News Links | November 24, 2015

News Links staff will be off Thursday spending quality time with family, friends and a turkey. We'll be back next week with a regularly scheduled edition.   Happy Thanksgiving!

SYSTEM NEWS | OPINIONS

Peninsula College wins Best Small Budget Literary Magazine Award with Tidepools Magazine Tidepools Magazine of Peninsula College has won the Best Small Budget Literary Magazine Award from the Washington Community College Humanities Association. Peninsula Daily News, Nov. 22, 2015 New EvCC housing under construction, set to open fall 2016 A hole in the ground off Broadway will soon be the site of a new housing complex for students at Everett Community College. Work crews broke ground Oct. 22 on the lot on North Broadway behind a Starbucks and within walking distance of the campus. Work crews are preparing to pour the foundation. Everett Herald, Nov. 22, 2015 Opinion: The power of community college in pursing a career No one expects the path to medical school to pass through a community college. But it is the best way for me. I chose this route as it builds my qualifications without massive student loans. After I passed enough college-level courses in high school to earn an associate degree, I attended the Renton Technical College for certification as a surgical technologist. The Seattle Times, Nov. 20, 2015 UW Bothell marks 10th year of continuous growth with record enrollment The University of Washington Bothell marks its 10th year of continuous growth since it began admitting first year students in 2006. ... There are 775 new transfer students beginning at UW Bothell this fall, up from 746 in 2014. The top feeder institutions include Bellevue College, Cascadia College, Edmonds Community College, Shoreline Community College and Everett Community College. Bothell Reporter, Nov. 20, 2015 VanAusdle to retire from WWCC Walla Walla Community College President Steven VanAusdle says he will retire this coming summer. He has been the president of the college for 31 years and has been employed by WWCC for more than 45 years. My Columbia Basin, Nov. 19, 2015 Hanford contractor donates $127,000 to STEM initiatives Cregan Antonson had never heard of electrical engineering until a field trip to the Reach center in Richland last year. Now he wants to make a career of it. ... Washington River Protection Solutions, a Hanford contractor, announced a donation of $127,000 to STEM initiatives during a Thursday event at Highlands. The money will benefit the Reach center, as well as mentoring programs for middle school students, college scholarships and instructional equipment. ... $27,000 to Columbia Basin College to buy equipment for its nuclear technology program and for scholarships. Tri-City Herald, Nov. 19, 2015 Centralia College Foundation directors announces $10,000 in 2016 capstone funding The Centralia College Foundation Board of Directors has unanimously approved the allocation of $10,000 to assist students in purchasing supplies for 2016 Capstone projects and presentations. The Centralia Chronicle, Nov. 19, 2015 Making air travel cleaner and safer and giving thanks at PNNL No sooner than we turn back the clocks, the weather takes a turn and reminds us that the holidays are just around the corner. For many of us, this means flying to see family and friends — or picking them up at the newly remodeled Tri-Cities Airport. Most of us take flying for granted, trusting that someone somewhere is working to ensure that it is safe and sustainable. Well, as you might guess, the scientists and engineers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are among those engaged in this endeavor. ... We worked in partnership with Columbia Basin College to develop and launch CBC’s cyber security program, which is preparing the future work force in this critical and growing field. Tri-City Herald, Nov. 18, 2015 Prometheus Bound In Prometheus Bound, Skagit Valley College drama department chair Damond Morris decided to tell the story in a new way. Using Aeschylus’ centuries-old text with a translation by the esteemed Henry David Thoreau, the director and his creative crew then added a variety of Native American elements to the mix. Cascadia Weekly, Nov. 18, 2015

