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News Links | May 12, 2020

May 12, 2020 by SBCTC Communications

System News | Opinion

Ready for recovery

... Amit Singh, president of Edmonds College in Washington state, plans to deliver a similar message to the countywide economic and workforce recovery task force on which he serves. There’s a short- and long-term approach to determining workforce needs, he said. Snohomish County, where Edmonds is located, has seen the largest number of unemployment filings come from the manufacturing, constructions, retail and healthcare sectors, respectively, and it is imperative to help those workers find jobs, Singh said. 
Community College Daily, May 12, 2020

Commentary: EvCC’s virtual doors open to serve students, others

Everett Community College has been providing opportunities for students for nearly 80 years, through the good times and bad. In times of crisis and economic uncertainty, the work we do to fulfill our mission becomes even more critical. Over the past month, I have been encouraged every day that as we navigate this current crisis our employees and fellow students have risen to the occasion.
Everett Herald, May 11, 2020

GHC nursing program adapting in face of pandemic

When a whole new approach was prescribed for teaching during a pandemic, the Grays Harbor College nursing department handled it — stat. “We worked all through spring break to get this done so we won’t have to extend our end students into the summer. My faculty has worked really hard to move into online format to reach out to our students,” said Carol O’Neal, GHC’s associate dean of nursing.
The Daily World, May 8, 3030

Highline College Foundation launches COVID-19 student support fund

The Highline College Foundation recently launched the COVID-19 Student Support Fund in an effort to raise money to help Highline College students financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since March, Highline College has received an increase in requests for emergency assistance funding to support individual students. Many of these students have been laid off, had their work hours drastically cut and/or find themselves in need of expensive childcare while public schools remain closed. 
Federal Way Mirror, May 8, 2020

Opinion | WVC President Jim Richardson: COVID-19 and a changed Wenatchee Valley College

The world has changed quite a lot in the past few months, and Wenatchee Valley College has changed with it. On March 3, before COVID-19 had been declared a pandemic, we discovered that a WVC student was being tested for COVID-19. While the test results were negative, within two weeks our service district would see its first cases. By March 13, WVC would be tasked by the governor’s office to move all classes online and by March 18 our campuses would close to students and the public for the first time.
Wenatchee World, May 7, 2020

Walla Walla Community College looking inward to fill top spot

Walla Walla Community College’s board of trustees announced Wednesday it is considering asking acting President Chad Hickox to fill the role permanently. Hickox, who was vice president of Instruction and then executive vice president at WWCC, was appointed to his current position after the resignation of the late Derek Brandes in March. Brandes left the job to pursue treatment for cancer. 
Union-Bulletin, May 7, 2020

Dr. Tawny Dotson of CPTC chosen for national presidential fellowship for community college leaders

The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program today announced that Dr. Tawny M. Dotson, Vice President for Instruction at Clover Park Technical College, is one of 40 leaders selected for the 2020-21 class of the Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship, a highly selective leadership program preparing the next generation of community college presidents to transform institutions to achieve higher and more equitable levels of student success.
The Suburban Times, May 6, 2020

Trends | Horizons | Education

Location-based protection

... The legal responsibility for colleges and universities to protect students from such sexual assaults while studying abroad may now be diminished under new regulations issued by the Department of Education last week. The new rules clearly state institutions are not obligated to investigate reports of sexual misconduct in their study abroad programs or provide support to those who report misconduct outside the U.S.
Inside Higher Ed, May 12, 2020 

Reimagining career education

... "The Reimagining Workforce Preparation Grants are designed to expand short-term postsecondary programs and work-based learning programs in order to get Americans back to work and help small businesses return to being our country's engines for economic growth," reads an announcement from the department about the grants. A notice inviting applications gives an example of "course work that would help small businesses to recover and new entrepreneurs to thrive."
Inside Higher Ed, May 12, 2020

Survey: 4 of 5 students face disruption from virus

Students whose lives were significantly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic may change their plans to remain or re-enroll in college. ... Students at two-year institutions were more likely than those at four-year institutions to say they expect to face significant disruption from the health crisis. A top concern is finances, the survey found. Nearly half of those surveyed who said they face significant disruption from the pandemic said that managing financial pressure is the biggest factor in their decision making on whether to re-enroll. The second largest factor is balancing work with school.
Inside Higher Ed, May 12, 2020

AP tests begin online and at home — but not for everyone

Starting Monday, Advanced Placement exams, which test high schoolers' knowledge of college material, will take an unusual form. The high-anxiety, college credit tests normally last three hours and are taken in person. But this year, in response to disruptions from the coronavirus outbreak, the College Board, which administers AP exams, shortened the tests to 45 minutes and moved them online. The new format has raised questions about fairness. For many students, changing the test site from a proctored classroom to their devices at home is a big deal.
NPR, May 11, 2020

IRAPs rule kicks in

Organizations, including community colleges, can now apply to serve as third-party entities that would review applications for new industry-recognized apprenticeship programs, or IRAPs. On the same day federal regulations for IRAPs went into effect, the U.S. Department of Labor on Monday opened the online application for so-called “standards recognition entities” (SREs).
Community College Daily, May 11, 2020

Reserved: Internet parking

... Some colleges already offered Wi-Fi in their parking lots. Others installed signal boosters to extend their Wi-Fi to specific lots for the pandemic. Some have announced hours of lot operation, mainly to offer security, along with rules for social distancing: one space between each car, for example. While various institutions require student credentials to log in to the Wi-Fi, others have invited the greater community -- including K-12 students -- to share access.
Inside Higher Ed, May 8, 2020

Health association issues guidelines for reopening

The American College Health Association has issued guidelines for reopening campuses. The guidelines say colleges “can anticipate restrictions and limitations in activities will be in place for the next 12-18 months, if not longer” and that “resumption of activities will be gradual and phased based on local public health conditions as well as institutional capacity.”
Inside Higher Ed, May 8, 2020

Politics | Local, State, National

House Dems pitch new $3T relief package

House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a massive $3 trillion coronavirus relief package that includes nearly $90 billion for K-12 and public higher education. House leaders plan a vote on the sweeping legislation on Friday, but Republicans are cool to the measure, saying they want to see the effect of previous pandemic relief packages before moving on another one. In the Senate, Republican leaders said the bill is dead on arrival, though they did note they would be possibly open to another relief bill later.
Community College Daily, May 12, 2020

Senator Alexander: Testing levels inadequate to open campuses

Senator Lamar Alexander, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the Senate's education committee, on Sunday praised coronavirus testing in the U.S., citing Johns Hopkins University research that eight million tests have conducted, more per capita even than South Korea. But Alexander said current testing capacity remains inadequate for reopening large college and university campuses for in-person instruction. ... The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions plans to hold a hearing today with Trump administration health experts on safely reopening schools and workplaces. Two of the four scheduled witnesses are self-quarantining amid worries about White House officials who have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days. Those witnesses will testify via video conference, the committee said.
Inside Higher Ed, May 12, 2020

Community colleges got disproportionately less in CARES Act

... The study, which recommended that Congress make changes if it sends more aid to colleges and universities in another stimulus package, noted that the CARES Act funding was based on the number of full-time-equivalent students colleges enroll, which worked against those with large numbers of part-time students. As a result, while community colleges educate almost 40 percent of students, they only received about 27 percent of the CARES Act funds, the study found. Had the package based funding on the total number of students, public colleges of two years or fewer would have received 39 percent of the funding.
Inside Higher Ed, May 12, 2020

 

Last Modified: 9/11/24, 11:59 AM
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