News Links | April 28, 2020

System News | Opinion

Edmonds College prototypes, manufactures face shields to meet COVID-19 needs of health care workers

Edmonds College has responded to the local health care industry’s need for personal protective equipment (PPE) by prototyping and manufacturing face shields to protect health care workers during COVID-19. “We are trying to do our small part to meet the urgent needs of our community and its health care workers,” said Edmonds College President Dr. Amit B. Singh. “We’ve responded rapidly and created innovative processes at both our makerspace and aerospace training center to meet this need.”
My Edmonds News, April 25, 2020

Commentary: Columbia Basin College: Soaring to new heights

It has been another remarkable year at Columbia Basin College (CBC). We have served more than 11,000 students throughout the year, helping them learn English, complete a high school credential or study in one of our more than 100 degree and certificate programs. We are proud to be the Tri-Cities community college.
Tri-City Herald, April 24, 2020

Seattle Colleges form emergency fund for struggling students

For some students attending The Seattle Colleges, life under the pandemic is challenging to say the least. The Colleges decided to stop in-person learning on March 17th, forcing many classes to move to online learning models. For many of the students, the move was even more challenging because some did not have access to devices or WiFi. "We have moved an entire operation, 44.000 students, hundreds of faculty, moving completely online," said Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap , President of South Seattle College.
Q13 FOX, April 24, 2020

Wenatchee Valley College to receive $2.4 million in coronavirus relief aid, students to get $1.2 million

Students attending Wenatchee Valley College, with some exceptions, are entitled to $1.2 million in federal coronavirus relief aid. The $1.2 million is half of what the college in total is set to receive through the CARES Act. The student CARES Act funding will provide direct emergency cash grants to college students whose lives and educations have been disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak.
iFiber One, April 24, 2020

Clark College: Summer, fall quarters will be online

Clark College will continue online learning through the fall 2020 quarter, it announced Friday. In an email to students, Interim President Sandra Fowler-Hill said college officials and faculty needed enough time to prepare for continued virtual instruction in response to the coronavirus pandemic. “Our ‘new normal’ will depend on what the virus does,” Fowler-Hill wrote. “We must consider our whole community’s health and safety first and foremost,” she continued.
The Columbian, April 24, 2020

Tacoma entrepreneurs win $2,000 in pitch competition

... “Congratulations to all the winners and competitors of the inaugural pitch competition. The William Factory hosted a great event and Tacoma Community College’s business programs were pleased to participate. We look forward to working together to foster more great talent and ideas for next year.” Stated Mary Jane Oberhofer, Program Chair of Entrepreneurship and Global Logistics, Applied Management BAS degree at Tacoma Community College. 
The Suburban Times, April 24, 2020

Columbia Basin College to continue online classes through fall quarter

Classes at Columbia Basin College will now continue online through the summer and fall quarters. A letter sent to students this week mapped out a gradual plan to returning to campus. The letter is from Dr. Rebekah Woods. Woods states, "For the health and safety of our students and employees, we have made the decision to extend online learning through both the summer and fall quarters. I recognize that for some of you, this may be a disappointment, and we understand your frustrations."
KEPR, April 24, 2020

Community colleges adapt to online curricula

The coronavirus outbreak has presented a number of challenges to every facet of life, as businesses shutter or adapt practices to keep serving their customers. Community colleges in Spokane are no exception, and have made the jump to digital, moving their courses online for the spring quarter. Kevin Brockbank, president at Spokane Community College, says despite the high number of programs provided by the school that are typically more hands-on, the college’s professors have found innovative ways to move their programs online for the quarter. ... At Spokane Falls Community College, President Kimberlee Messina says that the school’s existing online program created a solid foundation to build upon as more programs shifted online.
Journal of Business, April 23, 2020

Green River College offers free webinar for local businesses

COVID-19 news changes quickly — day to day, if not hour to hour. This has made it difficult for local businesses to keep track of what resources are currently available to them, like grants, loans, and more, while they’re also trying to plan for the future and successfully weather this pandemic. Luckily, the Green River College’s Small Business Center is hosting a free webinar on current resources and successful planning strategies for local businesses on April 28, starting at 9 a.m.
The Courier-Herald, April 23, 2020

Unprecedented numbers of college students seek help to pay rent, buy food during pandemic

The Clover Park Technical College Foundation always has had an emergency assistance fund for students facing hardship. In the past month amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of applications for help has skyrocketed. ... At Bates Technical College, the Bates Foundation has seen an 120 percent increase in requests to its emergency fund in the past three weeks compared to its annual normal distribution, Bates spokesperson Chelsea Lindquist said in an email. ... The Pierce College Foundation’s Student Success Fund helps vulnerable students from having to choose between continuing in college or paying rent, child care or even a car repair. ... “We expect a dramatic rise in demand over the next few months,” said Michael Wark, Pierce College vice president for strategic advancement. ... In addition to a COVID-19 emergency fund activated by the Tacoma Community College Foundation, [Tacoma Community College] is dedicating funds from a $50,000 state emergency aid grant that was awarded last November. TCC Foundation also paid to provide 250 laptops to students who applied and were accepted.
The News Tribune, April 23, 2020

