Governor finds opportunity in crisis

Gov. Christine Gregoire urged lawmakers to turn crisis into opportunity during her annual State of the State address on Tuesday, saying determination and action can propel Washington through the recession and past the competition. “We are in a time of great challenge and even greater opportunity,” she said. “When things get tough, we step up individually and together to build our future.”

The governor highlighted the need to equip students with the skills and knowledge to compete in a global economy. Education has already suffered deep cuts, she said, including a 26 percent cut to community colleges. She called for lawmakers to let the public vote on a proposed temporary, half-cent sales tax increase to “buy back” proposed cuts to education. The increase would raise approximately $484 million, with $411 million set to buy back the bulk of proposed cuts to education.

The governor also touted her proposed “Office of Student Achievement,” which would have an executive director appointed by the governor and a governor-appointed advisory board.

“If we invest $411 million in our schools and colleges, if we implement these innovative reforms, and if we use our can-do spirit, we can give our children the best education in the United States,” she said.

Click here to watch the Governor’s address on TVW, starting at 34:15 on the timeline.

Innovative practices highlighted

On Monday, the House Higher Education Committee held a work session to hear good news about innovative practices in higher education. Joe Dunlap, Spokane Community College president, shared information about the AIR Washington DOLTAA grant (Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance grant). Dunlap described the partners, collaboration, and industry support involved in this three-year, 11-college project, as well as the anticipated outcomes. He also described the aerospace industry need for skilled employees and the existing network of community and technical college programs that help fill that need. He requested the committee support efforts to provide well-trained workers for Washington’s aerospace industry.

Steve VanAusdle, Walla Walla Community College president, described the college’s role in developing projects to create jobs and build the economy in wind energy; water quality and conservation; and wine and enology – innovative programs that led The Aspen Institute to name the college as one of the top five community colleges in the nation. VanAusdle provided graphic analyses of how job training creates jobs and sparks the economy in the region. He urged the committee to support community and technical college training as much as possible.

Our nation faces a skills gap, he warned, where citizens lack the skills to land living-wage jobs, and employers are left with unfilled positions. “At least 60 percent of the workforce in 2018 will need to have medium or high skills or they’ll be left behind,” he said. “We’re going to turn their American dream into a nightmare.”

To watch the hearing on TVW, start at 8:00 on the timeline.

The latest chapter of the Open Course Library

At Tuesday’s Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee work session, chair Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Medina, called the Open Course Library (OCL) “a phenomenal program” and a joint Legislative and college effort “to make sure that we’re doing everything possible to make education affordable to students.”

Funded by $750,000 from the Legislature and $1.6 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Open Course Library is working with community and technical college faculty to develop open materials for 81 of the most common courses so that students pay $30 or less for their course materials.

The first 42 courses were released on October 31, 2011. In the first two months, the Open Course Library received over 80 press mentions, and the web site has received over 20,000 hits. Another 39 courses will be released spring 2013. The OCL project is part of the SBCTC’s broader effort to provide free or lower-cost materials to students.

David Nelson, Green River Community College math department chair, said his math department compared the OCL calculus materials with commercial publisher materials and are now using the OCL materials. Students can access those materials online for free or buy an OCL textbook for $20. The OCL materials replace a book that would otherwise cost $140. Nelson reported that students appreciate using less expensive materials. They can download and print only the content they need in an inexpensive format. Since they don’t need to preserve their textbook for resale, students are more likely to make notes in the materials.

For more information on the Open Course Library, including content of the first 42 courses: http://opencourselibrary.org

To watch the hearing on TVW, start at 2:00 on the timeline.

ctcLink and Governor’s capital budget proposal

Wayne Doty, SBCTC capital budget director, testified Tuesday during the House Capital Budget Committee hearing on the governor’s proposed capital budget.  The capital budget includes authorization to finance repairs for Everett Community College’s Corporate and Continuing Education building and ctcLink, a project to replace student information, finance, and human resource systems for all 34 community and technical colleges.  

SBCTC supports the proposal, he said, with a few reservations:  the proposal prematurely reduces funding for Everett’s Index Hall replacement project based on initial bids – which deletes a cushion that might be needed before construction is completed. And due to the timing of the request, the proposal does not include authority to finance Spokane’s Institute for Extended Learning addition at the Community College of Spokane, authority to finance Cascadia’s joint Student Union Building with UW Bothell, or the authority to enter into a long-term lease for Spokane’s Aerospace Training Center. He asked the committee to add these authorities into the capital budget.

To watch the hearing on TVW, start at 48:30 on the timeline.

