News Links | November 13, 2014

SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS

CBC offers cyber security training As the world becomes more and more dependent on computers, cyber security is an ever-growing concern. Today students in Columbia Basin College's computer science program met with cyber security experts from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). KVEW TV, Nov. 12, 2014 A warm place to sleep Sleepless in Seattle is, for some, associated with a romantic comedy. For the 3,100 homeless people in King County, it’s a nightly reality, and soon, temperatures will drop into the 20s or 30s. After hearing this statistic, recent graduates and students at the University of Washington, Seattle Pacific University and Bellevue College started a project called “Sleepless in Seattle” to provide homeless individuals with warm sleeping bags to help get them through the winter. Mercer Island Reporter, Nov. 12, 2014 Bright Futures Breakfast raises $100,000 for students Bright Futures 2014, an annual benefit breakfast held by the Lake Washington Institute of Technology's Foundation, packed LWTech’s dining facility with eastside dignitaries, students and faculty and brought in more than $100,000 in donations to support scholarships and program equipment. Kirkland Reporter, Nov. 12, 2014 EdCC aims for $1 million for its Boots to Books campaign Edmonds Community College decided after seeing a spike in the number of veterans-turned-students to start what it calls the Boots to Books campaign. The idea was to add on-campus resources, services and activities for veterans attending the college. The hope was to raise $1 million by Veterans Day. ... One student veteran, Andrew Smolen, 34, of Everett, specifically sought out attending Edmonds Community College because of the support the college gives those returning from active duty. Everett Herald Business Journal, Nov. 11, 2014 CPTC: President reflects on his first year of tenure This September marked the one-year anniversary of Dr. Lonnie L. Howard’s tenure as president of Clover Park Technical College. Since he started Sept. 16, 2013 Dr. Howard has implemented many changes to give CPTC a more strategic focus. Highlights from the last year under Dr. Howard’s leadership include creating a clear strategic direction for the college, an increase in online and evening courses, the launch of the college’s first bachelor’s degree program, removing the graduation fee and awarding the college’s first honorary degree. The Suburban Times, Nov. 11, 2014 Veterans’ college enrollments swell under post-9/11 GI Bill The number of veterans on Washington’s college campuses have increased dramatically in recent years. More than half are enrolling at community colleges, which are trying to beef up support to help them succeed in school. ... Brad Matera is an Afghan war veteran, an Army medic who got cut loose from the service last spring amid a broader downsizing of the military. Matera, 22, looked for full-time work to support his wife and infant son, but found few prospects for a decent-paying job. So this fall, he enrolled at Clark College in Vancouver, hoping to build on his military experience to become a nurse. The Seattle Times, Nov. 10, 2014 CBC celebrates veterans Tri-Cities veterans joined Columbia Basin College students Monday morning to honor past and present military personnel. The crowd heard from three different veterans, including an Air Force vet and CBC trustee as well as a Yakama tribe member who served in Vietnam. KEPR TV, Nov. 10, 2014 Bellevue College names new dean of international education, global initiatives Bellevue College has a new dean. Late last month Jean D'Arc Campbell was appointed to a newly created position at the college, dean of international education and global initiatives. In his new role, Campbell will serve as the head of all international initiatives on the campus with the goal of expanding the college's global recruitment to further diversify its student population, according to Ata Karim, vice president of student affairs. Bellevue Reporter, Nov. 10, 2014 Higher ed’s future is bright In August, the University of Washington's Bothell branch campus turned 25 years old, and this week announced its largest enrollment ever — a fine status for the school that some actually proposed closing in 2007, in part because it hadn't reached its “growth limits” yet, so a UW branch campus could be built in Snohomish County instead. ... The top feeder institutions of the school's 747 transfer students include: Edmonds Community College, Everett Community College, Bellevue College, Cascadia College and North Seattle College. Everett Herald, Nov. 10, 2014 Career centers give veterans a fighting chance at jobs At the Armed Forces Reserve Center here on Wednesday, dozens of people lined up to enter the conference rooms set aside for the Snohomish County Regional Job and Resource Fair. While open to everyone, the event was designed with military veterans in mind, from the choice of venue to the event’s promotion, to the kinds of employers and other organizations that took part. Several police departments, community colleges and staffing agencies were there. ... He’s been going back to school at Everett Community College and hopes to pursue a master’s degree in social work. Everett Herald, Nov. 9, 2014 Edmonds CC anthropology instructor wins local award for his impact in the community Dr. Tom Murphy, anthropology instructor at Edmonds Community College, has been recognized for his work