Tuesday, August 12, 2014

News Links | August 12, 2014

SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS

Centralia College is in the middle of its summer quarter, but some of the students on their campus Thursday were noticeably younger than college age. The college hosted students from W.F. West High School for one day out of the school’s five-day summer STEM academy delving into science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, training. It was only a fraction of the entirety of the camp, but staff at the college gave the students — including many freshmen and sophomores — a glimpse and a hands-on preview of what they could study in college.
Centralia Chronicle, August 9, 2014


WCC developing health care programs with $567,500 grant
Picture a patient talking to a doctor after being diagnosed with a serious illness. As the doctor discusses treatment plans, prescriptions, and prognosis, the patient’s mind is reeling. Often, the patient’s eyes glaze over and they don’t retain information about the illness or treatment plan. To combat this and other problems, the Affordable Care Act created a new category of workers to guide patients through the health care process. ... To fill that need, Whatcom Community College is developing programs to prepare students and health care workers for emerging careers in health care with the help of a $567,500 grant from the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. ... Whatcom Community College is the lead organization in the grant. Its partner organizations include Edmonds Community College, Seattle Central College, Highline College in Des Moines, Wash., and Clark College in Vancouver, Wash.
Bellingham Business Journal, August 7, 2014

 
EdCC nationally recognized for efforts to reduce student default rate
Edmonds Community College is highlighted for its strategies to combat student loan defaults in a national study released on July 22. The study focuses on nine community colleges representing different geographic locations, student-body sizes and academic offerings. It examines predictors of loan default and strategies colleges use to prevent it.
Edmonds Beacon, August 7, 2014

LCC president among invitees to attend White House gathering
Lower Columbia College will be honored on a national stage Tuesday in a White House gathering of education officials from across the nation. ... Edmonds Community College and Lake Washington Institute of Technology — will be represented along with other states’ schools.
The Longview Daily News, August 7, 2014

Highline College president recognized as Pacific Region award winner
Jack Bermingham, president of Highline College, was chosen as the Pacific Region winner of the 2014 Chief Executive Officer Award presented by the Association of Community College Trustees.
Federal Way Mirror, August 7, 2014

Here's a first — community colleges to coordinate training in composites
If many different colleges are going to teach students how to manufacture with aerospace composite materials, they should make sure those students learn much the same things. That’s the premise behind a just-launched yearlong effort by 10 community colleges in Washington to coordinate their course offerings in composites manufacturing. The effort is being funded by a $135,000 grant from the Washington state Board for Community and Technical Colleges. There are 34 community colleges in Washington, of which 24 offer aerospace and advanced manufacturing training. Ten of those offer composites training, including colleges in Edmonds, Everett and South Seattle.
Puget Sound Business Journal, August 5, 2014

Aerospace 101: Everett advanced manufacture training center to open this fall
By next fall, Everett Community College’s new 37,000-square-foot aerospace manufacturing training center should be airborne. The new center, converted from a former medical records storage facility for Providence Hospital, will contain hands-on training for people working in welding, composites manufacturing, machining and operating computer-driven milling equipment.
Puget Sound Business Journal, August 5, 2014

CPTC: Alum’s Software Benefits Hemodialysis Technician Students
Great things have happened at Clover Park Technical College since its Hemodialysis Technician Program was awarded a Department of Labor grant. CPTC received a portion of the nearly $12 million grant through its collaboration with the Health eWorkforce Consortium. The grant enabled the College to add an evening Hemodialysis Technician program for students unable to attend classes during the day.
The Suburban Times, August 4, 2014

QuickStart to College helps low-income students find education success
QuickStart is a free opportunity for low-income, first-generation college-going seniors from area high schools to get expert help. It is a collaborative, volunteer effort supported by staff and faculty from FuturesNW, Western Washington University, Whatcom Community College and Bellingham Technical College to ensure that all students have the information they need to be able to apply to a college or university of their choice.
The Bellingham Herald, August 3, 2014

