News Links | April 2, 2020
System News | Opinion
Tacos El Rey Taqueria donates food to Big Bend students during coronavirus pandemic
A handful of hungry Big Bend Community College students were fed for free this week thanks to the generosity of one local restaurant.
On Monday, Tacos El Rey Taqueria of Moses Lake donated meals to 15 students who are
sheltering-in-place at the BBCC dorms on campus. Tacos El Rey Taqueria Owner Jose
Baez says each student received a meal consisting of burrito, rice, and beans. Baez
says students were grateful upon getting the food.
iFiber One, April 1, 2020
WWCC readies for online learning
Spring quarter classes begin on Monday at Walla Walla Community College and due to the novel coronavirus, students will notice a significant change. “All
of our instruction is being provided online until the governor’s order is lifted or
we have further information,” Acting President Chad Hickox said. “We all want to
do our part to maintain this distancing to keep this COVID-19 from spreading.”
My Columbia Basin, April 1, 2020
Can hands-on career education go online during school shutdowns?
In fields like history, literature and French, transitioning to online learning —
as many colleges have done to fight the spread of the coronavirus — might sound challenging
but doable. In some career and technical programs, it’s a different story. At Peninsula College in Washington state, Eoin Doherty, who coordinates the school’s welding program,
is scrambling to devise a plan for offering classes amid new restrictions resulting
from the virus.
PBS News Hour, March 31, 2020
Winners announced for 2020 Tidepools publication
The staff of Tidepools 2020, Peninsula College’s art, music and literary magazine, has announced the winners of the 2020 contest.
The magazine features fine art, photography, poetry, short prose and music by Olympic
Peninsula residents and is produced by students at Peninsula College with support
from the Peninsula Daily News.
Peninsula Daily News, March 31, 2020
Clark County continues coronavirus rise: 20 more cases confirmed
Clark County Public Health confirmed 20 more COVID-19 cases Monday morning. ... Clark College alerted its students and staff that one of those cases confirmed Friday was a college
student who was likely exposed to the virus on March 20. The student hadn’t visited
campus since March 12, eight days before the suspected exposure.
The Columbian, March 30, 2020
Trends | Horizons | Education
Suspension of financial responsibility scores?
This week has been busy on the higher education regulatory front. A coalition of college
associations is pushing for the suspension of a federal measure of colleges’ financial
standing, and the U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday released new proposed
rules on distance education. Meanwhile, a prominent online program management company’s
CEO pushed back at scrutiny of his sector, which appears to have contributed to Congress
placing restrictions on reimbursements for colleges' spending on OPMs in the $2.2 trillion
stimulus measure it passed last week.
Inside Higher Ed, April 2, 2020
Global connections: The future of international ed at community colleges
... Notably, the largest percentage of international students seeking an undergraduate
education in the U.S. are enrolled at community colleges. (Nearly 19 percent are from
China, where the virus was first reported. More than 45 percent come from the southeast
Asia region.) At the same time, some international students were encountering difficulties
entering the U.S. to begin or return to their studies at community colleges. Many
were concerned about violating their student visa status as community colleges made
the decision to transition to remote learning from in-person classes in order to prevent
the spread of the coronavirus.
Community College Daily, April 2, 2020
How the coronavirus is prompting higher-ed grantmakers to change course
... Each had a slightly different take, which I share below, but these are three of
the biggest priorities for giving across the board: Efforts to get more emergency
aid directly into the hands of students in financial need right now; Organizations
that can help facilitate quality online learning as well as access to it; Academic
services for populations of students who were already at a disadvantage in getting
to and through college, and will now be even more affected by the economic turmoil.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 1, 2020
Commentary: Adapting to online in a pinch
Whenever a situation occurs that keeps students from their physical classrooms, online
learning gets more attention. In this case, the emergency is COVID-19, but it may
as easily be a natural disaster or even a snow day. And though more college students
are enrolling in online than ever before, online offerings are still the minority
at most community colleges, which means the majority of teachers are unprepared to
teach online. This leaves a large swathe of students vulnerable in an emergency. Every
community college should have a strategy for academic emergencies that is widely shared
with faculty, staff and students.
Community College Daily, April 1, 2020
Is canceling student debt the right approach?
... Chingos, in a blog post last week, argued that those who’d get more money, either
through cancellation or the six-month, interest-free suspension of most borrowers
having to make payments in the stimulus bill Congress ultimately passed last week,
are those well-off enough to have signed up to make the highest payments each month.
