News Links | June 30, 2020
System News | Opinion
Grays Harbor College announces top grads
These Grays Harbor College students all received their associate degrees Friday with perfect 4.0 GPAs. Many
of them are Running Start students who also are graduating with honors from their
respective high schools. The college’s virtual graduation ceremony was streamed online
and will remain available to view anytime at ghc.edu/graduation.
The Daily World, June 30, 2020
SPSCC announces Chief Diversity Officer
South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) last week announced a new role on the College’s executive leadership team: Chief
Diversity Officer. Parfait Bassalé will serve in this position and plans to further
support the College’s core theme of “Equity” and commitment to cultivating an environment
that reduces barriers and removes equity gaps.
Thurston Talk, June 29, 2020
Gov. Inslee coming to Tri-Cities on Tuesday to discuss COVID-19 response
Gov. Jay Inslee will visit Columbia Basin College in Pasco on Tuesday to meet with Tri-Cities public health and elected officials,
as well as business and community leaders about COVID-19. Following the invite-only
meetings, Inslee will hold an outdoor press conference. Markings will be placed on
the ground to accommodate physical distancing. Face coverings will be mandatory for
visitors and media.
YakTriNews, June 29, 2020
Going to college in a pandemic
... Gary Locke is the interim president of Bellevue College. We talk about combating systemic racism on campus and what they're hoping to do
this fall as the pandemic continues. [Audio]
KUOW, June 29, 2020
Former GHC president to return to role on interim basis
Former Grays Harbor College President Ed Brewster will be offered a contract to return to that role on an interim
basis as early as Wednesday. Current college president Jim Minkler retires at the
end of the day Tuesday. The college board of trustees met Monday for the sole purpose
of selecting an interim president, and board member Art Blauvelt, after a 45-minute
executive session, moved to “offer a contract to Ed Brewster as interim president
by July 1 or as soon thereafter as the contract can be signed.”
The Daily World, June 29, 2020
Peninsula College announces 2020-21 Student Council
Peninsula College has announced the officers and members of its 2020-21 Associated Student Council.
Katelyn Sheldon, of Port Angeles, will serve as the student body’s president and Grace
Johnson, of Marrowstone Island, will serve as its vice president. ... The council
is selected by student-led interview committees as outlined in the ASC Constitution
and Bylaws.
Peninsula Daily News, June 28, 2020
State residents invited to complete Washington State Food Security survey
The University of Washington and Washington State University, with support from Tacoma Community College, have created the Washington State Food Security survey to gain a better understanding
of how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted economic security and food access for Washington
state residents.
My Edmonds News, June 28, 2020
She found her home and her calling
... Boiser graduated from Clarkston High School in 2017 and then enrolled at Walla Walla Community College. She chose the college so she could save money and also receive additional help.
“I really wanted to be guided correctly,” Boiser said. “At Walla Walla Community College,
the teachers can really focus on you.” She joined the TRiO Program at WWCC, which
is designed to provide services for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Lewiston Tribune, June 27, 2020
Tomlinson, art history professor at Clark College
Sally Tomlinson had always taught a hybrid of online and in-person art history classes
at Clark College. Then, like happened everywhere else, she had to switch to full-time online teaching
as the pandemic hit. At age 67, she realized something new about herself as she instructed
classes from the comfort of her living room: “I’ve discovered I was meant to be a
cloistered nun. I enjoy being alone. I’m fine without all the social interaction,”
Tomlinson said in a phone interview.
The Columbian, June 27, 2020
WVC announces annual staff, faculty and student award winners
Wenatchee Valley College hosted their annual awards ceremony virtually recently honoring staff and faculty
along with students. English professor Heather Ryan was named the Linda Schultz Herzog
Faculty Member of the Year while Victoria Duran and Alexandrea Bevan-Church were honored
with the President’s Medals. In addition to these awards, long-serving and retiring
faculty and staff members were recognized during the ceremony.
560 KPQ, June 26, 2020
South Seattle College celebrates the unstoppable class of 2020
... “You are officially a member of the Class of 2020, and on behalf of every faculty
and staff member at South Seattle College I want to say we are so proud of your accomplishment, and truly honored to call you
an alumni for life,” President Rimando-Chareunsap said. “This is your story, and its
one you will share with family and friends for decades to come. It is a story of pushing
through in life, work, and education during a deeply tumultuous time."
