With more than 250 people in attendance, Governor Chris Gregoire recognized Skagit Valley College for its outstanding effort in the 2006 Combined Fund Campaign (CFD). February has officially been designated as National Career and Technical Education Month. The month-long awareness campaign recognizes the institutions that provide technical education and the students, workers and lifelong learners who depend on those institutions to acquire and enhance work-ready skills that lead to satisfying careers.
Technical education is critical to the state’s economy.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly one-third of the fastest growing occupations within the next decade will require an associate’s degree or a postsecondary vocational certificate.
The U.S. Department of Labor has identified several growth and higher-than-average wage earning industries for those with specialized technical degrees and training. Leading among them are healthcare, construction, engineering, computers / technology and personal services (i.e., childcare workers, cooks, barbers, stylists).
Washington state’s system of community and technical colleges offer extensive career training in fields that appeal to high-achieving, goal oriented young professionals, who often complete a program in less than two years and are out of the classroom and into the workplace.
A consortium of community colleges has been awarded a major cooperative agreement by the U.S. Department of State.
Community Colleges for International Development, Inc. (CCID) announced that they are the recipient of $3 million from the Department of State to administer the Community College Summit Initiative Program in cooperation with the State Department.
The program is an outcome of the Summit on International Education hosted for U.S. college and university presidents in January of 2006 by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.
The funds will provide training pathways for students of many nations to attend U.S. community colleges and take their expertise back to their homelands.
The member colleges taking part in this pilot program are: Daytona Community College, Florida; Highline Community College, Washington; Hillsborough Community College, Florida; Kirkwood Community College, Iowa; North Harris Montgomery Community College District, Texas; Northampton Community College, Pennsylviania.; and Parkland College, Illinois. Other collaborating organizations include AACC and ACCT.
Through the program CCID will manage participant training activities for students from Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, South Africa and Brazil at the above colleges. Disciplines will include information technology, health programs, business, media, and engineering programs.
Students will return home with specific technical skills, and through living in the homes of US families, will learn about the finer details of life in the United States. A leadership and democracy component in their programs will provide participants with knowledge of civil society.
With more than 250 people in attendance, Governor Chris Gregoire recognized Skagit Valley College for its outstanding effort in the 2006 Combined Fund Campaign (CFD).
Skagit Valley College was honored for the greatest increase in participation statewide among Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges. Receiving the award on behalf of the college was Controller Kim Cook.
The statewide awards ceremony was held at St. Martin’s University in Olympia and included representatives from two- and four-year colleges who also participated in this year’s program.
The CFD provides an opportunity for active and retired public employees to make charitable contributions to their favorite local, national, or international charities. By covering administrative costs with quarterly interest earned on total donations, the CFD allows 100% of donations to go to the charity.
Lake Washington Technical College (LWTC) played host to seven top ranking government officials from South Korea on January 22. The South Korean delegation requested the visit to further the agenda and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was negotiated during Governor Chris Gregoire’s Trade Mission and Education Summit in October, 2006.
During the visit Gov. Gregoire, Dr. Mike Metke, president of Lake Washington Technical College, Dr. Yong Ung Park, CEO of the Korea Polytechnic College Board, and Sen. Paull Shin, D-Edmonds, signed a MOU between the Korea Polytechnic College Board and Lake Washington Technical College to expand educational training exchanges.
The purpose of the visit was to identify opportunities to sustain and advance workforce education and development agreements between Korea and the state of Washington. The seven-person South Korean delegation included:
Dr. Soon Hie Kang, Secretary to the President for Labor Affairs
Mr. Chang Hyun Park, Director of National Assembly
Mr. Kyung Mun Han, Jr. Supervisor of Ministry of Education
Mr. Kyong Sub Jung, Deputy Director of Ministry of Labor Affairs
Dr. Sang Duk Lee, President of Korea Polytechnic 1
Dr. Joon Chul Eom, Executive Director of Korea Polytechnics
Ms. Jung Hye Yoon, KOPO Coordinator
Over the past year, approximately $450,000 has entered the Washington economy as a direct result of the relationship between Lake Washington Technical College and South Korea’s 43 Polytechnic Colleges. Over the next five years, an additional $3.5 million is projected to enter the Washington economy as a result of the 2006 MOU.