Grandview entrepreneurs to get a boost with new business incubator
Local business owners in Grandview are about to get a boost. The port district plans to set up an incubator. It will give some up-and-coming companies a chance to grow. KIMA got a peek at the facility. ... The idea is inspired by Yakima Valley Community College, which operates two wine incubators on its Grandview campus. Mark Wysling runs his winery from one of them.
KIMA TV, August 1, 2014

Nels Hanson, former head of SPSCC and Centralia College, dies at age 95
Nels Hanson, the founding president of the higher education district that came to include South Puget Sound Community College, died on Saturday of natural causes at his home in Lacey’s Panorama City. He was 95. Hanson was the first president of Centralia College, and helped create legislation that established the state’s Community College Act of 1967.
The Olympian, July 31, 2014

Columbia Basin College teacher has chemistry with teaching science
A force of nature. That's one way to describe Karen Grant. Now Columbia Basin College's chemistry professor also can be called a fellow of the American Chemical Society, the largest scientific society in the world.
The Tri-City Herald, July 31, 2014

How Drones Could Make Forest Restoration Easier
Drones could soon be the newest gadgets in forest conservation. A group of college students in Washington recently built and tested a drone that will survey the health of the forest. The hope is that drones will speed up restoration efforts and save some money. “You guys ready for the test flight?” asked Ryan Haugo, a forest ecologist with The Nature Conservancy. “Yeah, I think so,” said Rheno Prajadipta. Prajadipta is an engineering student at Yakima Valley Community College.
Jefferson Public Radio, July 31, 2014

WVC and the budget struggles
In mid-June, we had the distinct pleasure of shaking the hands of Wenatchee Valley College graduates for both the Wenatchee and Omak campuses. From short-term certificates to two-year associate degrees, 683 Wenatchee students and 100 Omak students earned an award during the 2013-14 academic year. All now hold a credential that proves they have completed a course of study to prepare them to enter the next phase of their adult lives, whether a career or continued higher education. We are proud of our graduates and their accomplishments. At the same time, we can't help worrying about how WVC will continue to offer affordable access to college into the future.
Wenatchee World, July 10, 2014

 

TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION

Educated and Religious
College is often portrayed as a place where students lose the faiths in which they were raised. Book such as God and Man at Yale have argued that professors challenge the beliefs of students of faith. For those born in much of the 20th century, it was true that college graduates of all ages were significantly less likely than others to report any religious affiliation. But research just published in the journal Social Forces finds that, starting for those born in the 1970s, there was a reversal in this historic trend. For that cohort, a college degree increases the chances that someone will report a religious affiliation.
Inside Higher Ed, August 11, 2014

XBA Certificate for Veterans
Large numbers of veterans, including thousands of officers,are making the transition to life after the U.S. military. The Fullbridge Program, a non-college startup, has created a five-week training session to help them get ready for a job in business or for graduate school. The company has also teamed up with Concordia University Chicago so the program can lead to a 15-credit graduate certificate in business fundamentals (see box). The five-course certificate will be accredited through Concordia. And students will be able to draw from their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits toward the $8,882 tuition price.
Inside Higher Ed, August 8, 2014

Aid Administrators Back Federal Student Unit Record
The main group representing student aid administrators has backed a proposal to create a federal database that tracks student progress through higher education and into the workforce. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators announced Wednesday that it now supports a “limited” student-unit record system because it would provide more accurate and comprehensive data than the government’s current collection of information, which leaves out transfer and nontraditional students, for example.
Inside Higher Ed, August 7, 2014

Infographic: Are Poor Families Really Paying Half Their Income at Elite Colleges?
The problem with government affordability data.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 7, 2014

Comparing Colleges' Net Prices Is Tricky, in More Ways Than One
Most students choose a college based in large part on what it’s going to cost them. So when the federal government started collecting and publishing average net prices by income group at individual institutions, consumer-information advocates cheered. People would be able to see which colleges were most affordable for families like theirs. But as my colleague Soo Oh and I report here, the numbers don’t actually allow for good comparisons when it comes to wealthy colleges with generous need-based aid.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 7, 2014

