News Links | April 21, 2015

SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS

Community summit tackles college access When Katherine Rodela told her high school counselor she planned to attend a four-year university, the counselor suggested she set her sights on community college instead. Her parents hadn't gone to college, the counselor said. She might not fit in on a university campus. ... College access has been a topic of focus at WSU Vancouver for about a year. In August, Mel Netzhammer, chancellor at WSU Vancouver, and Bob Knight, president of Clark College, had lunch with the superintendents of all the Clark County school districts and those in the wider Educational Services District 112 region. They met to talk about improving access to college, Netzhammer said. The Columbian, April 21, 2015 South Seattle College student earns national recognition as top-scholar South Seattle College student David Yama was named as one of the top- scholars in the nation by earning a spot on the All-USA Academic team, as announced by the National Honor Society, Phi Theta Kappa, on April 20. Yama is the first student in South’s history to earn this honor. West Seattle Herald, April 20, 2015 High school dropout, Big Bend student is on his way to medical school A one-time high school dropout and Army National Guard member is on the cusp of graduating from Washington State University and will attend medical school next year. Timothy Woodiwiss dropped out of high school after ninth-grade and spent years working in the fast food industry, becoming a shift manager at age 17. In order to work full-time during school hours, Woodiwiss enrolled at Big Bend Community College to earn his General Education Development certificate or “GED.” iFIBER One, April 20, 2015 CPTC: From students to surgical technologists Surgical Technology students had the opportunity to hear from certified professionals and former Clover Park Technical College students at a presentation in the Health Sciences Building on April 17. Surgical technologists Mitchell Sweet and Daniel James are graduates of Clover Park Technical College who work at Grays Harbor Community Hospital in Aberdeen. They joined general surgeon Dr. Jonathan Gifford in a presentation to Surgical Technology and Nursing students of what they can expect in the industry. The Suburban Times, April 20, 2015 Faller infallible during rededication Bill Faller won again. Having expressed concern that he might become overly emotional at Saturday’s baseball field rededication in his honor — “I’m afraid I might start bawling,” were his exact words — the longtime Yakima Valley Community College coach and administrator kept things together nicely, thank you. Yakima Herald, April 19, 2015 Parents and surviving students from Mexican massacre turn to Yakima for support Parents and surviving students from a massacre that took place in Mexico last September are asking for support to find the 43 students that are still missing. Yakima Valley Community College, in partnership with Heritage University hosted a community forum on the issue. KNDO, April 19, 2015 Whidbey Island Skagit Valley College students organize major islandwide event Rocco Strain can cover the 2.5 miles on his road bike from home to school in under seven minutes. “Six minutes, 47 seconds,” Strain said this week. “I did it yesterday.” Riding to Skagit Valley College’s Whidbey Island campus in Oak Harbor is Strain’s way of doing his part to help the environment and to emulate a healthy lifestyle. Setting a good example is important to Strain, the campus’ student government president. It’s also important to Kevin Adams, the student government treasurer. The two of them have teamed up to organize a major event at the Whidbey campus next week in celebration of Earth Day’s 45-year anniversary. Whidbey News Times, April 18, 2015 Opinion: Sustainability education at Whatcom Community College founded on Earth Week issues By Bob Riesenberg, professor of psychology and chair