Commentary: The true meaning of community | Guest editorial

A lot has changed since the end of February, when Lake Washington Institute of Technology (LWTech) and the city of Kirkland found ourselves in the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis in the United States. We are certainly navigating in uncharted territory in many ways, but while we are all adjusting to our new normal, some things remain unchanged, like the resolve, strength, perseverance and collaborative nature that is at the core of our Kirkland community, and who we are as a college.
Bellevue Reporter, April 22, 2020

Wednesday’s WVC Earth Day also marks ‘Dear America’ release

Aside from being Wenatchee Valley College first fully virtual Earth Day, April 22’s celebration of the planet also doubles as a book publishing party. “Dear America” is an anthology of art, poetry and essays, and WVC instructor Derek Sheffield served as one of its editors. He and fellow instructor Joan Qazi joined NCWLIFE’s Jefferson Robbins to talk about the project. [Video]
NCW Life, April 21, 2020

Opinion: Learning to operate ventilators while worrying about rent

People are sometimes surprised that it takes four years to train as a respiratory therapist. But there’s a lot to learn. I’m now a junior in the program at Seattle Central College. That’s when we start what we call “clinicals,” and begin learning in the real-life setting of a hospital. There are 22 students in my cohort, and we were all excited to don scrubs and get started.
Crosscut, April 21, 2020

Spring quarter at Clark College boots up in online-only mode

Thousands of Clark College students are returning to class this week, two weeks later than normal and, for now, entirely online. Clark College’s spring quarter began Monday, delayed due to concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus. College operations are bolstered by federal funding, but services are still substantially scaled back, with closures to laboratory classes and programs like the student food pantry.
The Columbian, April 20, 2020

Big Bend Community College trustees approve next president’s contract

Big Bend Community College trustees approved a three-year contract for the college’s next president, Sara Thompson Tweedy, at a special meeting April 17. The vote was 5-0. Tweedy’s base salary will be $223,500 per year, plus any state-appropriated general wage increases during the 2021-22 fiscal year. The initial contract will run through June 2023, and BBCC trustees have the option to approve an extension at the time of Tweedy’s annual evaluation.
Columbia Basin College, April 19, 2020

Trends | Horizons | Education

More cause for concern about fall enrollment

One in six students who'd planned to attend four-year colleges full-time no longer plan to do so, private polling says. ... Those not making deposits were more dubious than others that campuses will be open in the fall. They also appear to have fewer educational options available to them than do other students. And they are more likely to be first-generation students, students of color, students with relatively low standardized test scores or students with lower income than others. Taken on the whole, the data could suggest colleges and universities should try to double down on student outreach over the summer.
Inside Higher Ed, April 28, 2020

Study abroad faces a new reality

The study abroad field has never faced a moment like this. Colleges and the independent study abroad provider organizations they work with have had to bring students home from specific countries due to conflicts or natural disasters before, but never before have they had to bring home all students worldwide, as they did this spring when the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Inside Higher Ed, April 28, 2020

Low-income students top presidents' COVID-19 worry list

... The new survey of 187 two- and four-year college presidents, published today and available for free download here, offers a look at how campus leaders' views and actions are evolving as the COVID-19 pandemic and the recession it has spurred become the new status quo. The presidents, like all of us, continue to be bedeviled by a dearth of clear information about the arc of the health crisis and how and when some semblance of normalcy will return.
Inside Higher Ed, April 27, 2020

DeVos expands Second-Chance Pell institutions

The U.S. Department of Education is expanding the Second-Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative. The initiative lets colleges provide need-based Pell Grants to people who are incarcerated in state or federal prisons. The expansions will nearly double the number of colleges and states that can participate, adding 67 colleges to provide these grants, according to a news release.
Inside Higher Ed, April 27, 2020

What if colleges don't reopen until 2021?

Every two years, New Jersey’s higher-education secretary expects the state’s school administrators to present contingency plans for disaster scenarios. Dorm fires, mass shootings, extreme weather events—all types of threats are considered by these college representatives. University presidents, deans, and others in essential management roles have color-coordinated charts and go bags stashed in their offices. They conduct tabletop exercises: When do we cancel classes? Should we send students home? But these leaders weren’t adequately prepared for the onset of a pandemic, nor for the large-scale, indefinite shutdown that has taken place. 
The Atlantic, April 24, 2020

Politics | Local, State, National

Inslee: Washington state parks, recreational fishing, golf courses to reopen May 5, amid coronavirus outbreak

Washington will partially reopen outdoor recreation activities May 5, including many previously shuttered state parks, public lands and boat ramps as well as recreational hunting and fishing, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday. ... Earlier this month Inslee extended that order through May 4, but state Republicans have been pushing for some parts of the state’s economy to reopen. He later announced when the state’s economy would eventually reopen, it would be done in phases. Inslee last week allowed residential construction to resume, provided construction sites meet safety and social-distancing requirements.
The Seattle Times, April 27, 2020