News Links | March 31, 2020
System News | Opinion
WWCC campuses closed but college offers full-range of classes, services online
When Gov. Jay Inslee ordered Washington residents to stay home to stem the spread
of the novel coronavirus, he delivered news that Walla Walla Community College had already prepared to implement: Beginning April 6 and for the foreseeable future,
spring quarter classes will be taught entirely online. I have been at the college
for more than two years and earlier this month was appointed by the board of trustees
to serve as acting president.
Union-Bulletin, March 29, 2020
WCC Health Professions Education Center employee tests positive for coronavirus
A Whatcom Community College employee in the Health Professions Education Center has tested positive for COVID-19
— the first known case of the new coronavirus on campus — the school reported Friday,
March 27. The employee is in isolation at home and is recovering, according to a letter
from WCC President Kathi Hiyane-Brown, and the school is following guidance from the
Whatcom County Health Department. Individuals who are known to have been in close
contact with the employee will be contacted by the health department.
Bellingham Herald, March 29, 2020
Networking - March 2020
... Holly Siler, senior vice president of projects at Second Harvest Inland Northwest,
was appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee, on Jan. 23 to the Columbia Basin College Board of Trustees. She replaces former Trustee Sherry Armijo. Siler will serve a
five-year term on the CBC board of trustees until Sept. 30, 2024.
Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, March 29, 2020
Arts during COVID-19: Home becomes classroom
Lots of people view working from home as a sort of silver lining to the isolation
measures required to battle the surging COVID-19 coronavirus. Not so much for Olympic College art professor Marie Weichman. As the college — with the campus closed — prepares
to go online-only for the upcoming spring quarter, she said she finds herself conflicted
as the professional and personal aspects of her art collide.
Kitsap Sun, March 27, 2020
The art show must go on, so SPSCC will put its Juror’s Invitational on social media
How is South Puget Sound Community College keeping its Juror’s Invitational exhibition on schedule when the college is closed
and people have been ordered to stay home? It’s using social media. The third annual
invitational is the first local show to be produced entirely online. ... He’ll be
using photos, artist’s statements and perhaps some videos made by the artists to share
the paintings, prints and sculptures with art lovers in South Sound and beyond.
The Olympian, March 26, 2020
Endowment carries on masons' commitment to education
... “We wanted to help people interested in learning a trade who might not otherwise
have the money to make that happen,” said Matt Rutledge, Worshipful Master of Lincoln
Park Lodge #80 Free and Accepted Masons of Washington. “The Clover Park Technical College scholarship program seemed like a great way to give back, especially because the
funds will be awarded indefinitely.”
The Suburban Times, March 26, 2020
Dr. Thompson Tweedy named Big Bend's next president; first female president in BBCC history
Big Bend Community College has named Dr. Sara Thompson Tweedy as the college’s 10th president. She becomes the
first female president in Big Bend’s history. Thompson Tweedy currently serves as
the Vice President of Student Access, Involvement, and Success at Westchester Community
College in New York. She has held leadership positions at the State University of
New York system over the past nine years. “I am honored and humbled to be selected
as the next president of Big Bend Community College,” Thompson Tweedy stated.
iFiber One, March 25, 2020
Local schools ahead of e-learning curve
... While doing the majority of the school day this way can seem new to many families,
it’s been around for years, said Lisa Chamberlin, director of e-learning at Walla Walla Community College. “It is just now being acknowledged as a useful platform for the masses and on a
grand scale and in a very short timeline that keeps shifting,” she said. “If we can
put a man on the moon with the tech that is now in my cell phone, we can educate America
with all the technology now available to us.”
Union-Bulletin, March 25, 2020
CBC shuts down Tri-Cities campuses because of coronavirus, moving most classes online
Columbia Basin College shut its campus to the public as of noon on Wednesday to the general public. This
new move comes after Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order. To comply, they are moving
most of their services online. While people won’t be able to show up to meet faculty,
sign up for classes or go to the book store, the employees continue to work remotely. “People
are still enrolling and we’re still taking applications,” said Anna Tensmeyer. “Almost
every service is being offered.”
Tri-City Herald, March 25, 2020
Making ends meet during the coronavirus pandemic
When COVID-19 began spreading, Ellienn Tatar became worried about his mother, who
has an auto-immune disorder and is extremely susceptible to illness. Tatar, a 19-year-old
Kirkland resident and student at the Lake Washington Institute of Technology (LWTech), noted this on his LWTech Foundation COVID-19 Student Emergency Fund application
about his mother, Lauren Shouse, 53.
