News Links | April 23, 2020
System News | Opinion
Jimmy Ritchey selected as Centralia College Distinguished Alumnus
Centralia native Jimmy Ritchey, a country music songwriter and record producer based
in Nashville, was selected as this year’s Centralia College distinguished alumnus. Ritchey said hanging out at the music store in the Lewis County
Mall as a teenager and learning from local musicians helped him become the musician
he is today. “I’m so honored and humbled to be selected for this award. I enjoyed
every minute I attended Centralia College,” said Ritchey about being recognized as
this year’s distinguished alumnus.
The Daily Chronicle, April 22, 2020
Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke among finalists for Bellevue College interim president
Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke is one of three finalists for Bellevue College interim president, along with Yoshiko Harden, a Seattle Central College vice president,
and Raúl Rodríguez, interim president of East Los Angeles College, Bellevue College’s
board of trustees announced Wednesday.
The Seattle Times, April 22, 2020
Peninsula College moves commencement ceremony in August
Peninsula College will postpone its graduation ceremony to August. College President Luke Robbins says
after surveying staff and students, they made the decision to move the commencement
to August 22nd due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was originally set for June 20th. Robbins
says two-thirds of survey responses from graduating sophomores indicated they preferred
waiting until August for an in-person ceremony over attending a virtual ceremony in
June.
My Clallam County, April 22, 2020
Washington, Idaho colleges to receive $281 million from federal stimulus package
... Community Colleges of Spokane: CCS is the district that includes Spokane Community College and Spokane Falls Community College. SCC President Kevin Brockbank said the colleges have been juggling many new expenses,
including stepped-up cleaning regimens and technology updates. And that’s on top of
dwindling enrollment. “A bunch of little examples like that add up to a lot, at this
point,” Brockbank said. “And we don’t know, frankly, what the total will be on that,
because I think we all have some anticipation that the governor could extend his stay-home
order.”
The Spokesman-Review, April 21, 2020
LCC will hold virtual graduation June 19
Lower Columbia College will hold this year’s graduation ceremony virtually, college President Chris Bailey
told students and staff Friday afternoon.
“This was not an easy decision to make,” Bailey said in a letter to the campus. “Each
year, we anxiously await the opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduating
students.” The decision was made after considering the risks of the COVID-19 outbreak
and discussions with students, Bailey said.
The Daily News, April 21, 2020
Coronavirus testing site opens
Drive-thru testing for the coronavirus is underway at Skagit Valley College. Testing began Tuesday in the parking lot of McIntyre Hall and will continue through
Friday for first responders and health care workers. ... “We plan to have the website
registration up and running by Friday,” said Bronlea Mishler, spokesperson for the
county’s unified emergency response team.
Skagit Valley Herald, April 21, 2020
111 students from around globe stuck in Everett dorms
Distance learning is the new normal for Daniel Han, but unlike most students in this
time of “Stay Home, Stay Healthy,” he’s far from his homeland. The 21-year-old from
South Korea is one of more than 100 students staying in Everett Community College residence halls, although classes are online due to the coronavirus shutdown. “Some
of our students can’t afford to go home, and some don’t have another home. They don’t
have the luxury to move out,” said Daria Willis, EvCC’s president. ... And at Edmonds College, about half of those normally in student housing are still there, said college spokeswoman
Marisa Pierce. ... At the start of fall quarter, she said, residents included 65 student-athletes,
at least 18 of them from Hawaii. Most of the athletes have gone home, she said.
Everett Herald, April 19, 2020
Trends | Horizons | Education
COVID-19 impacts FAFSA completion as deadlines are extended
Amid all of the challenges facing college students this year due to COVID-19 related
closings and cancellations, one of the major considerations for those already enrolled,
or in the process of enrolling, is financial aid. ... “For many of the students there
probably has been a change in their families’ financial situations in the last couple
of months and I think there needs to be a streamlined process in which they can, if
they have already applied, update that information,” Applegate told Diverse, adding
that all financial aid determinations should be “based on the status of the family
during and post-COVID.”