The delegation traveled to Olympia on January 23 to tour the Capitol and meet with Gov. Gregoire, Lt. Governor Brad Owen and Sen. Shin.
January 19 marked the kickoff of a new type of investor education program at Bellevue Community College (BCC). The event celebrated the college’s receipt of a $150,000 grant from the Investor Protection Trust to develop classes to teach the basics of saving and investing.
Governor Chris Gregoire commended BCC’s achievement and partnerships with the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) and the Washington Financial Literacy Public-Private Partnership (FLPP) to offer what is being called a model for community colleges across the nation.
“This program will address a clear and concise need for investor education,” said Gov. Gregoire. “Whether supporting young people looking to start out on the right foot, or helping those later in life protect their nest eggs, this program will bring financial planning skills to students in community colleges across Washington.”
Representatives from a variety of financial service providers, state agencies, nonprofit organizations, and Don Blandin, president and CEO of the Investor Protection Trust were on hand to share information with the public.
The training will familiarize students with the concepts of risk and return, asset allocation, investment vehicles, evaluation of investment opportunities and providers, warning signs of fraud, and how investments fit into a personal financial plan. The curriculum is being developed with a grant of $150,000 from the Investor Protection Trust, which DFI helped to facilitate.
BCC and DFI participate in the Financial Literacy Public Private Partnership, a coalition of financial services providers, government, and nonprofit agencies established by the legislature to improve financial literacy in Washington State. The partnership is co-chaired by Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle and Karen Keiser, D-Kent.
Distinguished physician and world health policymaker Dr. James E. Maynard, former United Nations advisor to governments in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, has been named the inaugural fellow in the Bellevue Community College Center for Liberal Arts (CLA) Fellows Program.
The CLA Fellows Program engages community civic scholars in fostering critical thinking and civic engagement among Bellevue Community College students.
Dr. Maynard, a resident of Sammamish, will work with BCC faculty this year to develop curriculum on the history and work of the United Nations, particularly in the areas of international peace and security, economic development, the environment and human rights.
He will also deliver presentations not only to BCC students but also in the community and at regional high schools.
Dr. Maynard spent 27 years with the U.S. Public Health Service Centers for Disease Control, where he directed a World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Reference and Research.
Dr. Maynard also has served as a United Nations advisor to governments in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, with extensive experience in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. He is one of only two foreign recipients of Indonesia’s Hero of Health Medal.
In addition, Dr. Maynard is currently co-president of the Seattle Chapter of the USA-United Nations Association.
BCC’s Center for Liberal Arts was established in 2002 to enrich the educational experience of students, the professional development of faculty and the cultural life of the surrounding community. The center encourages liberal arts studies; fosters civic engagement; promotes excellence in research, scholarship and teaching; and presents public arts and cultural programs.
In December 2006, the four colleges selected to pilot applied CTC bachelor’s degrees each received formal approval from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) on their proposals to offer courses at the baccalaureate level. In approving each college’s request, the Commission granted each college “informal candidacy” at the baccalaureate level while retaining accreditation at the associate degree level.
This new status of informal candidacy allows college to begin to formally admit students to their program beginning fall 2007.
Each college is expected to conduct a comprehensive self-study of all degree levels that will end with a site visit by an evaluation committee from the NWCCU in either 2009 or 2010.
The four pilot colleges and degrees are:
Bellevue Community College – Bachelor of Applied Science Radiation and Imagining Sciences
Peninsula College – Bachelor of Applied Science Management
Olympic College – Bachelor of Science Nursing
South Seattle Community College – Bachelor Applied Science Hospitality Management
Cascadia Community College earned national recognition for active and collaborative learning as a result of a survey of community college students. The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), a national survey of student experiences conducted by the University of Texas at Austin, lists Cascadia as one of only eight colleges among the top performers in this benchmark.
CCSSE conducts surveys of community college students about their experiences and reactions to their educational experiences. The CCSSE publishes the results of the survey and makes them available to the public. The November, 2006, issue of CCSSE Highlights listed the top colleges in their survey according to five benchmark areas. Cascadia Community College ranked high in both “Active and Collaborative Learning” and “Student-Faculty Interaction,” and at or above average on the other 3 benchmarks.
