americans who attended college for a while but never earned a credential might be the key to achieving the ambitious college completion goals the White House and influential foundations have set.
Inside Higher Ed, July 29, 2014

Report: Work-Study Students More Likely to Graduate
Students who participate in the federal work-study program are more likely to graduate and be employed six years after college than their similar counterparts who don’t participate in the program, according to a new study.
Inside Higher Ed, July 29, 2014

A Focus on Specific Dropouts Can Help Colleges Raise Completion Rates
College dropouts who came close to graduating but didn’t quite finish could be a key target for higher-education institutions that are under the gun to improve their completion rates, according to a report released on Tuesday by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 29, 2014

‘Money’ Reaches for Objectivity in College Rankings
Money magazine unveiled a new set of college rankings on Monday morning, touting its list as a tool for identifying institutions that deliver “great value.” In a world full of frivolous rankings (colleges with the best weather!), Money set out to compile a highly objective one. The result is relatively heavy on outcomes data and light on subjective prestigery like the reputation surveys used by U.S. News & World Report.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 28, 2014

Why We Can’t Stop Talking About College Rankings
College rankings: the concept that has launched a thousand college trips, that’s had so many words spilled in its defense, in opposition, or in ambivalence. The machine churns on today, with Money magazine on Monday releasing a national ranking of colleges, using for its metrics all things dollars and cents. For details on the list, read the Chronicle reporter Eric Hoover’s post, which examines the ranking’s pursuit of objectivity. But what about the industry’s undeniable appeal? Why do I (a college graduate) feel the need to stay abreast of the A-list, and why do we write about them? It’s a question that has been posed before, but worth revisiting in an era dominated by lists.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 28, 2014

BioHealth and Bryman colleges close their doors
The financially troubled BioHealth and Bryman colleges permanently closed their doors Monday, leaving about 280 students with nothing but incomplete transcripts. ... The career college company based in San Jose offered health care certificate programs at five campuses in San Jose, Hayward, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
San Jose Mercury News, July 29, 2014

Corinthian Agrees to Make Online Disclosures to Prospective Students
Corinthian Colleges Inc. has agreed to warn prospective students online of its plans to sell most of its campuses, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The company’s move was in response to legal action by Attorney General Kamala D. Harris of California.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 28, 2014

When we fail to educate our children, our future is bleak
Editor’s note: These are remarks Seattle Times Publisher Frank Blethen made to the Rotary Club of Seattle, which is also known as Rotary Club No. 4, on Wednesday. ... College and Post-Secondary Education: Our state’s college system is a great irony. Our 32 community and technical colleges and our six four-year baccalaureate universities all boast strong quality and excellent graduation rates. ... Education is the one proven way to create jobs, reduce unemployment and begin to close our wealth and opportunity fault lines.
The Seattle Times, July 25, 2014

How to Control Student Loan Defaults
New federal rules that penalize colleges for excessive student loan defaults offer a powerful incentive for schools to educate students on the complexities of the federal student loan program, including the crucial fact that they can delay or make partial payments if they get into financial trouble. Keeping loan default rates low, a new study of nine community colleges shows, is not rocket science: Schools can do it.
The New York Times, July 25, 2014


5 ‘Dirty Words’ Admissions Offices Should Embrace
Brian Wm. Niles didn’t cuss, but still a few people winced. At the ACT’s annual Enrollment Planners Conference here on Thursday, Mr. Niles, founder of Target X, recommended five “dirty words” colleges should use regularly. (Squeamish romantics fond of quaint words like “learning,” be warned.)
The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 25, 2014


New Front Opens in War on For-Profit Campus Services: Day Care
Faculty and staff members at two universities are criticizing their institutions’ decisions to transfer management of their child-care facilities to for-profit companies.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 24, 2014

POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL


Push on Counseling
The White House’s higher education summit in January, as some critics described it, was all about appealing to the cameras. The event, to be sure, drew mainstream headlines as President Obama exercised his “convening authority” to summon to the White House dozens of college presidents -- many of whom seemed pretty excited to come to Washington and snap photos of the president and first lady. But the administration’s first public event following up on that summit, hosted here on Monday, was decidedly less publicity-focused. It was about digging into the trenches on school counseling: best practices in college counseling, how to better-train counselors, and how to harness new technology to help students.
Inside Higher Ed, July 29, 2014

Student Debt on Campaign Trail
Student debt attracted unprecedented levels of attention during the 2012 presidential election. As the nation’s collective student loan bill for the first time surpassed the $1 trillion threshold and a Congressional deadline on interest rates loomed, student debt captured the attention of both presidential candidates. Two years later, student debt remains a hot topic in Washington. And even without the drama of a presidential contest, the issue is cropping up on the 2014 campaign trail in some of the most contentious Senate races.
Inside Higher Ed, July 28, 2014

Senators in Both Parties Agree: States Must Do More for Higher Education
Congressional hearings often feature bitter partisanship and acrimonious finger pointing. But there was mostly agreement on Thursday at a higher-education hearing of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Both Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat of Iowa, and Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Republican of Tennessee, agreed that states should take a leading role in paying for and overseeing public colleges.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 25, 2014

Key Republican in House Proposes Broad Student-Aid Reforms
As the U.S. House of Representatives takes its first steps toward reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, Rep. Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, the Budget Committee’s chairman, is offering his own vision of student-aid reform.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 25, 2014

House Overhauls Tax Breaks
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved an overhaul of higher education tax breaks and passed legislation changing how federal student loan counseling works.
Inside Higher Ed, July 25, 2014

Who's Responsible?
Testifying at a Thursday Senate hearing on how states could promote college affordability, Lisa Madigan, the attorney general of Illinois, told senators that the federal government wasn’t doing enough for student borrowers. But it was hard to find agreement on whether to focus on that issue, state appropriations for higher education, for-profit colleges or issues such as health care policy as senators and higher education experts considered how federal and state governments could work together to reduce college costs.
Inside Higher Ed, July 25, 2014