bringing together faculty and students, local governments, non-profits, Native American Tribes, and other community partners to foster cross-cultural communication and activism. Murphy last week received the KSER Community Impact by an Individual Award during the radio station’s annual Voice of the Community Award Celebration. My Edmonds News, Nov. 9, 2014 Arts commission to honor Clark professor Vancouver resident Don Appert will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Clark County Arts Commission. Appert, 61, is in his 25th year at Clark College, where he's chairman of the music department and conductor of the Clark College Orchestra. The Columbian, Nov. 8, 2014 Former student Juanita Richards named Big Bend trustee Longtime Moses Lake resident Juanita Richards was appointed to a five-year term on the Board of Trustees of Big Bend Community College. Richards, the regional manager of Horizon Credit Union, replaces Mike Blakely, who completed his second term on the board. Richards was appointed to the board by Gov. Jay Inslee. iFIBER One News, Nov. 7, 2014 Unemployment down to lowest level since 2008 This year is on track to be the best since 1999, at least when it comes to jobs. The U.S. Added 214,000 jobs in October according to the government's jobs report released on Friday, with the unemployment rate down to 5.8 percent, the lowest since 2008. So what do these statistics mean for college graduates heading into the workforce? Nearly 2.3 million jobs have been added so far this year, which sounds like a great thing for college graduates. However, wages have not changed much and the median family income has fallen back where it was nearly a decade ago. So how do you beat this sad economy? If you're Spokane Community College student Savva Ryndin, you train for the right job. KXLY, Nov. 7, 2014 College’s Dark Comedy Will Push Boundaries An edgy play addressing the “no man’s land” between adolescence and adulthood will soon be hitting the stage as the Centralia College Theatre Department takes it upon themselves to enlighten the audience on relevant issues. The play, aimed toward a mature audience, attempts to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” Centralia Chronicle, Nov. 7, 2014 CPTC: Japanese students visit on study tour A group of Japanese medical laboratory students from Osaka Jikei College visited Clover Park Technical College for a three-day study tour Oct. 27-29. The partnership between the two colleges spans a decade and introduces international students to CPTC’s health sciences facilities and U.S. culture, and gives them the opportunity to visit offsite professional labs in Seattle. The trip is required for the Japanese students as part of a three-year program. The Suburban Times, Nov. 7, 2014 Port Angeles building industry around recycling composites Two million pounds of composite material ends up in Washington landfills every year according to the state Department of Ecology. Composites are considered the material of the future, making light weight, super strong parts for aircraft, cars, golf clubs and a host of other products. ... Work on recycling is already underway at Peninsula College, which is training students in how to manufacture composite materials for local industries like Angeles Composite Technologies, Inc. (ACTI). KING 5, Nov. 6, 2014 Support flows after death of Sequim wordsmith Jim Fisher Support has poured in from the writers groups, co-workers and Peninsula College students since Jim Fisher of Sequim died last weekend, his widow said. “People are calling,” Ann Fisher said. “I am astonished by the impact my wonderful husband has had on this community. “It is incredible.” Fisher, 72, a 20-year Peninsula College English professor and writer of poetry and prose, died Sunday at home with his wife at his side. Peninsula Daily News, Nov. 6, 2014 Helping others find their way | Veterans Day Observance weekend From soldier to civilian, the transition can be a difficult one for today's veteran. Timm Lovitt should know. He completed the mission, going from the battlefield to the working world, and now uses his experiences to help veterans help themselves. "I'm trying to help them be successful ... to help them explore and understand what's available to them," said Lovitt, a former Army infantryman, now the director of campus veteran resources and services at Green River Community College. Auburn Reporter, Nov. 6, 2014 An eye on the future, Trust invests $2 million in Olympic students Students who can benefit from a science and technology full-tuition scholarship every year will triple thanks to a $2 million endowment given to the Olympic College Foundation last week. The Robert B. Stewart Trust donated the funds to invest in students studying science, technology, engineering and math. The gift brings the trust's total donations to the foundation over the past eight years to $3 million. Central Kitsap Reporter, Nov. 6, 2014 CPTC: Workshop helps identify true colors Fifteen members of the Clover Park Technical College community attended a workshop hosted by the CPTC Chapter of the American Association of Women in Community Colleges Nov. 4 in Bldg. 23. The Personality Inventory Workshop was led by Claire Korschinowski, dean of Division I, who used the True Colors assessment tool for attendees to learn more about personality styles. Staff, faculty and one student participated in the workshop, which served as a valuable tool to foster healthy productive working relationships. The Suburban Times, Nov. 6, 2014

TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION

College prices continue to creep up Time to stock up on the ramen noodles. The average cost of attending college crept up again this year, the College Board said Thursday. The average sticker price, with room and board included, for undergraduate students attending a four-year college or university in their home state was $18,943. Out-of-state students at those schools paid, on average, $32,762. At two-year public schools, in-state students paid an average $11,052. The Seattle Times, Nov. 13, 2014 Professors’ place in the classroom is shifting to the side "Nationally, we’re seeing more of a move to student-centered teaching," said Kevin Eagan, an assistant professor in residence at the University of California at Los Angeles. He is also interim managing director of the Higher Education Research Institute, which produces a triennial faculty survey that was released on Thursday. Mr. Eagan and his fellow researchers see in that survey’s results widespread evidence of faculty members' using teaching methods that demand more of students than the traditional lecture often does: More faculty members are using class discussions, relying on student inquiry to guide learning, and assigning group projects. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 13, 2014 Forget the rise in tuition and fees, what about living expenses? Rising tuition will be in the news this week with the College Board’s release on Thursday of its two signature reports. "Trends in College Pricing" and "Trends in Student Aid" are packed with numbers, but if history is any guide, the one thing people will want to know is how much tuition and fees went up this year. ... But tuition is not the whole story. Consider this: The average list price of tuition and fees for in-state students at public four-year colleges in 2014-15 is $9,139. Room and board charges for the same students? Those come to $9,804. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 13, 2014 Tuition and fees, 1998-99 through 2014-15 This table shows the "sticker prices"—published tuition and required fees—at more than 3,100 colleges and universities for the 2014-15 academic year. Click the institutions' names to see historical data back to 1998. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 13, 2014 Another college-access issue: financial-aid jargon From his office window, Eric Johnson can see the groundskeeping staff clearing off the sidewalk with leaf blowers. Colleges like the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he works, pull out all the stops to make their campuses inviting. But rarely, he says, do they work as diligently to create a welcoming presence online, even though that’s where today’s prospective students encounter them first. In a way, Mr. Johnson’s job is to be the online equivalent of those groundskeepers, clearing debris from a corner of the university’s website that can be particularly inhospitable: the section explaining financial aid. One of his tasks, as the fairly new assistant director of communications in the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid, is to translate web pages and application forms from financial-aid jargon into plain English. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 11, 2014 U.S. student debt burden falling more on top earners, easing bubble fears Young Americans with big college debts are often portrayed as struggling to pay their bills. The reality is somewhat different - those owing super-sized student loans tend to be higher paid. A Reuters analysis of Federal Reserve data shows that over the past two decades the young with higher incomes have gone from owing less of the debt than the average household to owing considerably more. Reuters, Nov. 3, 2014

POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL

U.S. needs more power to crack down on colleges’ academic failings, official says As Republicans regain control of the Senate—led by Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who is likely to be the new education-committee chairman — large-scale changes in the Higher Education Act seem like a sure bet. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 12, 2014 For-profit groups sue to block gainful employment rules The for-profit sector's primary trade group on Thursday filed suit in federal court to block gainful employment regulations, which the U.S. Department of Education unveiled last week. A federal judge in 2012 halted a previous attempt by the Obama administration to enact rules for vocational programs at for-profits, community colleges and other institutions. The judge said the department failed to establish its reasoning behind one of the metrics. However, the judge also ruled that the department was within its rights with the overarching thrust of the regulations. Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 7, 2014 What removing default rates means for gainful employment The most controversial change from the Department’s proposed version of the gainful employment regulation in the spring and the one released at the end of October is no longer judging programs based upon the percentage of borrowers that defaulted on their loans within three years of entering repayment. Removing this program cohort default rate got a lot of attention because it was the only measure that looked at all borrowers, regardless of whether they dropped out. In its absence programs will only be judged on the performance of the students who finished. EdCentral, Nov. 6, 2014 In One Election Cycle, Congress Loses a Number of Higher-Ed Stalwarts With the defeat on Tuesday of two members of Congress’s education committees, and the looming retirement and departure of several other education stalwarts, Congress is losing a lot of expertise on higher-education policy, and students and colleges are losing some of their strongest advocates. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 5, 2014 Here’s why gainful program impact estimates vary so much One of the big talking points used by the Obama Administration is that 1,400 programs will not pass its new gainful employment rules. That sounds like a lot, but it has also created confusion, with correct arguments that the rule is both stronger and weaker than prior iterations. It turns out neither position is technically wrong. Understanding why that’s the case comes down to four factors: an additional performance tier, the usage of a single metric, the number of gainful programs with available data, and changes in how debt payments are calculated. EdCentral, Nov. 3, 2014