News Links | February 6, 2020

System News | Opinion

Green River College president selected for Aspen Institute’s New Presidents Fellowship for Community College Excellence

Green River College President Suzanne M. Johnson has been selected to join the inaugural class of the Aspen New Presidents Fellowship, a new initiative designed to support community college presidents in the early years of their tenure to accelerate transformational change on behalf of students. President Johnson is one of 25 Aspen Fellows selected from more than 100 applicants for this opportunity, which is fully funded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and run by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. 
Auburn Examiner, Feb. 5, 2020

A tasty Lunar New Year

Renton Technical College got a tasty start to the new year with the 2020 Celebrity Chef event, that featured a Lunar New Year performance of the Lion Dance from The International Lion Dance and Martial Arts Team, Jan. 28. Guests also had appetizers made by RTC students and a multicourse meal from Chef Angie Mar with the help of students. Advanced Sommelier Christopher Chan was the emcee and helped pair the courses with different wines.
Renton Reporter, Feb. 5, 2020

Community, technical college board to hear applied bachelor’s degree proposals, hold study session on employee diversity

The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges will meet for its regular business meeting Thursday, Feb. 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Board members will hear six applied bachelor’s degree proposals from five colleges and hold a study session on community and technical college employee diversity. The applied bachelor’s degree proposals are: Health Physics at Columbia Basin College (Pasco), Cyber Security at Clover Park Technical College (Lakewood),  Mechatronics at Clover Park Technical College, Advanced Manufacturing at Edmonds Community College, Management-Entrepreneurship at Lake Washington Institute of Technology (Kirkland) and Accounting with International Accounting at North Seattle College.
The Suburban Times, Feb. 5, 2020

Edmonds CC collects 22,500 food donations to help feed hungry students

Edmonds Community College said it collected a record-breaking 22,512 food items through its third annual food drive. Donations were divided equally between the college’s food pantry and the Foundation for Edmonds School District’s Nourishing Network, which provides meals for hungry and homeless students in the school district. Dr. Terry Cox, Edmonds CC’s vice president for workforce development and training, started the food drive to address the gap in donations between the end of summer and the holiday season.
My Edmonds News, Feb. 4, 2020

KEDA breakfast forecasts local economic development

... Olympic College’s president Marty Cavalluzzi did not make it through Kilmer’s time on the stage without receiving some attention for what the congressman called “extraordinary leadership.” “OC has become ground zero for building that productive workforce that will power our economic growth.” he continued. “They have A+ partnerships with schools like WSU and [Western Washington University],” Kilmer said before noting his appreciation for WWU President Sabah Randhawa’s presence at the breakfast. “We’re working on legislation right now to expand financial aid so more students can get open to that door of economic opportunity.” 
Kitsap Daily News, Feb. 4, 2020

GHC management degree program looking for applicants

One of Grays Harbor College’s four-year degree programs — Bachelor of Applied Science in Organizational Management — is now accepting applications. The program is designed for working adults, with classes in a four-hour block Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 5 p.m. The schedule allows for students to commit to employment and other obligations while working toward their bachelor degree, said Lewis Rucks, Dean of Workforce Education at the college.
The Daily World, Feb. 4, 2020

Commentary: We need to, but how do we talk about race?

... And at Bellevue College (BC), the school held a number events on the topic of race in January — the week leading up to and after Martin Luther King Jr. Day and in honor of the holiday’s namesake. Events on campus included presentations and screenings of the film “Selma,” which chronicles King’s life and others during part of the Civil Rights Movement. Erin Jones, a teacher who has taught throughout Washington and has been recognized nationally as a “Champion of Change,” was a keynote speaker at BC on Jan. 23.
Seattle Weekly, Feb. 4, 2020

Tacoma Community College plunged into darkness as mystery electrical problem hits campus

Tacoma Community College has been in the dark since Sunday, and the college isn’t entirely sure when the problem will be fixed. Classes have been canceled through Thursday. The problem began around 3:30 p.m. Sunday when four buildings on the campus at South 19th and South Mildred Streets in Tacoma lost electricity, said college spokeswoman Tamyra Howser. Because one of those buildings houses the school’s information technology (IT) department, the loss took out the school’s computer servers, phones, internet and other crucial systems. Both the Tacoma and Gig Harbor campuses would open late on Monday, it was announced.
The News Tribune, Feb. 4, 2020

Highline College unveils $30.3M renovation of Health and Life Sciences building

Five Highline College students quickly take turns performing chest compressions on a patient on the second floor of Building 26. Their attentiveness is unfazed by the chaotic buzz of the beeping medical machines tracking the patient’s vital signs and the directions being commanded by another student — or the tour group watching the scene unfold. These students are in a Highline College medical program and working to stabilize a simulation mannequin patient in the recently renovated Health and Life Sciences Building.
Federal Way Mirror, Feb. 4, 2020

Trends | Horizons | Education

Giving growth slows

... Research and doctoral institutions saw the largest increase in gifts of all major categories the survey tracked, with a 10-percentage-point increase from last year. Baccalaureate institutions saw a decrease in giving. But public baccalaureate institutions saw a 29.5-percentage-point increase, meaning private baccalaureate institutions -- which receive the majority of the donations in this category -- experienced a 5.4 percent decrease. Specialized, master's and associate institutions also saw decreases.
Inside Higher Ed, Feb. 6, 2020

Long-term successes, short-term declines

The Advanced Placement program continues to attract public high school students, whose participation and performance nationally in the college-level curriculum and exams increased again last year, according to an assessment of the 2019 graduating class by the College Board. When broken down by race, however, the College Board data show a decline in the number of exams taken by white, black, Native American and Pacific Islander students compared to last year’s cohort.
Inside Higher Ed, Feb. 6, 2020

Universities cancel study-abroad programs amid virus fears

... China sends far more students to the United States than any other country — more than 369,000 in the last academic year, according to the Institute of International Education. The U.S. typically sends more than 11,000 students to China annually. Lately, the relationship has been strained by visa difficulties, trade conflicts and U.S. concerns about security risks posed by visiting Chinese students.
PBS News Hour, Feb. 6, 2020

Report: Lenders use educational data to discriminate

Financial companies often use data on borrowers' higher education to determine access to credit and the price of consumer financial products. And those education data can lead to redlining, a form of discrimination against borrowers who attended community colleges, historically black colleges and universities, or Hispanic-serving institutions. That was the key finding of a new report from the Student Borrower Protection Center, a nonprofit group led by Seth Frotman, the former student loan ombudsman for the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Inside Higher Ed, Feb. 6, 2020

Commentary: The industry connecting students with real-world challenges is growing

... It’s not about pandering to the fad of relevancy. It’s a recognition of reality — a reality that involves not just students’ needs but also a growing movement of alternative credentials coming from outside the academy that have their own currency in the market. ... The Grow With Google program, for example, has already trained more than 100,000 people for its IT Professional Support Certificate in just two years. The certificate has been evaluated to count for up to four college credits. Yet it doesn’t seem to be necessarily feeding many students into colleges — perhaps because more than 50 major national employers have agreed to hire people with this certificate, no college credential required.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, Feb. 5, 2020

Politics | Local, State, National

Governor Jay Inslee visits Pierce College Puyallup

Pierce College students, faculty and staff from across the district had the unique opportunity to sit down with Gov. Jay Inslee during a special visit to Pierce College Puyallup on Monday, Feb. 3. After touring the campus with Chancellor Michele Johnson, Gov. Inslee and Washington’s First Lady Trudi Inslee, participated in a roundtable discussion about the work the college is doing to help students be successful inside the classroom and beyond.
The Suburban Times, Feb. 4, 2020