Only two-thirds of those with student loan debt in 2016, according to the most recent
data available, were making payments on their loans and would have extra cash during
a pause, the analysis said Thursday. Ninety percent of the highest-income households
were paying down their loans, while only 30 percent of the lowest-income households
were making payments and would have extra money by not having to make loan payments.
Inside Higher Ed, April 1, 2020
New resource on women in STEM
The National Academies Press has published "Promising Practices for Addressing the
Underrepresentation of Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine." The publication
"reviews and synthesizes existing research on policies, practices, programs, and other
interventions for improving the recruitment, retention, and sustained advancement
into leadership roles of women in these disciplines.
Inside Higher Ed, April 1, 2020
Colleges go test-optional after SAT, ACT are called off
In mid-March, as schools across the country began to close, aspiring college students
got big news: Spring ACT and SAT tests were being called off amid concerns about the
spreading coronavirus. Now, a growing list of colleges have announced they're going
test-optional for the class of 2021, meaning the SAT or ACT will not be required for
admission. ... It's unclear if these new admissions practices will stick, but some
schools — including the University of Oregon and Oregon State University — have already
committed to making their new test-optional policies permanent.
NPR, April 1, 2020
Coping with a pandemic
As college students and faculty members face an onslaught of stressors related to
the disruptions in their lives caused by the coronavirus pandemic, they are relying
on each other for connection and coping strategies to help ease the weight of the
public health crisis on their mental health. While administrators and other employees
are undoubtedly also affected by the dramatic departure of people from college and
university campuses across the country, the upheaval has been most felt by students
and faculty members who interacted more frequently and consistently -- and had more
symbiotic relationships -- than others on campus.
Inside Higher Ed, March 31, 2020
How the pandemic is disrupting admissions for students and colleges
... A new survey has found that one in six high school seniors are rethinking their
plan to attend four-year colleges this fall and already some students are making the
choice to stay closer to home, said Elizabeth Heaton, who works with families trying
to navigate college admissions as a college admissions consultant at Bright Horizons.
“There's something about this whole pandemic that is making people feel like they
want to be close to home and with their loved ones,” she said.
WGBH, March 31, 2020
New funding for research experiences at two-year colleges
The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced that it is offering new funding
for novel undergraduate resource experiences at two-year colleges. The “Dear Colleague
Letter” from NSF’s Directorate for Education and Human Resources invites current principal
investigators of Advanced Technological Education (ATE) projects and centers to submit
requests for supplemental funding to support undergraduate research experiences (UREs)
that promote workforce preparation for students at two-year institutions. Most ATE
principal investigators are two-year college faculty.
Community College Daily, March 30, 2020
The rise of student emergency funds
Car repairs, childcare and even groceries can force many community college students
to put their education on hold for financial reasons. The coronavirus has exacerbated
those concerns, which is prompting a growing number of community colleges to start
emergency funds to help students with unexpected financial hurdles.
Community College Daily, March 30, 2020
Careers in a changing era: How higher ed can fight the skills gap and prepare students for a dynamic world of work
Inside Higher Ed today is releasing our newest special report, "Careers in a Changing
Era: How Higher Ed Can Fight the Skills Gap and Prepare Students for a Dynamic World
of Work." As tuition prices continue to rise, students consider college an investment
more than ever, and they want that investment to pay dividends in the form of a job.
Thankfully, the gap between what employers want and what colleges teach their students
isn't insurmountable.
Inside Higher Ed, March 30, 2020
Study abroad provider cuts more than 600 jobs
The Council on International Educational Exchange, a nonprofit organization that operates
study abroad and exchange programs, is eliminating more than 600 jobs, according to
Maine Business News. The nonprofit organization is eliminating 248 jobs in Portland,
Me., where it is headquartered, as well as 107 other U.S. jobs and about 300 jobs
internationally. CIEE has 63 sites in 42 countries. In a press release about the layoffs,
CIEE cited the “massive” negative financial impact of the coronavirus crisis and the
widespread program cancellations it caused.
Inside Higher Ed, March 30, 2020
Politics | Local, State, National
Washington watch: A deeper look at the CARES Act
The just-enacted CARES Act (Coronvavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) provides
substantial amounts of funding for community colleges and their students, even though
it is clear that significantly more resources are needed. Since President Trump signed
the legislation on Friday, community college leaders have had numerous questions about
the implementation of the CARES Act, but at this point most of those questions remain
unanswered. This is not surprising given the breadth and complexity of the legislation,
but hopefully the U.S. Education Department (ED) soon will issue more concrete plans
for implementing key provisions.
Community College Daily, March 31, 2020