Diverse Education, April 23, 2020
Accrediting body asks for 'critical flexibility' in distance education review
The Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions on Tuesday submitted a letter to Education
Secretary Betsy DeVos urging the education department to extend its temporary guidance
permitting accreditors to waive distance education review requirements. “The decisions
and plans colleges, universities, and systems need to make in these uncertain times
should not be further burdened by unnecessary worries about effective dates of federal
or accreditor rules,” wrote Dr. Barbara Gellman-Danley, chair of the Council of Regional
Accrediting Commissions and president of the Higher Learning Commission.
Diverse Education, April 23, 2020
Federal funding left out some of the most vulnerable
... Sixty-five percent of community college students are enrolled part-time, according
to data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Part-time students
are also more likely to be nonwhite, low-income and first-generation students than
their full-time counterparts, according to a report from Achieving the Dream, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to community college student success. They're also more likely
to be working full-time and taking care of family members.
Inside Higher Ed, April 23, 2020
Job uncertainty looms larger for people of color
Most Americans -- 62 percent -- are worried they will lose their jobs amid the coronavirus
outbreak and the economic downturn it has caused, according to an ongoing survey from
Strada Education Network. More than 50 percent have so far lost jobs, hours or wages.
... In past weeks, Strada found that a third of Americans say they would need more
education should they lose their job and seek another. This week researchers had gathered
enough responses to break down results by race. More than a third, 38 percent, of
Latino Americans and 36 percent of Asian Americans believe they would need further
education should they lose their job.
Inside Higher Ed, April 23, 2020
DeVos excludes DACA recipients, foreign students from grants
The Trump administration is barring most international students and all students who
entered the U.S. illegally from receiving emergency college grants approved by Congress
as part of nearly $2 trillion coronavirus rescue package. Education Secretary Betsy
DeVos issued the restriction in new guidelines released Tuesday telling colleges how
to distribute more than $6 billion in grants meant to help students cover unexpected
costs triggered by the pandemic.
The Seattle Times, April 22, 2020
Commentary: How community colleges can help America recover from COVID-19
... With about 1,000 campuses nationwide, community colleges are a resource and stabilizing
force in the everyday life of millions of Americans. Especially in rural areas and
small towns, community colleges fill gaps in higher education. But all community colleges
pay close attention to the needs of their students and deliver a wide range of programs
and services to meet their needs.
New America, April 22, 2020
Report: Public universities censor social media speech
A majority of public colleges and universities filter language in posts on their Facebook
pages, and some ban specific words to limit public criticism, according to a new survey
of about 200 public institutions released by the Foundation for Individual Rights
in Education, or FIRE, a civil liberties watchdog group. Social media platforms such
as Facebook and Twitter are private entities, but posts by public institutions and
the comments they receive are considered a “public forum” and are subject to the First
Amendment, FIRE’s report on the survey suggests.
Inside Higher Ed, April 22, 2020
Food, housing insecurity among college athletes
Two-year college athletes are more likely to experience food insecurity and homelessness
than athletes at four-year colleges and universities, according to a new survey. ... However,
two-year college athletes did have higher rates of homelessness than non-athletes.
At two-year colleges, 20 percent of the surveyed athletes said they experienced homelessness,
compared to 17 percent of non-athletes. At four-year institutions, more non-athletes
reported being homeless compared to athletes (16 percent vs. 14 percent, respectively).
Community College Daily, April 21, 2020
Politics | Local, State, National
Seeking $15B for workforce development
Twenty-two Senate Democrats and Independents want to include at least $15.1 billion
for workforce development and career and technical education in the next coronavirus
relief bill. It follows similar requests made to House leaders earlier this month
by two members of the House Education and Labor Committee and by a coalition of workforce
development advocates, including the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).
Community College Daily, April 23, 2020
An expensive makeover
... But what the funding for beauty schools does point to, said David Baime, the American
Association of Community Colleges’ senior vice president for government relations
and policy analysis, is how higher education funding is stretched across all sorts
of kinds of institutions. When Congress decided to fund for-profits in the stimulus
package, the fact “that it would be funding a wide range of every imaginable educational
program just comes with the territory,” he said. In distributing the money, Congress
set a formula based on colleges' enrollment numbers of low-income students who are
eligible to receive Pell Grants.
Inside Higher Ed, April 23, 2020
