Thursday, April 2, 2015

News Links | April 2, 2015

SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS

Editorial: Our Voice: Academic all stars
We’re inspired this week by two Columbia Basin College students who have overcome notable challenges to become All-USA Academic All Stars at CBC as selected by CBC President Rich Cummins. Royden Luckey and Oumou Sidibe come from different circumstances and have arrived at the same place, graduating with honors and an enviable GPA. Both are nontraditional students, Luckey because he’s a little older and Sidibe because she could barely speak English when she started school. We wish them well on their future endeavors.
Bellingham Herald, April 2, 2015

Drill prepares local police, firefighters for the worst
The South Puget Sound Community College was swarming with police officers, firefighters and emergency vehicles Wednesday, and those passing by may have heard the occasional gunshot. But don’t worry. It was only a drill. More than 30 law enforcement agencies and fire departments gathered at the school’s campus early in the morning for the regional active shooter drill. All of the usual police and fire departments were present — Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, Yelm, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office and Thurston County fire districts.
The Olympian, April 1, 2015

Editorial: Shoreline Community College idea should be adopted statewide
Cheryl Roberts has been busy this week traveling around Shoreline and Lake Forest Park touting a very good idea she brought with her from Oregon when she took over as Shoreline Community College president. Shoreline Scholars is such a good idea, in fact, that other community colleges in the state should adopt it. Shoreline Community College is offering free tuition for two years for 56 high school students graduating this year with at least a 3.5 grade point average and some financial need. The program is open to all students in Shoreline and Lake Forest Park, whether they attend public or private schools or are home-schooled.
The Seattle Times, April 1, 2015

Buildings coming down on Clark College site
Demolition work is underway on the southwest corner of Fourth Plain Boulevard and Fort Vancouver Way. The buildings and the property being demolished are owned by the Clark College Foundation. The demolition will run through approximately April 3.
The Columbian, April 1, 2015

CPTC: Congratulations to All-WA Academic Team honorees
Clover Park Technical College students Walker Mattson and Callie Dukett were honored as 2015 All-Washington Academic Team selections at a ceremony on March 26. The students received their medallions from CPTC President Dr. Lonnie L. Howard.
The Suburban Times, April 1, 2015

OC's composites program honored
An Olympic College program that teaches electronics, precision machining and composites manufacturing recently was honored by the Open Professionals Education Network for providing students pathways to aerospace careers. The community college is part of a statewide consortium that benefited from a U.S. Department of Labor grant to link job training to emerging industries.
Kitsap Sun. March 31, 2015

Pierce College announces 2015 Distinguished Alumni
Pierce College has selected four accomplished alumni to honor during the 2015 Distinguished Alumni celebration. Nominees are selected based on their achievements in academics, business, community or humanitarian support, or personal triumph over adversity. This year’s honorees provide inspirational examples of the impact Pierce College has on its students as well as the community. This year’s honorees are Sunshine Eversull, attorney advisor for the Social Security Administration; Nathan Gibbs-Bowling, Milken Educator Award-winning teacher; Brandon Stogsdill, author and psychologist; and Victoria Woodards, Former deputy mayor of Tacoma and CEO of Tacoma Urban League.
The Suburban Times, March 31, 2015

Edmonds Community College graduates build environmental educational facility in Italy
Two graduates from Edmonds Community College, Antonio and Kiersten Baiamonte, are building a sustainable educational study abroad facility named, Bio-Monte, Retreats, Tours, and Education in Tuscany, Italy. The Baiamontes, a married couple, want to connect with students and educators to transform the land they have found in the Chianti region of Italy into educational organic vineyards, olive groves, vegetable gardens, fruit orchards, and medicinal herb gardens. The profit gained from the products they produce will go towards scholarships to bring students to study at their facility.
My Edmonds News, March 31, 2015

Bid for Peninsula College's construction at Fort Worden's Building 202 to be vetted
Peninsula College has an apparent successful bidder for renovation of Building 202 at Fort Worden, and officials hope to see work begin in June to turn the structure into a branch of the college. Pease Construction of Lakewood, which offered the low bid of $4.5 million, now will be vetted by the state Department of Enterprise Services to ensure it is a suitable bidder.
Peninsula Daily News, March 31, 2015

TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION

How lots of community-college data fall through the cracks
Community colleges have recently been thrust to the forefront of higher-education policy. From state lawmakers pushing new ways to answer work-force needs, to President Obama’s proposal to make the colleges free, the attention on community colleges is sharpening. Coverage of issues regarding community colleges has included a sprinkling of community-college statistics, some of which may be skewed by leaving out certain institutions that are traditionally thought of as community colleges.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 1, 2015

Punishment, post-Oklahoma
This article contains explicit and potentially offensive terms that are essential to reporting on this situation. College leaders have gotten speedier and more severe in taking action against students linked to racist incidents. In the weeks since the University of Oklahoma campus was rocked by a video showing fraternity members there singing a racist song, several institutions have found themselves dealing with similar crises. And so far the responses of presidents have been noticeably swift, forceful and public. In years past, many such incidents led to pledges by college leaders to conduct investigations. This year, punishment hasn't been delayed. Critics fear due process is being eroded.
Inside Higher Ed, April 1, 2015

Opinion: Stop giving a student loan to everyone who wants one
A group of student-loan borrowers has declared that they’re not going to repay their student loans, and they are asking the Department of Education to cancel their debt. They are former students – perhaps I should say “victims” – of a for-profit college operator that lost eligibility for federal student loans last year and has been purchased by a company that specializes in … collecting student-loan debts. ... This case points to the need for better underwriting in student loans. Simply allowing students to borrow large amounts of money and then bankrupt it is a recipe for big government losses. We should allow people to bankrupt student loans, but the corollary to that is that we need to be more careful about the loans we make in the first place.
The News Tribune, April 1, 2015

POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL


Plan to cut college tuition by 25% wins praise, but others cautious
With Republicans in the state Senate proposing to cut tuition by about 25 percent at state universities and permanently tie tuition to the state’s average wage, the reaction ranged from enthusiastic to cautious. Republicans, who released their budget Monday, said it would be the first reduction in tuition since the 1970s.
The Seattle Times, April 1, 2015

Video: A senator pushes to improve data on graduates’ earnings
Efforts are under way on Capitol Hill to pass legislation calling for the construction of a system that can tell prospective students how much they are likely to earn with a degree from a particular program. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, described that plan to The Chronicle only hours after the Senate approved a budget blueprint at 3 a.m.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 1, 2015

The burgeoning student loan strike
A big red box of paperwork that activists delivered to federal officials here on Tuesday may hold the key to debt relief for large numbers of students who attended Corinthian Colleges. The group of former Corinthian students refusing to repay their federal loans, which has now grown to 100 people, met Tuesday with top officials from the U.S. Department of Education, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau student loan ombudsman and representatives from the Treasury Department.
Inside Higher Ed, April 1, 2015