Efficiencies take center stage

The House Higher Education Committee held a work session on Wednesday to hear an overview of the SBCTC’s “Improving Efficiency and Student Achievement” report, the second of three reports required by the Legislature.

Charlie Earl, SBCTC executive director, set the context for the report, stating that Washington’s CTC system is fourth in the nation in productivity (performance relative to funding). Despite significant budget cuts, he said, colleges have met record enrollments and improved student achievement. State funding for community and technical colleges has fallen by more than $1,000 per student since 2008, he said, and will fall to $1,200 less per student by 2013.

Jan Yoshiwara, SBCTC education services director, highlighted efficiencies already accomplished and those that are planned or underway. These include:

• Cloud email
• Business services back-office functions
• Student entrance placement reciprocity
• Instructional models that move students further and faster
• Student services technology tools

Michele Johnson, Pierce College District chancellor, and David Mitchell, Olympic College president, provided examples of how efficiencies and budget cuts are impacting colleges.

• Programs with good enrollment and employer demand are being closed.
• Colleges are sharing professional and technical programs across the state, such as a shared physical therapy program between Whatcom Community College and Pierce College.
• The system is finding regional efficiencies, including the new one-stop business and industry training center shared by all community and technical college districts in Pierce County.
• Colleges are sharing human resource training and staff.
• Students have 24/7 access to e-tutoring and library services.
• Colleges are streamlining their training processes.

Johnson and Mitchell emphasized that while efficiencies are directing resources where they are most needed, additional cuts are jeopardizing important programs and services across the state, including high cost professional and technical programs, basic skills programs, and student advising services.

Watch the entire hearing on TVW.

Employment and earnings focus

The Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee reviewed trends in employment and earnings among higher-education graduates at a work session on Wednesday.

Tina Bloomer, SBCTC policy research associate, said community colleges have remained responsive to the needs of the state and local communities despite substantial budget cuts. Community colleges, for example, participated in a statewide effort to help fill a critical demand for registered nurses.

On the local level, Walla Walla Community College provides turbine technicians for wind energy; Bellevue Community College offers programs that meet the needs of its local high-tech industry; and Yakima and Walla Walla community colleges train students to meet local viticulture (grape-growing) needs. Yet colleges also need flexibility to remain responsive, she said. Students need financial aid, and colleges require continued capacity to meet the changing needs of the workforce.

Paula Boyum, Bellevue Community College vice president of workforce and economic development, pointed out that community colleges offer more than specialized training for their own communities; they offer training programs – such as accounting – that employers need statewide. Accounting programs are popular among students retraining for a new profession, she added. Asked whether students lose credits as they move from certificates to associate degrees, Boyum clarified that all certificate courses are also required by the companion degree, so students typically do not lose credits unless they need pre-college level courses. 

Pat Brown, Tacoma Community College dean of health, justice and human services, talked about the college’s nursing program. Tacoma Community College has almost quadrupled its capacity between 2002 and 2011. The college has much more demand than space for qualified students who successfully complete the year of prerequisites. It is getting increasingly difficult, she said, to continue shielding the allied health programs from budget cuts, even though it is an important program.

Dave Cunningham, Shoreline Community College dean of workforce and continuing education, spoke about the six pillars of colleges’ success: I-BEST, financial aid, faculty with technical skills, industry-aligned curriculum, equipment, and career navigators. “We all own the challenge” of finding resources, he said.

To watch the hearing on TVW, start at 44:33 on the timeline.

Next week in Legislative News

You will find hearings being tracked for next week in the hearing schedule.

Here are a few we expect to highlight in the January 20 edition:

Monday, January 16, 2012

1:30 p.m. - House Higher Education Committee
Hearing Room C, John O’Brien Bldg.
Work Session: Higher education enrollments and demographics; progress and challenges in higher education for students, advisors, and faculty.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

8 a.m. - House Higher Education Committee
Hearing Room C, John O’Brien Bldg.
Work Session: Financial Aid overview, State Need Grant, College Bound Scholarship, and other financial aid programs.

Public Hearing: HB 2254 – (Rep. Carlyle) Enacting the educational success for youth and alumni of foster care act; HB 2258 – (Rep. Zeiger) Requiring an online higher education transfer and student advising system.

3:30 p.m. - Senate Ways & Means Committee
Hearing Room 4, John Cherberg Bldg.
Public Hearing: Recommendations of the Commission on State Debt; Governor’s 2012 Supplemental Capital Budget.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

1:30 p.m. - House Education Appropriations & Oversight Committee
Hearing Room A, John O’Brien Bldg.
Work Session: Update on the Student Achievement Initiative; Update on implementation of E2SHB 1795 - (Rep. Carlyle) enacting the higher education opportunity act (2011).

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