Kirkland Reporter, March 25, 2020
Edmonds CC to hold all spring quarter classes online
In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the greater community, Edmonds Community College announced Tuesday it will serve students and the community remotely through April
24. Additionally, all spring quarter classes will be held online. Spring quarter will
start Monday, April 13. All spring quarter classes will be held 100% online for the
entire quarter April 13 through June 19 with one exception — classes with a hands-on
component will be online April 13 through May 17. The hands-on portion of the class
will be offered in person from May 18 through June 19 — pending further guidance from
the state.
My Edmonds News, March 25, 2020
Edmonds CC students recognized as top Washington state scholars
Edmonds Community College announced Monday that students Bahareh Rouhijahromi and Hayden Tran have been selected
as members of the All-Washington Academic Team. Phi Theta Kappa — an honor society
serving two-year colleges — chooses team members based on their academic achievement
and community service. Each member is awarded a scholarship, and a number of public
and private four-year colleges offer additional scholarships to those who transfer.
MLT News, March 23, 2020
Trends | Horizons | Education
A double whammy for student parents
... About nine in 10 single mothers live in poverty or with low incomes, according
to Reichlin Cruse. Not only are they possibly losing their jobs in the economic crisis,
they're also losing their childcare and community or college resources. And they're
being asked to suddenly take courses online while also helping their children learn
online.
Inside Higher Ed, March 31, 2020
Presidents fear financial, and human, toll of coronavirus
College and university presidents are deeply worried that the coronavirus crisis could
wreak havoc on their institutions' finances in the near term and, especially, beyond.
But right now, they say they're most concerned about the toll the crisis could take
on the mental health of their students and employees. Those are among the key findings
of a survey of 172 campus leaders Inside Higher Ed conducted with Hanover Research
last week (March 17-19), as the sweeping scope of the COVID-19 situation began to
come into clearer focus in the United States.
Inside Higher Ed, March 27, 2020
Prioritizing the urgent, important and necessary
... Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, broke down leadership’s
priorities into three groups: student and personnel safety, systems resilience, and
continuing the work of the college. “This is the Maslow’s hierarchy of disaster recovery,”
he said. Student and personnel safety drove the decision for many colleges to close
or move to remote teaching. Systems resilience includes bringing large-scale communications
software online and making sure students, staff and faculty members are equipped with
phones, computers and internet access. Now, many leadership teams are tying up loose
ends in step two and moving into step three to determine how to keep the college operational
through the duration of the outbreak.
Inside Higher Ed, March 25, 2020
Privacy and the online pivot
Most colleges and universities across the country have pivoted to remote learning
in an effort to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus sweeping the globe. While
the sudden change is necessary, some privacy experts worry about the unintended consequences.
Ensuring the software colleges are now using doesn't violate the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, is one key issue, according to Amelia Vance, director
of youth and education privacy at the Future of Privacy Forum. Another issue is the
potential for increased surveillance of students as colleges switch from in-person
classes to virtual ones.
Inside Higher Ed, March 25, 2020
The state of online education, before coronavirus
... About 70 percent of respondents to the CHLOE survey said that they did not require
students to take training or orientation in studying online before they took a virtual
course. That varied significantly by sector, as the graph below shows, with regional
private institutions being most likely to require such training and public institutions
of various kinds (flagships, regional publics and community colleges, which collectively
enroll most of the nation's students) being among the least likely to require it.
Inside Higher Ed, March 25, 2020
Politics | Local, State, National
Everything you need to know: Education in the coronavirus emergency bill
Members of the Senate worked through the weekend on a bipartisan, nearly $2 trillion
“economic rescue” bill that passed the Senate, and is expected to quickly pass the
House of Representatives and be signed into law. ... The proposal addresses the needs
of student borrowers who might be struggling now, or who might face additional hardship
in the coming weeks and months. All federally held student loan payments would be
suspended through September 30th, relieving borrowers of their payments in this time
of uncertainty.
New America, March 26, 2020
Already looking for the next stimulus
Advocates who have been pushing for student loan debt to be canceled were disappointed
that, even with a $2.2 trillion price tag, the stimulus package approved by the U.S.
Senate late Wednesday night doesn’t do more. The president of the umbrella association
representing colleges and universities also expressed disappointment, saying the amount
of aid for higher education institutions in the bill is “woefully inadequate.”
Inside Higher Ed, March 26, 2020