How Did the Federal Government Rate Your College a Century Ago?
\For the sake of the U.S. Department of Education, if only it were still this easy. As lawmakers, college presidents, and interest groups bicker over a proposed federal college-ratings system, a fossilized version has popped up on Twitter. From 1911.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 6, 2014

Study Questions Critique of Graduation Rates at Minority Institutions
New research from professors at Florida State and Vanderbilt Universities questions the assumption that minority students will be less likely to graduate at minority-serving than at predominantly white institutions.
Inside Higher Ed, August 6, 2014

Colleges Plan on Big Jump in Fundraising Next Year
Colleges and universities are aggressively planning to increase donations by a median 16 percent in their 2015 fiscal year, according to a new survey of 335 chief advancement officers in education.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy, August 5, 2014

ITT's CEO Resigns as Share Price Slides
Kevin Modany, the CEO of ITT Educational Services since 2007, has announced his resignation. The for-profit chain's share price was battered on Monday, sinking by 46 percent.
Inside Higher Ed, August 5, 2014

U. of Phoenix Campus Is Cleared in Dispute Over Veterans’ Enrollment
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said on Friday that an enrollment dispute concerning veterans in some programs at the University of Phoenix’s San Diego campus had been resolved, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 4, 2014

State failing to protect for-profit college students, group says
A national consumer watchdog group is calling on Washington and other states to rein in abuses at for-profit schools and protect students from inferior educational programs that leave the students tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Washington is one of 33 states that do a poor job of policing abuses at for-profit colleges, with weak regulations that offer little protection for students, according to the National Consumer Law Center.
The Seattle Times, August 2, 2014

California Forbids U. of Phoenix Campus to Enroll More Veterans
The state of California has barred the University of Phoenix’s San Diego campus from enrolling more veterans in some of its programs, saying it violated a federal rule meant to discourage for-profit colleges from targeting armed-service members for enrollment.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 1, 2014

Eastern Washington University president Arevalo ends eight-year reign
Rodolfo Arevalo’s duties as Eastern Washington University president end today, and as he hands off the job to incoming President Mary Cullinan, he’s confident the university will continue to thrive.
The Spokesman-Review, July 31, 2014

POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL


Bill Would Exempt Student Workers From Affordable Care Act
Rep. Mark Meadows, a North Carolina Republican, with co-sponsors from both side of the political aisle, has proposed a bill that would exempt student workers from the Affordable Care Act’s so-called employer mandate.
Inside Higher Ed, August 11, 2014

In Our View: Leniency vs. Clemency
As two branches of Washington's government uncomfortably lurch toward a constitutional showdown, the state's five living former governors are advocating caution. ... Those ideas are long on rhetoric and short on effectiveness. But, for now, the ex-governors are right to call for leniency on behalf of lawmakers — so long as leniency is not confused with clemency.
The Columbian, August 10, 2014


Editorial: Heed former governors on McCleary education case
The five living former governors of Washington squeezed their substantial political and civic gravitas into a slim legal brief this week, with a simple message to the state Supreme Court: back off. ... The Supreme Court should acknowledge the ex-governors’ statesmanship, back off the threat of contempt and give lawmakers time to refocus negotiations on improving outcomes in education.
The Seattle Times, August 5, 2014

6 Senate Democrats Call for Stricter Oversight of For-Profit Colleges’ Finances
Six Democrats in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday urged the Obama administration to step up its oversight of the financial health of for-profit colleges. In a letter to Mr. Obama and other administration officials, the senators, led by Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa and Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, said that they were trying to prevent the recent collapse of Corinthian Colleges Inc. from repeating itself at another institution.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 5, 2014

3 Petitions Propose McCleary Solutions, From New Revenue To Ban On Spending
The Washington state Supreme Court on Monday received three separate petitions, each urging the court to clamp down and force lawmakers to fund public education in the upcoming legislative session.
KPLU, August 4, 2014