of the Sustainability Committee at Whatcom Community College. An effective citizen needs knowledge of the day’s issues to avoid manipulation by those who profit from a course of action. This was a core belief of our nation’s founders and it remains fundamental to the democratic process. As a professor at Whatcom Community College, I promote inquiry and discussion to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas central to the world in which we live. At Whatcom, we consider knowledge of sustainability issues to be essential for our students’ future. We reinforce the lesson throughout the academic year and celebrate our commitment during Earth Week. The Bellingham Herald, April 18, 2015 ARC of Tri-Cities holds spring fling dance Friday night The Arc of Tri-Cities Friday night held a Spring Fling Dance for the people that they help in the community. The event held at Columbia Basin College was for people with disabilities to meet new friends and get out on a Friday night and enjoy some dancing. CBC donated the facility for the event and local volunteers organized it. KNDO, April 17, 2015 Photos: STEM building goes up at Clark College A new STEM building is under construction at Clark College in Vancouver, Wash. The $41 million building will contain three stories over a half-basement and total over 70,000 square feet. Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon, April 17, 2015 Race, racism in Edmonds Last August, a man took a walk along Sunset Avenue and the waterfront of Edmonds with his family. Nothing unusual about that. But for Dembo Sanneh, an African American resident of Edmonds, it was a pleasant walk that turned dangerous when a white man yelled racial slurs at his family and threatened to kill them. Eight months later, the community is still grappling with what incidents like this mean for Edmonds, and a group gathered on April 11 in the Edmonds Community College’s Black Box Theatre to hear speaker Eva Abram present “Defeating racism today: What is it going to take?” Edmonds Beacon, April 17, 2015 Keeping ready Wednesday's active shooter drill at Big Bend Community College prepared responders to handle a shooting inside a classroom. The drill was an opportunity for multiple agencies and responders to come together and practice a multi-hazard plan and incident command structure in the event of an active shooter at BBCC. Columbia Basin Herald, April 16, 2015 Edmonds CC adheres to Violence Against Women Act requirements After two years, Edmonds Community College is taking the final steps to adhere to the federal Violence Against Women Act and Title IX requirements. On March 7, 2013, President Obama signed into effect the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (SaVE) Act. This act requires enhanced post-secondary transparency surrounding sexual violence, campus prevention programs, and more detailed victim rights and disciplinary procedures for all schools participating in Title IX financial aid programming. Two years later, EdCC is in the process of finalizing their student code of conduct andnondiscrimination and harassment policy to abide by these qualifications. EdCC conducted a final public hearing regarding the college’s proposed policies on Friday, April 10. Edmonds Beacon, April 16, 2015 Bates Technical College: Photography passion fuels career path “I realized I wanted a career in photography when I came to Bates,” says 19-year-old Taylor Henson . “I was influenced by the people around who were focused on their career paths, and I wanted to do something I was good at and could focus on.” Taylor, a student in the Digital Media program , found his way to Bates [Technical College] through an unusual route. As a young teenager, Taylor and his family faced homelessness for more than a year. His mother retired from the Army, had trouble obtaining a job, and lost their home. The family spent a year living with a friend until they found shelter at The Salvation Army. The Suburban Times, April 16, 2015

TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION

For those without one, college degrees are seen as important but too expensive In the eyes of Americans without college degrees, higher education seems necessary but too expensive. That is one of the main takeaways in a report released on Monday by the American Enterprise Institute, "High Costs, Uncertain Benefits: What Do Americans Without a College Degree Think About Postsecondary Education?" The report was based on a survey of more than 1,500 people who lack college degrees about their perception of a college education. It echoed some of the findings of a public-opinion survey, released last week, of broader views of higher education. The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 21, 2015 When a two-year college degree pays off Steven Polasck of Corpus Christi, Texas, liked math and science in high school. He considered attending a four-year college but ultimately decided to use his strengths to get a two-year degree in instrumentation from Texas State Technical College. He has not looked back. ... An associate’s degree has long been considered an inferior alternative to a bachelor’s degree. Now that more states are tracking their graduates’ incomes, however, it is becoming apparent that some two-year degrees offer much higher earnings than the typical four-year degree — at a fraction of the cost. Time, April 21, 2015 Colleges respond to racist incidents as if their chief worry is bad PR, studies find College administrations react to hate crimes, hate speech, and other high-profile incidents of bias by focusing mainly on repairing their institution’s reputation, two new studies conclude. The administrations’ responses generally paper over underlying prejudices in the campus culture, leaving the victims at risk of further harm in the future, argue the researchers, who presented the studies’ findings on Monday in Chicago, at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association. The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 21, 2015 Potential new leaders of 2-year colleges face higher hurdles During two decades of leading Miami Dade College, Eduardo J. Padrón has mentored dozens of promising educators, many of whom would make excellent community-college leaders. But when he broaches the subject today, their response, more often than not, is thanks, but no thanks. ... Among the challenges scaring them off just when the nation faces what the association’s president called a "tsunami" of presidential retirements are declining resources, needier students, and pressure to overhaul remediation while graduating more students. The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 21, 2015 The increasingly digital community college Distance education at community colleges continues to increase even as overall enrollment at two-year institutions falls. A study released Monday found distance education enrollments account for nearly all recent student growth at two-year institutions. Inside Higher Ed, April 21, 2015 Fighting for 4-year degrees Community colleges are learning that getting the authorization to offer four-year degrees doesn't mean the struggle is over. Twenty-two states allow community colleges to award bachelor's degrees, and many administrators believe that number will grow. During the 2015 American Association of Community Colleges annual meeting here, many of those administrators said they are working to convince the public and their counterparts in the four-year community of the benefits of offering a four-year program — and that they continue to face limits and opposition. Inside Higher Ed, April 20, 2015 Online penalty Many politicians and educators see online education as key to expanding access to higher education. But a large study of online education used by students at California's massive community college system cautions that student success may not go hand-in-hand with online education. On many measures of student success, the study found, online students are not doing as well as those who enroll in face-to-face courses. Inside Higher Ed, April 20, 2015 Community-college gathering takes up challenges, familiar and fanciful Shrinking enrollments and tightening budgets are challenging community colleges in their push to graduate 50 percent more students with marketable credentials by 2020, speakers said on Sunday at the annual meeting here of the American Association of Community Colleges. Spurred by a flurry of recent reform efforts, two-year colleges should be 90 percent of the way there by 2020 if current progress continues, they said. The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 20, 2015 How social media helps students adapt to college For today’s students, social media isn’t just a diversion. It’s a support system. That’s the key finding of a paper exploring the role that Facebook plays in helping students adjust to campus life. Collin M. Ruud, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, presented the paper, “Social Networking and Social Support: Does It Play a Role in College Social Integration?,” on Sunday at the American Educational Research Association’s annual meeting. The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 19, 2015 What people think about college: a snapshot of public opinion Given that the value of college is frequently challenged on multiple fronts these days, interest in how the public regards higher education runs pretty high among its champions. The latest public-opinion poll from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation, released here on Thursday, provides some new data points. The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 17, 2015 An alarming number of teenagers are quitting school to work Teenagers drop out of high school for all sorts of reasons: lack of motivation, little support from parents, poor academic performance. But for some low-income students, the decision to leave is purely economic. Many are going to work so they can start making money to help their families. Using data from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey, researchers at the Urban Institute found that nearly a third of the 563,000 teenage dropouts left school to work. These 16- to 18-year-olds were disproportionately male and Hispanic, and ended their education either at the beginning of high school or nearing the end. Roughly 75 percent of them are native-born Americans, the new study said. The Washington Post, April 16, 2015

POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL

Inside look at ratings plan The U.S. Department of Education has set aside more than $4 million to develop the Obama administration’s college ratings system, newly released federal documents show. The department has hired a nonprofit research company to analyze data about colleges, test different ratings models and build a website for the ratings. It has so far paid at least $1.8 million for the firm, Research Triangle Institute, to get started on that work. Inside Higher Ed, April 20, 2015 Regulating job placement The federal government's gainful-employment standards for vocational programs at colleges kick into effect in three months, assuming two lawsuits filed by the for-profit sector don't block the new rules. This is the Obama administration's second attempt to regulate based on graduates' labor-market returns. A federal judge largely halted the 2010 version of the so-called gainful-employment regulations. Yet even if the department is stymied again in the courts, a job-placement reporting requirement from the first set of regulations, which survived the legal challenge, has emerged as a possible tool to crack down on for-profits. Inside Higher Ed, April 17, 2015 Social scientists question cuts sought in NSF authorization bill Social science groups are speaking out against a Republican-proposed bill to reauthorize the National Science Foundation that would keep total NSF funding relatively flat but impose deep cuts on the division that supports social science research. Inside Higher Ed, April 17, 2015