Ardi Kveven, director of Everett Community College's Ocean Research College Academy, was highlighted in the recent edition of Educational Leadership with her article, "Empowered to Ask."
Her story was included with a feature about science programs.
Kveven, of Mukilteo, is the founder and director of ORCA, an early college academy for high school juniors and seniors who may earn up to two years of college credit for free through Everett Community College.
The college's first graduating class in June included 16 students, of which 11 graduated from EvCC with honors. Ten students earned scholarships to colleges and universities.
Tacoma Community College received a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a certificate and degree program in secure logistics, transportation and supply chain management. Classes began in January 2007.
Career opportunities in logistics and the importance of safeguarding the distribution of transported goods are primary reasons why the NSF grant was awarded to TCC. More than $40 billion worth of goods travel through the ports of Puget Sound each year, creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
A transportation and secure logistics certificate will provide an overview of the logistics industry, with a focus on the technology needed to make the transportation of goods more efficient and secure. Students will be introduced to geographic information systems (GIS) and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.
A planned Associate in Applied Science degree in secure logistics and supply chain management will provide additional training in warehouse and inventory control management, logistics systems management, international logistics, GIS and RFID as well as general business training.
In December, the U.S. Department of Labor awarded 72 community colleges and One-Stop Career Centers $125 million for successfully competing under the President’s Community-Based Job Training Grants initiative.
Introduced by President Bush in his 2004 State of the Union Address, the primary purpose of Community-Based Job Training Grants is to build community colleges’ capacity to equip workers with the skills growing local industries require for success.
Among those receiving grants were: Everett Community College for $2 million to develop advanced manufacturing training programs and Whatcom Community College for $2.1 million to develop health-care training programs.
This new grant is a follow-up to a previous one Everett Community College received in conjunction with Edmonds Community College.
"These grants will go toward giving workers the skills they need to work in industries critical to their communities," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, said in a written statement. "Business leaders tell me they have jobs, but that they need workers with the certificates or skills to fill them."
The institutions selected will launch projects in industries, ranging from health care and construction to advanced manufacturing and energy.
Four Peninsula College students captured the fourth-place trophy in the Northwest Regional Ethics Bowl competition held November 11 on the campus of Whitworth College in Spokane.
Members of the Peninsula College team include Tim Patry and Kelsey Gipe of Port Angeles, Richard Scott of Sequim and Cynthia Kelly of Port Townsend. The coaches for the team are Dane McCartney and Ron Belgau. Peninsula College Philosophy professor Tom Grimes is the advisor.
In winning the fourth-place trophy, the Peninsula College team is positioned as first alternate to represent the Northwest region in the national Ethics Bowl to be held in Cincinnati this month.
Ethics Bowl is an intercollegiate competition in which teams of undergraduates formulate and defend solutions to moral problems in the format of a debate. Eight teams from seven different institutions competed in the event.
Peninsula College, which was the only community college to compete in the event, narrowly lost to Washington State University in the first round and then beat both Whitworth College and Eastern Washington University to become one of four teams to advance to the semifinals. In its semifinal match, Peninsula College lost to Montana State University.
According to the director of this year's regional event, Peninsula College has the distinction of being the only two-year school ever to participate in the five-year history of the Northwest Regional Ethics Bowl.
Lower Columbia College will host a community and technical college center directors meeting April 26-27.
Most two-year colleges have satellite campuses or centers within their larger districts across the state. The meeting will allow directors to attend workshops, gather resources and network to improve their program delivery.
Leon Lead, program manager at the Riverview Learning Center in Raymond (Grays Harbor College) has provided leadership for this event for several years. This year he is partnering with Lower Columbia College Woodland Center Director Chere Weiss to coordinate the event.
The event is free and will offer eight workshops over the day and a half training agenda. SBCTC staff Carol Melby and Mike Scroggins are among the presenters. For more information or to register call Chere Weiss at (360) 225-4768 or email her at cweiss@lowercolumbia.edu.