Thursday, November 6, 2014

News Links | November 6, 2014

News Links will not run Nov. 11 in observance of Veterans Day.
The next edition will be Nov. 13.


SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS

Short-term certificates boom, but study finds they don’t help students get jobs
Short-term community-college certificates, which have been growing rapidly in popularity as a way to get students quickly and cheaply into jobs, do not, in fact, help most recipients land employment or earn more money, according to a study being released on Thursday. ... If, however, a student expresses interest in health and is steered toward a short-term certificate in an allied health field, the adviser would be doing that student a disservice if she suggested the student stop there, Ms. Dadgar said. Advisers for Washington’s two-year colleges agree, according to Jan Yoshiwara, deputy executive director of education at the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. ... For example, Everett Community College offers "stackable" credentials in precision machining, welding, and other specialties for students interested in breaking into high-demand jobs in manufacturing and aerospace.
The Chronicle of Higher Ed, Nov. 6, 2014

Study: Not all college work boosts future earnings
A short-term college certificate, for a very specific job-training program like how to use computers for office work, probably won’t help students earn more money in the long run, a new study has found. However, if those classes are later applied to an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, college then becomes a good investment, no matter what major a student chooses, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis. ... Jan Yoshiwara of the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges didn’t find the results surprising. ... Yoshiwara calls this approach acquiring stackable certificates. For example, Renton Technical College has an accounting program that starts with a two-quarter certificate to gain practical work skills, which leads to a four-quarter paraprofessional program and then a six-quarter program focused on professional bookkeeping and accounting skills. Whatcom Community College offers a similar approach that leads to an associate degree in early childhood education.
The Seattle Times, Nov. 5, 2014

Clark revamps dental hygiene program
Clark College has something to smile about. The college will offer a bachelor of applied science in dental hygiene degree starting in fall 2015. The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities approved a proposal to add the college's first baccalaureate degree, Clark announced last month. ... As of the fall of 2013, there are 11 colleges in the State Board of Community and Technical College system offering 23 different applied baccalaureate degrees.
The Columbian, Nov. 5, 2014

YWCA honors SPSCC’s Rhonda Coats with Women of Achievement Award
South Puget Sound Community College Vice President for Student Services Dr. Rhonda Coats is one of five honorees of the 2014 YWCA of Olympia Women of Achievement awards. Coats, the Racial Justice Award winner, is being recognized for her work at SPSCC in areas of student access, retention, and success for students of color and other underrepresented students, as well as her efforts surrounding the Diversity and Equity Center at the college.
Thurston Talk, Nov. 5, 2014

Clark College & partners receive Bank of America donation
Bank of America has donated $20,000 to provide training for Clark College instructors and local community partners to help people in poverty navigate social services and education. The one-time training session for 50 staff members will ensure Clark College and local agencies work in unison to boost access to services.
Vancouver Business Journal, Nov. 5, 2014

Learn another language — without speaking or hearing a word
Students in Jodene Anicello’s class at Cascadia College never hear her voice until the last day of the third quarter of class. When they finally hear their instructor speak, some students laugh or cry with surprise.
The Woodinville Weekly, Nov. 4, 2014

Ciraulo appointed as Clark College trustee
Former Battle Ground Mayor Michael Ciraulo has been appointed to the Clark College Board of Trustees by Gov. Jay Inslee. His five-year term began Nov. 1. Ciraulo succeeds Sherry Parker, whose term expired this summer. His first meeting will be Nov. 18.
The Columbian, Nov. 4, 2014

TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION

In South Carolina, a program that makes apprenticeships work
Several years ago, South Carolina had a problem: a shortage of skilled workers and no good way to train young people for the workforce. So at a time when apprenticeship programs were in decline in the U.S., the state started a program called Apprenticeship Carolina. ... But everyone interviewed for this story — regardless of ideology or geography — from employers in the red state of South Carolina to economists to a Cabinet member in the Obama administration — all say the same thing: The apprenticeship system is an economic plus.
NPR, Nov. 6, 2014

On their watch
Inattentive college and university governing boards are putting American higher education at risk, according to a new set of guidelines for trustees issued today by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. A special 26-member commission, led by former Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, concluded that changing conditions -- including financial constraints and public perceptions – endanger the durability of the nation’s higher education system. That system, the commission concluded, is based on “the reputations of a relative handful of highly ranked U.S. universities, not the overall performance of the sector.”
Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 6, 2014

Video: Vassar College's president: 'locating low-income students is not the hurdle'
Catharine Bond Hill, president of Vassar College, argues that the main constraint colleges face in diversifying their enrollment is not finding needy students; it's allocating the money for adequate financial aid. Ms. Hill shares her views on how colleges can attract and support low-income students.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 5, 2014

Warm, bright, quiet: Students do best in well-designed classrooms
Big windows to let in lots of natural light, a temperature set at a constant 72 degrees, an acoustically quiet room — if you designed the optimal classroom, these are some of the elements you would want to include. That’s the conclusion of a new paper that points to a growing body of scientific evidence on the importance of a classroom’s physical environment.
The Seattle Times, Nov. 4, 2014

POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL


Obama vows to work with republicans on college costs
President Obama, after his party's losses in Tuesday's Congressional elections, said Wednesday that he would seek to find agreement with Republicans on some higher education issues. Obama said several times during a news conference at the White House that college affordability and student loans are issues on which he was ready to work with Republicans to find common ground during the last two years of his administration.
Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 6, 2014

Decision 2014: The higher-ed outlook
The broad story of this year's elections was the Republican wave that tipped control of the Senate. What does it all mean for academe? Here's what you need to know about the results.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 5, 2014

What a GOP-led congress means for higher ed
With victories in several key Senate races last night, Republicans will take control of both chambers of Congress heading into the final two years of the Obama presidency
— a balance of power that sets up a much-changed dynamic for federal higher education policy-making in the coming months. The change will likely be something of a double-edged sword for colleges and universities, higher education advocates said. On the one hand, colleges will find more help from Republicans in their longstanding efforts to roll back federal requirements they view as burdensome. At the same time, higher education may face tougher battles over federal funding for academic research and student aid programs, as GOP majorities embrace more austere budget caps.
Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 4, 2014