News Links | January 28, 2020
System News | Opinion
WCC awarded grant for Salish Sea project
Whatcom Community College was awarded a $100,000 grant from the highly-competitive National Endowment for the
Humanities. The college was awarded the grant for a project called “Situating Ourselves
in the Salish Sea,” which will leverage digital mapping technology to investigate
and contextualize the cultural heritage of the Salish Sea region. The project will
include creation of digital story maps and a series of new cross-discipline Salish
Sea courses.
KGMI, Jan, 27, 2020
EDC offers business management and leadership with Skagit Valley College
Higher-wage employment can be open to many who learn the skills of business management
and leadership. The San Juan County Economic Development Council invites workers in
the San Juan Islands to join in a “Business Management and Leadership Skills” course;
business owners and managers are also encouraged to enroll employees. This for-credit
course will be offered at greatly reduced cost thanks to generous grants from our
funders — including the Town of Friday Harbor — and is offered in partnership with
Skagit Valley College.
The Islands' Sounder, Jan. 27, 2020
Recredentialed: Barriers face Washington’s immigrant, refugee professionals
... That was until her refugee resettlement agency pointed her toward Highline College’s Welcome Back Center, where she now works as the program coordinator as she works
toward getting Washington credentials. The Welcome Back Center provides resources
and guidance for immigrants and refugees with professional certification as they navigate
the complicated bureaucracy and red tape that typifies the experience. Located in
Des Moines, the center is one of two in Washington. There are only nine such centers
across the country.
Kent Reporter, Jan. 26, 2020
Vice-president of instruction planning retirement in April
Sharon Buck has announced that she will retire as Peninsula College’s vice-president of instruction in April of this year. Buck has been a vice-president
at the college since January of 2016. According to a press release, she is retiring
due to family health concerns. “Family needs come first,” Buck said. “I am sorry to
go, but know it is necessary. We have a lot to accomplish in the short time before
I leave, and I have faith that we can accomplish most of it.”
Peninsula Daily News, Jan. 26, 2020
Centralia College hosts Cultural Café to honor international students
Students involved in Centralia College’s International programs hosted a Cultural Café Thursday afternoon at the TransAlta
Commons in Centralia. The event kicked off with a student lead presentation that highlighted
celebrations surrounding the Lunar New Year, which officially begins January 25 and
last for two weeks in countries across Asia. “We have international students on our
campus, and they all bring their own unique perspectives to the domestic students
that are here,” said Lahju Nankani, Director of the International program. “In this
day and age it’s all about collectiveness.”
The Daily Chronicle, Jan. 24, 2020
New executive director for institutional advancement joins WCC
Eva Schulte has recently joined the staff at Whatcom Community College. Prior to joining the team at Whatcom as executive director for institutional advancement,
Schulte was vice president for economic opportunity at Travois Inc. where she led
impact investing with indigenous communities nationally. She was also president and
CEO of the non-profit organization Communities Creating Opportunity in Kansas City.
The Bellingham Business Journal, Jan. 24, 2020
Trends | Horizons | Education
Growing student debt burden for parents
A new study adds to growing concerns about a federal program that allows parents to
take out loans to help finance their children’s undergraduate education. Roughly 3.6 million
parents had taken out $96 billion in outstanding loans under the federal Parent PLUS
program as of late last year, the study from Trellis Research said. Parent PLUS loans
now account for about a quarter of total federal lending for undergraduates, a share
that grew from 14 percent in 2012-13.
Inside Higher Ed, Jan. 28, 2020
The aging faculty
CUPA-HR on Friday published a new research brief on “The Aging of the Tenure-Track
Faculty in Higher Education: Implications for Succession and Diversity.” The median
age of the U.S. labor force is 42 years, versus 49 for tenure-track professors, the
report says. Similarly, compared to the general working population, significantly
more faculty members are age 55 or older (23 percent in general versus 37 percent
in academe). Consistent with other research, the brief says that women and minorities
are underrepresented among professors, particularly those more senior. Women make
up just 25 percent of tenure-track faculty members older than 55, for example, while
racial minorities are just 16 percent.
Inside Higher Ed, Jan. 27, 2020
A legal challenge for inclusive access
Inclusive access programs, where students are automatically billed for their course
materials, are increasingly big business for leading textbook publishers and college
bookstores. But for independent, off-campus bookstores, inclusive access programs
could spell a death knell. ... To automatically bill students for course materials,
U.S. Department of Education regulations say colleges must offer these materials below
a competitive market rate and must also give students a way to opt out of the program.
Inside Higher Ed, Jan. 27, 2020
What’s the key to the nation’s future economic success? Apprenticeships
A steady stream of employers comes to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to talk about
how difficult it is to find a skilled workforce, according to John Ladd, head of the
DOL’s Office of Apprenticeship. “We see this every day,” he told the audience at the
American Association of Community Colleges’ (AACC) Workforce Development Institute
(WDI). There are 7.2 million unfilled jobs – in everything from manufacturing, to
water treatment, to 5G telecommunications, Ladd said. “The inability to find a skilled
workforce is limiting their ability to expand their companies,” he said. But Ladd
added that there is a way to solve this problem and create a talent pipeline: apprenticeships.
“Apprenticeships should be in everybody’s toolkit,” he said.
Community College Daily, Jan. 27, 2020
The workforce needs massive upskilling
... Other countries, such as Germany and Austria, do a good job of helping students
make the transition from school to work, Bonvillian said. But in the U.S., workforce
education is not a “system.” “Workers don’t know what skills they need, educators
don’t know what skills to educate for, and employers don’t know the skills workers
have,” he said. He encouraged colleges to incorporate new technologies into their
instruction, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, computer gaming, simulation
models, blockchain certification systems and the use of digital tutors with AI capabilities.
Community College Daily, Jan. 24, 2020
Politics | Local, State, National
Rep. Stokesbary revives effort to allow college athletes to receive fair compensation
Rep. Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn, is reviving his effort to allow college athletes to
receive fair compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness. Last January,
the 31st District lawmaker introduced House Bill 1084, the first piece of state legislation
in the country that would have permitted college athletes to be paid. This year, Stokesbary
is offering a new version of HB 1084 that mirrors California’s “Fair Pay to Play Act,”
which was signed into law last year. The new version of the bill is scheduled to be
heard in the House College and Workforce Development Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 28
at 1:30 p.m.
Auburn Reporter, Jan. 26, 2020