News Links | February 18, 2021
System News | Opinion
Rethinking writing assessments to foster equity
To bridge racial equity gaps, the Antiracist Writing Assessment Ecology (AWAE) Grant
is working to restructure grading. Funded by College Spark Washington, the grant supports
writing-assessment changes at various participating institutions like Bellevue College, Pierce College, and Shoreline Community College.
425 Business, Feb. 17, 2021
WA budget cuts threaten Tri-Cities college students most affected by COVID pandemic
... The costs of the COVID-19 pandemic could end up spilling over into the classes
available and how much they pay in tuition. The leaders at Washington State University
Tri-Cities and Columbia Basin College are worried the governor’s proposed budget that would require furloughs, salary freezes
and other reductions.
Tri-City Herald, Feb. 15, 2021
Opinion: Supporting students is key to an equitable economic recovery
... Western Washington University and its two-year Community College partners, Olympic College and Peninsula College, serve students throughout Washington with various postsecondary credentials. The
demographics of students in the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsula regions are different
from students attending Western’s main campus in Bellingham or other residential colleges
in the state.
Kitsap Sun, Feb. 14, 2021
Why are local high school grads struggling in college? Listen and they’ll tell you
... Bay-Meyer and her team hoped to help fill that void by interviewing more than
50 Pierce County high school graduates who attended Tacoma Community College or the University of Washington Tacoma and left despite being in good academic standing.
“The intent of the project was to share quotes publicly to help really spearhead efforts
in the community to help students in the future,” Bay-Meyer said.
News Tribune, Feb. 12, 2021
Editorial: COVID has derailed too many dreams. Lawmakers must not derail our economic future
... The Tri-City Herald Editorial Board met recently with Columbia Basin College President Rebekah Woods, WSU Tri-Cities Chancellor Sandra Haynes and Andrew Sund,
president of Heritage University, based in Toppenish. They are deeply concerned about
students who have dropped out of college classes because of the pandemic.
Tri-City Herald, Feb. 12, 2021
Opinion: Christine Johnson: Competition, other factors drive innovation in education
... The Inland Northwest is fortunate to have such a wide array of high performing
institutions with different missions and strong collaborations to serve the many needs
of our state, the region, and indeed the country. All our local higher education
institutions—Spokane Community College, Spokane Falls Community College, Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga University, Whitworth University, and Washington
State University—have been closely tracking and implementing changes in our industry
that are indispensable to prepare for the future.
Journal of Business, Feb. 11, 2021
South Seattle College’s Yilin Sun gets State Dept. award
Dr. Yilin Sun, who has spent the majority of her 30-plus year career teaching English
as a Second Language at South Seattle College and Seattle Central College, has been recognized as a top-30 contributor to the U.S. Department of State’s English
Language Specialist Program. The specialist program is celebrating its 30th anniversary
in 2021.
Northwest Asian Weekly, Feb. 11, 2021
SFCC theater production finds unlikely success despite COVID challenges
There are countless moving parts that go into producing a musical, so much so that
in normal circumstances it seems like a herculean task. Adding in a pandemic, strict
health regulations and unreliable internet makes that task a hundred times harder.
That still wasn't enough to stop the theater department at Spokane Falls Community College from putting on their fall show Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus.
Inlander, Feb. 11, 2021
Sexy werewolves and social media saviors: Spokane author Åsa Maria Bradley preps the release of her latest paranormal romance
... Bradley has worked consistently through the pandemic, primarily staying at home
and working both on her writing and in her day job teaching physics at Spokane Falls Community College. In her role as a professor, she's had to get used to communicating with students
online and filming videos of her labs or lectures.
Inlander, Feb. 11, 2011
Trends | Horizons | Education
Washington state’s for-profit online schools are expanding enrollment during the pandemic
As Washington school districts wrangle with massive enrollment drops during the pandemic,
new statewide data shows that nearly 6,000 children transferred to a type of school
that has faced criticism for closed financial books and poor academic performance:
virtual schools paid for by taxpayer dollars and run by for-profit companies.
The Seattle Times, Feb. 17, 2021
Indigenous and LGBTQ students' mental health most hurt by pandemic
Indigenous students reported the highest rates of negative mental health related to
the pandemic compared to students in all other racial and ethnic groups who visited
their college counseling centers last year, according to new data released by the
Center for Collegiate Mental Health. Black, Hispanic or Latino, and Indigenous students
also reported the highest rates of grief and loss, a blog post about the data said.
Inside Higher Ed, Feb. 17, 2021
The skinny on teaching evals and bias
Many studies criticize student evaluations of teaching as biased or a poor measure
of teaching effectiveness, or both. But none of these papers are as expansive as a
new metastudy of more than 100 articles on these student evaluations, or SETs. The
new study’s breadth means its authors can cut through the sometimes contradictory
research on SETs.
Inside Higher Ed, Feb. 17, 2021
Zoombombing often an 'inside job'
The Zoombombing trend, where digital disruptors join online meetings and spew hateful
comments, play loud music and share lewd content, thankfully seems to have died down
in recent months. As staff, students and faculty at some colleges approach nearly
a year of working and studying remotely, perhaps the novelty of ruining someone’s
day by inviting strangers to commandeer their conference call has worn off.
Inside Higher Ed, Feb. 17, 2021
Politics | Local, State, National
Biden rejects $50,000 loan forgiveness
Top Senate Democrats and progressive groups continued to press President Biden on
Wednesday to use his executive powers to wipe away up to $50,000 from the debts of
all student borrowers -- after Biden said for the first time he has no intention of
doing so. Biden addressed the debate over canceling student loans in the strongest
terms yet during a town hall meeting sponsored by CNN Tuesday night.
Inside Higher Ed, Feb. 18, 2021
Biden takes aim at IRAPs
The Biden administration this week took a step to curb a fledgling federal apprenticeship
program started under the Trump administration that was designed to ease some bureaucratic
restrictions in order to make apprenticeships appealing to more businesses. President
Joe Biden on Wednesday rescinded an executive order signed by former President Donald
Trump that created the industry-recognized apprenticeship program (IRAP).
Community College Daily, Feb. 18, 2021
Cardona takes step toward confirmation
Miguel Cardona, President Biden’s nominee for education secretary, took a major step
Thursday toward his likely confirmation by the Senate. Six Republicans joined 11 Democrats
in supporting Cardona, as the Senate education committee voted to back the nomination,
17 to 5.
Inside Higher Ed, Feb. 12, 2021