Westside Seattle, June 26, 2020
Taiwan provides a blueprint for dealing with a pandemic
Taiwan is only 81 miles from mainland China where the COVID-19 pandemic began. How,
then, did Taiwan, a country of nearly 24 million people, suffer 441 confirmed cases
and only seven deaths from the virus? ... According to Taiwanese officials, there
are six explanations why they succeeded and we have fared so poorly, according to
a Zoom Green River College Continuing Education seminar in late May.
Courier-Herald, June 26, 2020
Peninsula College has a plan and they're sticking to it
New guidance issued Wednesday by Gov. Inslee gives universities, colleges, technical
schools and apprenticeship programs fresh options to consider as they prepare for
the return of students, some as early as Aug. 1. It says colleges and universities
in Washington state can resume in-person classroom instruction later this summer as
long as they follow coronavirus protocols to protect those on campus. We gave Peninsula College President Dr. Luke Robins a call to see if the new guidance would have any influence
on the college’s plans this Summer and going into Fall.
My Clallam County, June 25, 2020
WCC students may qualify for tuition-free education next quarter
More students will qualify for a tuition-free education at [Whatcom Community College] beginning fall 2020. The Washington College Grant program has been expanded to reimburse
up to $4219 per year depending upon the student’s family size and income. The money
does not have to be paid back and can used for a variety of college expenses, including
housing and transportation.
KGMI, June 25, 2020
Trends | Horizons | Education
Enrollments largely stable during spring
Widespread disruption to the spring semester did not result in an unusually large
number of students changing their enrollment status, according to new research by
the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Most students maintained the same
enrollment intensity -- meaning whether they studied full-time, three-quarters-time,
half-time or less than half-time -- from the beginning of the semester to the end,
regardless of their demographic characteristics or the type of institution they attended.
Inside Higher Ed, June 30, 2020
How will COVID-19 affect the next round of college applicants? Here's an early look
Most rising high-school seniors planning to attend college believe that campuses will
be back to normal by the fall of 2021. ... And though Covid-19 has had a wide-ranging
impact, it has hit low-income and underrepresented minority students especially hard,
widening the disparities in the higher-education pipeline.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 29, 2020
Presidents' growing worry? Perceived value of college
As Inside Higher Ed has surveyed college and university presidents several times over
the course of this COVID-19-dominated spring, some things have remained constant.
The leaders’ sometimes conflicting concerns about student and employee health and
institutional finances. Uncertainty about if and when they will reopen campuses and
resume sports programs. Awareness that difficult financial decisions, driven by the
recession, are ahead.
Inside Higher Ed, June 29, 2020
Surveying the spring semester student experience
Several surveys examining students’ impression of the rapid shift to remote instruction
in the spring semester have indicated dissatisfaction with the experience. New surveys
published this week delve a little deeper into the specific challenges students faced
in the pivot to online learning prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic and look at how
they might be avoided in the fall semester.
Inside Higher Ed, June 26, 2020
What role should higher education play in combating racism?
... For Dr. Yves Salomon-Fernández, president of Greenfield Community College, a major
part of fostering that growth is not just hiring but retaining faculty of color. That
involves asking how to create better pipelines for faculty of color and taking a serious
look at the “qualitative experiences” of Black faculty, she said.
Diverse Education, June 24, 2020
Politics | Local, State, National
Focusing on skills, rather than just degrees, for federal jobs
President Trump on Friday signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to
focus their hiring based on job seekers’ skills, rather than on whether they earned
a college degree. The order, which was signed during a meeting of the American Workforce
Policy Advisory Board (AWPAB), requires agencies to revise outdated federal job qualification
standards and candidate assessments, which the White House says will improve the quality
and competency of the civil service.
Community College Daily, June 28, 2020
Senate Dems say student debt may be withheld from tax refunds
Top Democrats on the Senate committees dealing with education and tax revenue raised
concerns Thursday that the IRS has continued to withhold owed student loan payments
from borrowers’ tax refunds, despite a prohibition in the CARES Act. Senator Ron Wyden,
the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, and his counterpart on the Health,
Education, Labor & Pensions committee, Senator Patty Murray, asked the Treasury and
Education Departments in a letter how much in refunds have been seized from borrowers
since the passage of the coronavirus relief package in March.
Inside Higher Ed, June 26, 2020
