News Links | July 21, 2015

SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS

Industries in growth mode Amanda Castellanos didn’t plan on going back to school at 36. She also didn’t want to work in a call center for the rest of her career, and potential employers kept telling her she needed more experience. She decided it was time to get a degree and enrolled in the Allied Health program at Skagit Valley College. Skagit Valley Herald, July 21, 2015 What do white millennials think about whiteness? Jose Antonio Vargas is on a mission to find out If you ask one of our country’s preeminent scholars on race, there’s a huge problem with how we think about whiteness. The issue? We don’t think about it. Not really. ... In the film, he meets Lucas, a white student at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Wash., who teaches a white privilege workshop to other white students. Washington Post, July 21, 2015 Highline College recognized nationally as a top college to work for Highline College is one of the nation's best colleges to work for, according to a new survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education, the top national and international news source for colleges and universities. Kent Reporter, July 20, 2015 CPTC: Earning his wings Lee Giles III enrolled at Clover Park Technical College in 1998 to fulfill a childhood dream. After leaving his profession as a firefighter/paramedic, the former Marine found CPTC in the phone book and used remaining VA benefits to enroll in the Professional Pilot Program. The Suburban Times, July 20, 2015 Japanese Agricultural Training Program celebrates 50 years A lot can happen in 50 years. In the case of Big Bend Community College's (BBCC) Japanese Agricultural Training Program (JATP), a lot has happened, and Wednesday, more than 100 former trainees, host farmers and others involved in the program congregated at BBCC to celebrate the program's half a century of existence. Columbia Basin Herald, July 18, 2015 Edmonds Community College worker is oldest full-time employee in the state Paul Poppe, Edmonds Community College’s Contract/Risk Management Specialist, is 85 years old, which makes him the oldest full-time employee in the state of Washington. Poppe has been employed at Edmonds Community College for 23 years. He currently works in the Purchasing Department to support the college’s contracting activities and making sure that the college is in compliance with state regulations. My Edmonds News, July 18, 2015 $2 million federal grant awarded Port of Port Angeles for composites center A proposed composites recycling technology center has received $2 million more from the federal government, bringing to $4 million the total grants promised to the project. ... Besides the county, state and federal grants, the port plans to seek another $1.35 million to equip the recycling center, which also will house Peninsula College's advanced materials-composites classrooms and laboratories, plus start-up space for manufacturers. Peninsula Daily News, July 18, 2015 Area higher education institutions to split more than $800K Three local higher education institutions will receive more than $800,000 combined through a federal initiative to expand student support services, the U.S. Department of Education announced Friday. The agency will award $296,000 to Yakima Valley Community College, $281,000 to Central Washington University and $231,000 to Heritage University. Yakima Herald, July 17, 2015 TCC Health & Wellness Center construction starts July 20 Construction of Tacoma Community College’s new Health & Wellness Center starts Monday, July 20. The project expands and renovates the Building 20 gym and fitness center. The new center should be ready for use by spring 2017. The Suburban Times, July 17, 2015 First president of Bates Technical College, Bill Mohler, dies Bill Mohler, who helped create the state’s technical college system and served as the first president of Bates Technical College in Tacoma, died Sunday from an apparent heart attack, the college announced. The News Tribune, July 16, 2015 Before college, Seattle teen represents Down syndrome foundation at White House Devon Adelman, 18, will be one of two students representing the Global Down Syndrome Foundation at Michelle Obama’s “Reach Higher: Beating the Odds” summit in Washington, D.C. She’s starting classes at Highline College in the fall. The Seattle Times, July 16, 2015 Our Voice: We’re thankful for initiative that moves us forward Initiative is one thing that keeps our community moving forward, its citizens learning, creating and seeing a new way to do things. From Spanish-speaking medical interpreters to recycling partners, we have “get-up-and-go” and we are grateful for it. ... Interpreting a doctor’s diagnosis or describing a course of treatment may be fairly straightforward in English. But increasingly, Tri-City health care workers are called on to relay the information in a patient’s native language, often Spanish, and that’s not always easy. Phrasing, slang and dialects make a clear translation challenging. That’s whereColumbia Basin College has taken the initiative to start a certificated two-course sequence this fall for those who already speak Spanish and want to use the training in the health industry. Tri-City Herald, July 16, 2015 Immigrants boost job prospects at city’s Ready to Work program Ever been frustrated trying to find a job? Navigating an online application process or prepping for an interview in a brand-new field can be intimidating. ... Just off Rainier Avenue, in a classroom lit by a glowing screen projecting the basics of emailing, 15 people from around the world are learning how to do just that — but in a new culture and in a foreign language. “First they need to learn the English language … then they are able to apply for a job, do their own résumé, able to communicate to the work force,” says Abel Ghirmai, project director for the city’s first Ready to Work program for ELL (English Language Learners). ... “When I see these people, they are in the place I was in a few years ago,” says Ghirmai, who took English classes at Highline College and eventually went on to become an instructor at the same school. The Seattle Times, July 16, 2015 CPTC: Instructor receives national award Maureen Sparks received the Pharmacy Technician Educators Council’s Technician Educator Award in recognition and appreciation of her contributions to pharmacy technician education. Sparks, who has taught in Clover Park Technical College's Pharmacy Technician Program for nearly 20 years, was surprised with the award at the PTEC national conference in Louisiana on July 10. The Suburban Times, July 16, 2015 Highline College employees recognized for excellence Lisa Bernhagen and Natasha Burrowes have joined the ranks of honored Highline College employees, named as winners of the college's two premier employee awards for the 2014–2015 academic year. The awards recognize professional excellence by full-time staff and tenured faculty members as nominated by their peers. Kent Reporter, July 16, 2015 Plan for rehab center on Key Peninsula comes from unlikely source While out driving his tractor on his 40-acre horse farm in rural Tennessee in 1998, Jeremiah Saucier had a sudden moment of clarity — mixed with a slight feeling of relief. A key player near the top of a major methamphetamine drug ring, Saucier came to the realization that his time living that kind of life was going to come to an end soon. He was correct. ... He eventually got involved with a church on the peninsula, where he met his current wife, Lila, and eventually moved to the Key Peninsula. In the time since he was released from prison, Saucier has managed to earn a counseling degree from Olympic College, work as a counselor at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, and most recently was named the director of Crossroads, a drug and alcohol treatment center in Lakewood. The News Tribune, July 15, 2015 Longtime Edmonds CC teacher Barbara Maly dies Barbara Maly, one of Edmonds Community College’s founding faculty members known for her dedication to students and her ability to show how math could be applied to their daily lives, has died. ... When she came to the campus it was so new that “they had trailers in dirt lots,” said Marty Cavalluzzi, who came to know Maly as vice president for instruction. Cavalluzzi now is president of Pierce College’s Puyallup campus. Everett Herald, July 15, 2015

TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION

College readiness stagnates for low-income students The number of low-income students who meet key college-readiness benchmarks remained flat among 2014 high school graduates who took the ACT, according to a new report from ACT and the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships. That number has stagnated for the past five years, the report said. Inside Higher Ed, July 21, 2015 Debt protests target aid officers The beer-soaked streets leading to Jackson Square in this city’s historic French Quarter bustled on Monday evening with characteristic revelry – and a short-lived, if chaotic, debate over student loan debt. Inside Higher Ed, July 21, 2015 Moody's revises higher ed outlook to 'stable' For the first time since it began providing a single outlook for all of higher education in 2013, Moody's Investors Service has given the enterprise a "stable" rather than "negative" assessment, the ratings agency announced Tuesday. Inside Higher Ed, July 21, 2015 Differences in minority application patterns A study based on Texas data finds that minority students — and in particular Latino students — show somewhat different patterns of selecting colleges to which to apply than do white students. Inside Higher Ed, July 20, 2015 Spending more on college, but worrying less Families are spending more on college, but parents are less concerned about that investment paying off, according to the results of a new survey from Sallie Mae, the student lender. Inside Higher Ed, July 20, 2015 Health care and higher ed In an era of increasing scrutiny and growing financial difficulty, health care and higher education face many of the same challenges: disruption, rising prices, consumer criticism, decreasing public funds and an increasing need for collaborations and mergers. Inside Higher Ed, July 20, 2015 Will student loan debt be the next bubble? Earlier this month when the Building Industry Association put on its annual Legislative Review Luncheon, with the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce as a partner, the subject of student loan debt and its effect on the economy came up. Out of that conversation, an interesting question was raised: Could increasing levels of student loan debt in this country lead to the next recession? Could it constitute the next “bubble?” Vancouver Business Journal, July 17, 2015 Teenagers and colleges are of 2 minds on the best recruitment strategies If you understand teenagers, then — wait, does anybody really understand teenagers? No, of course not. But colleges spend a lot of time and money recruiting them. That means embracing various communication strategies: the old-school, the high-tech, and the because-my-president-thinks-this-will-work. The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 17, 2015 How presidents and enrollment leaders can get on the same page Whenever enrollment leaders frown, there’s a good chance the campus president is to blame. Ask around: Happy enrollment chiefs tend to say they enjoy good relations with the big boss. Unhappy ones often describe their president as living on another planet. The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 17, 2015 What happens when struggling high-schoolers take college classes High schools across the country are taking what might seem like a counterintuitive approach to educating some of their most at-risk students. They’re enrolling them in college before they even graduate from high school. A new report from the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy suggests that dual-enrollment programs, where students take classes simultaneously in high school and at a local college, have proven especially successful at getting less-affluent and first-generation students into college — and through it. The Atlantic, July 14, 2015

POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL

What's next for state's education funding lawsuit The new state budget makes a $1.3 billion down payment toward fully paying the cost of basic education in Washington. But even the lawmakers who crafted the budget do not expect the Supreme Court to be satisfied with their progress toward fulfilling the court's order on dollars for K-12 schools. KOMO News, July 19, 2015 Gov. Brown signs bill allowing 2 years of free community college Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill offering two years of free tuition at community colleges Friday morning. The bill comes at a price tag of $10 million. The idea behind the bill was to encourage low-income students to go to school and get the skills for better-paying jobs. KATU, July 17, 2015 Guaranty agency fights More than five years after President Obama won his contentious fight to remove private lenders from the federal government’s student loan program, his administration is still sparring with parts of the student lending industry. Inside Higher Ed, July 17, 2015