News Links | June 25, 2015

SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS

Edmonds CC leaders attend White House Summit on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Dr. Jean Hernandez, Edmonds Community College President and Emily Yim, Edmonds CC Board of Trustee Chair attended a White House Summit on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) at George Washington University in Washington D.C. on May 12. My Edmonds News, June 24, 2015 A moment of reflection for South Carolina victims Students and faculty at Renton Technical College on Wednesday held a vigil and moment of silence for the victims of the June 17 church shooting in Charleston, S.C. Angel Mitchell, vice president of the Renton Technical College Black Student Union, led the gathering in a moment of reflection on the nine lives lost at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina last week. Renton Reporter, June 24, 2015 Olympic College hires its first vice president for equity and inclusion Cheryl Nuñez is Olympic College’s first vice president for equity and inclusion. She was hired in May and will begin working at the college later this month. North Kitsap Herald, June 24, 2015 Agencies, college await word on government shutdown As legislators continue to squabble over a state budget, state agencies are waiting as a government shutdown looms. ... And, some, like Grays Harbor College and the state’s other community and technical colleges, can’t operate for an extended amount of time without a state revenue stream. The Daily World, June 24, 2015 Bellingham Tech appoints Blue Sea Systems founder to board The Bellingham Technical College Foundation appointed Scott Renne as its newest board member. Renne, founder of two Bellingham engineering and manufacturing businesses, will serve a three-year term from 2015 to 2018, according to a press release from the college. Bellingham Business Journal, June 24, 2015 Highline College honors educator with Distinguished Alumnus Award Gene Sharratt was recently recognized for his dedication, passion and outstanding contributions to education by Highline College. Federal Way Mirror, June 23, 2015

TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION

Former student loan watchdog takes on ITT The former student loan ombudsman for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — who is still taking on for-profit colleges from his new perch — sent a letter to ITT Educational Services investors Wednesday asking them to reform the for-profit institution. Inside Higher Ed, June 25, 2015 Why 'vocation' isn't a dirty word Some 15 years ago, the Lilly Endowment funded a massive experiment to see what happened when colleges asked students to think critically about how they might lead meaningful lives. Such purposeful exploration programs, as they were called, popped up on 88 campuses, at a few million dollars each. More than a decade later, and long after the initial Lilly funds ran out, many of these programs still exist. Why? Because institutions and students raved about them, reporting various spiritual and professional gains: students finding work they felt mattered, creating strong partnerships with friends and family, and a maintaining a desire to do good. Inside Higher Ed, June 24, 2015 Digital platform seeks to match employers, job seekers and courses For Americans who don’t graduate from college with a four-year degree, finding employment can be difficult. But a new partnership between a foundation, big-name companies, and colleges hopes to make the job search easier. The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 24, 2015 Study: Men think they are better at math than they are Male and female undergraduates were given a mathematics test and asked to estimate how well they did. The women were fairly accurate in their predictions. But the men generally predicted better performance than they achieved. Inside Higher Ed, June 24, 2015

POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL

House appropriators pass education/NIH spending bill The House Appropriations Committee, along a party line vote Wednesday, approved legislation that would increase spending on the National Institutes of Health by $1.1 billion, raise the maximum Pell Grant to $5,915 (but commandeer $370 million in excess Pell funds for other purposes) and block the Obama administration from implementing several regulations aimed at holding colleges accountable, including a proposed rating system. Inside Higher Ed, June 25, 2015 Education Department now plans a college-rating system minus the ratings The U.S. Department of Education has retreated from its controversial plan to create a giant college-ratings system, top officials revealed on Wednesday. Instead, by late summer the department is now promising to produce a customizable, consumer-oriented website that won’t include any evaluations of colleges but will contain what one official described as "more data than ever before." In effect, it will be a ratings system without any ratings. The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 25, 2015 Senate plan portends budget battles A U.S. Senate subcommittee on Tuesday passed a spending bill for health, labor and education programs that would increase funds for biomedical research and boost the maximum Pell Grant — but slash spending on workforce training and AmeriCorps and block the Obama administration from implementing regulations relating to gainful employment for vocational programs and its college rating system. Inside Higher Ed, June 24, 2015 Gainful-employment rule survives for-profit group’s court challenge The U.S. Education Department’s gainful-employment rule is one step closer to taking effect. A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a serious legal challenge, brought by the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, to the controversial rule. The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 23, 2015