TRENDS| HORIZONS | EDUCATION

Free course teaches the basics of how to get the most out of college A new, free online course produced by the University of Washington is designed for students who are applying — or have been admitted — to any college in the U.S. Their parents could get a lot out of it, too. The Seattle Times, Nov. 24, 2015 Drop in black share of physical science, engineering degrees A new study has found that in a recent 10-year period while there has been an increase in the number of bachelor's degrees awarded in the physical sciences and engineering, the share of such degrees awarded to black students has fallen, as other groups are seeing larger increases. Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 24, 2015 College board investigates international scores The College Board has notified some students who took the SAT outside the United States this month that their scores are being delayed due to an investigation into a possible security breach. The review could take up to five weeks. Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 24, 2015 Opinion: Improving diversity in higher education - beyond the moral imperative Already, dozens of campuses are hosting diversity forums, hosting town hall meetings, and issuing statements to demonstrate the many initiatives they are investing in to create a more inclusive and diverse environment. My hope is that these conversations are sincere efforts to move the diversity agenda forward. It’s not just the right thing to do; it’s imperative for the success and sustainability of institutions. And there is no time to waste. Forbes, Nov. 23, 2015 Most freshmen apply to one college, data suggest Two-thirds of college freshmen who applied for federal student loans or grants last year indicated that they were applying to only one institution, according to new data released by the U.S. Department of Education on Thursday. Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 20, 2015 Opinion: Amateur Hour Have we reached amateur hour in higher education? The answer depends very much on how we define expertise. College and university professors are undoubtedly the leading experts in their domains of knowledge, particularly as it pertains to published books and research. Some (but far from all) are also leading experts on effective instruction and assessment. But few college and university faculty members (or programs or departments or schools) can credibly claim expertise as to the competencies employers are seeking in new hires, particularly for easier-to-assess technical and hard skills. In this area, companies like Udacity — which builds its nanodegrees with employers like Google — can stake a firmer claim to “expertise.” Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 20, 2015 More Wash. students are taking STEM exams — but computer science courses in short supply Washington students are getting more involved in science, technology, engineering and math or “STEM,” according to data released this week, but the state still has a problem with access. More than 21,000 students took Advanced Placement STEM exams this year — a 40 percent increase compared to five years ago — according to data compiled by College Board, which administers SAT and AP exams. Four Washington high schools added computer science courses, College Board reports, in a state with around 900 high schools. Puget Sound Business Journal, Nov. 19, 2015

POLITICS | LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL

Promise provides enrollment boost In Tennessee, officials now have a clearer picture of the impact of the country's first statewide, free two-year college program. For more than a year state officials, with money and rhetoric, have been encouraging high school seniors to help increase Tennessee's population of adults with a college degree or certificate. And as of last week, new enrollment data show 16,291 of them have enrolled in the state's community, technical and private colleges this fall because of the new Tennessee Promise program. The Promise is one of the initiatives Governor Bill Haslam implemented to make sure at least 55 percent of the state's populace has a degree by 2025. Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 24, 2015 Educators may soon say good-bye to No Child Left Behind rules Pierce County educators breathed a collective sigh of relief Monday morning after hearing from U.S. Sen. Patty Murray that the No Child Left Behind system that governs K-12 education could soon be history. The NCLB Act, which dates from 2001, has long been a thorn in the sides of educators, who see it as punitive and unhelpful. All schools and all students were supposed to meet standards on state tests by 2014. The News Tribune, Nov. 23, 2015 Responses on race 1,000 complaints to U.S. Education Department in seven years; Brown releases $100 million plan to promote inclusiveness; Occidental sit-in ends after six days. Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 23, 2015 Colleges seek to revive Perkins Loan program Hundreds of colleges on Friday urged congressional leaders to grant a one-year reprieve to the federal Perkins Loan Program, which expired earlier this fall. Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 23, 2015 Republicans question White House panel on for-profits Senator John McCain and Senator Lamar Alexander, both Republicans, last week wrote to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan to seek information about what they called the "unfair targeting" of the University of Phoenix and other for-profits by a Obama administration-created interagency task force. The task force includes eight federal agencies, the two senators said. In the letter they expressed concern about a lack of information about the task force's authority, mission, duties and activities. Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 23, 2015 Opinion: Statewide stories of a broken public education system From Seattle to Selah, we heard frustration and anger from parents and taxpayers who feel like the state isn’t taking its paramount duty seriously and that their children miss out as a result. The Seattle Times, Nov. 21, 2015 Edit to charter school ruling helps programs like Running Start, state attorney general says The state Supreme Court on Thursday stuck by its previous decision striking down the state's system of charter schools. Yet while declining to reconsider their ruling, the court justices also edited the decision in a way that the state attorney general said resolves concerns about how the ruling will affect other programs, such as tribal compact schools and Running Start. The News Tribune, Nov. 20, 2015