News Links | March 24, 2020

System News | Opinion

Two Wenatchee Valley College employees test positive for COVID-19

Wenatchee Valley College was notified Monday that two employees have tested positive for COVID-19. Neither employee has been on campus since March 12, but any areas they may have come into contact with will be sanitized, according to a Monday press release from the college.
The Wenatchee World, March 23, 2020

Creative Retirement Institute is going online — temporarily

The Creative Retirement Institute (CRI) is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by going online, at least in part. CRI, an organization affiliated with Edmonds Community College and located on the Edmonds CC campus, is a member-driven, self-supporting organization whose mission is to provide affordable, quality, lifelong learning opportunities for adults in a supportive environment.
My Edmonds News, March 22, 2020

Grays Harbor College ready to register students for spring quarter

While all Grays Harbor College campus sites remain closed to public access through at least April 24, college President Dr. Jim Minkler said online classes and student services continue and staff is ready to take registrations for the spring quarter. “GHC is not closed,” Minkler explained. “We have moved most classes and student services to online to help curtail the COVID-19 virus in our community.”
The Daily World, March 20, 2020

Wenatchee Valley College to extend closure until March 30th

Wenatchee Valley College has extended the closure of both campuses to students and the public until Monday, March 30. The closure was originally expected to last until March 20. A campus closure means WVC is closed to both students and members of the public. The college remains open to employees only. Employees are being encouraged to work with their supervisors to work remotely whenever possible. Those who are remaining on campus are being asked to practice social distancing. The residence hall will remain open to residents.
560 KPQ, March 20, 2020

Music classes face unique challenge as they transition to online learning

Colleges across Washington State now plan on offering their courses online instead of in-person during the coronavirus outbreak. Online classes can pretty straightforward in classes such as math or English, where such courses are commonly offered. But music classes can be challenging. Julie Swienty says she needs the public's help. "We all know what music can do for us," she says. Swienty is a piano instructor at Green River College in Auburn.
KOMO, March 20, 2020

Grays Harbor College suspends in-person classes, services

In response to Gov. Inslee’s directive, Grays Harbor College classes and services are offered only via remote access starting March 20. All campus sites in Aberdeen, Raymond and Ilwaco are closed for public access at least through April 24. At this time, there are no known cases of COVID-19 on campus. "The college is taking proactive and thoughtful action to safely conduct operations and ensure students continue learning and receive needed support services," according to a press release. "Certain hands-on machine-dependent and health-related programs will continue to meet in person using social distancing for safety."
Chinook Observer, March 20, 2020

Businesses come together to support the hungry

When a community gathers together in support of a good cause, the outcome can be downright impressive. That’s certainly the case when it comes to Empty Bowls, one of Enumclaw’s annual efforts to help feed the hungry. ... First, Empty Bowls involves, well, bowls. Each paying guest takes home a hand-crafted creation and perhaps 350 of this year’s bowls were made by students at Green River College (with donated clay).
The Courier-Herald, March 20, 2020

LCC makes plans to provide some laptops for online learning

Meeting virtually Wednesday, the Lower Columbia College trustees allocated $100,000 to respond to the COVID-19 breakout. College President Chris Bailey sought the funds to help pay for efforts such as purchasing laptops for staff or students to work remotely. Kendra Sprague, Vice President of the Foundation, also said the school has applied for a grant through the Community Foundation of Southwest Washington to purchase wifi hotspots and laptops for students to participate in online courses.
The Daily News, March 19, 2020

Trends | Horizons | Education

Higher ed group cheers SCOTUS ruling in copyright case

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled 9 to 0 that Congress does not have the authority to repeal states’ sovereign immunity from copyright infringement suits in the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act of 1990. States’ immunity extends to “instruments of the state,” including public colleges, which are often reservoirs of information and spearheading digital preservation efforts.
Inside Higher Ed, March 24, 2020

'On my own'

Community college transfer programs face challenges both at their home institutions and at the institutions to which students want to transfer. Add STEM to the equation and the challenges grow. Xueli Wang, a professor of higher education at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, explores those challenges and the way students meet them in On My Own: The Challenge and Promise of Building Equitable STEM Transfer Pathways (Harvard Education Press). The book follows 1,670 community college students for four years as they transfer to four-year institutions.
Inside Higher Ed, March 24, 2020

Special report: Coping with coronavirus

Everyone is under stress trying to cope with the novel coronavirus pandemic, but students are especially vulnerable: They’ve lost access to their friends, their campus communities, and the structure and rhythm of the academic year. Our latest collection includes articles on how to make online teaching more sensitive to student concerns, spot potential mental-health issues, and pivot and adapt quickly and efficiently. [Free download]
The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 24, 2020

Staying ADA compliant during the pandemic

Community colleges are facing myriad issues as they transition to virtual learning during the coronavirus pandemic. Among them is how to ensure they stay compliant with federal regulations designed to ensure the needs of students with disabilities are met. But that is particularly difficult in the quick turnaround for colleges shifting their in-person classes to a virtual or hybrid environment. 
Community College Daily, March 23, 2020

Education Dept. makes changes to standardized tests, student loans over coronavirus

...The department also announced that people with federal student loans will automatically have their interest rates set to 0% for at least the next 60 days. Borrowers will also have the option to suspend payments entirely for at least two months without accruing interest, but they must request these terms — officially called forbearance — by reaching out to their loan servicers either online or on the phone. 
NPR, March 20, 2020

What's next: How long will colleges have flexibility to offer online classes due to coronavirus?

Colleges have been moving classes online in droves to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. At first, school officials said they'd reassess the need to continue remote instruction after a few weeks. Federal agencies and accreditors afforded them some flexibility to do that, loosening rules that would typicall guide how colleges use distance learning. But those couple of weeks could become months, experts say, as the coronavirus situation in the U.S. intensifies.
Education Dive, March 20, 2020 

International and study abroad students see major disruptions

... The American Council on Education and six other major higher education associations wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf on Monday raising some of those questions. Among them: whether there is a possibility to extend the status of students whose visa statuses are set to expire but whose home countries are under health-related travel advisories, making them unable to go home.
Inside Higher Ed, March 20, 2020

Politics | Local, State, National

Democrats press student debt cancellation

As negotiations over a mammoth economic stimulus package continued in the Senate Monday night, House Democrats unveiled their own $2.5 trillion proposal, which largely mirrors, and in some ways goes beyond, the plan pushed by Senate Democrats to cancel large amounts of the nation's student debt.
Inside Higher Ed, March 24, 2020

Dispute over student loans helps stall stimulus bill

A $1.6 trillion stimulus proposal from Republicans to help the economy during the coronavirus crisis stalled in the Senate over a number of objections by Democrats, including that the proposal didn’t do enough to help those saddled with student debt. The bill was hindered as well by five Republican senators putting themselves in self-quarantine, including Kentucky’s Rand Paul, who announced Sunday he has tested positive for the virus. 
Inside Higher Ed, March 23, 2020

Excusing loan payments vs. paying them

Senate Republicans and Democrats on Thursday unveiled plans to help students saddled by debt during the economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis, but a rift quickly developed over how. ... Similar to a proposal Murray announced last week, the Republican plan also would protect Pell Grant recipients from having to return money to the federal government if their institutions close midterm. It additionally includes a provision allowing institutions to issue work-study payments to students who are unable to work due to workplace closures. 
Inside Higher Ed, March 20, 2020