News Links | November 30, 2021
System News | Opinion
CC Spokane launches new Sustainability Center to promote environmental, wellness practices, programs
Getting rid of bottled water on the Spokane Community College and Spokane Falls Community College campuses could save a lot of plastic, history professor Monica Stenzel said. Getting
to that point, however, would require replacing traditional water fountains with models
that have fill stations for reusable water bottles across each of the campuses.
Spokesman-Review, Nov. 26, 2021
Contributing photographer close-up: Sam Spencer
... After retiring from my brokerage career in 2003 I decided to go back to school
to catch up on the developments in digital photography. My choice for schooling was
Everett Community College, where I think I learned three times more than at the private university for one
tenth the cost per unit. I have become a huge fan of community college.
My Edmonds News, Nov. 24, 2021
Physics students lay siege to Wenatchee Valley College in catapult contest
Squeaks could be heard from across the Wenatchee Valley College as students wheeled in their battle stations Tuesday afternoon. “We need some medieval
fighting music,” said physics professor Bruce Unger, who was overseeing WVC’s annual
catapult contest. Physics students at the contest lined up handmade wooden catapults
to be tested for accuracy, design and throwing distance. Results varied.
Wenatchee World, Nov. 23, 2021
Shoreline CC begins construction on new building
Shoreline Community College kicked off construction for its future Health Science and Advanced Manufacturing
Classroom Complex following a groundbreaking ceremony Monday, Nov. 15. The building
will allow SCC to continue to train the future workforce in industries such as robotics,
clean energy, and biomanufacturing.
Edmonds Beacon, Nov. 23, 2021
Edmonds College board commends campus community
The Edmonds College Board of Directors is expressing its gratitude for the college community’s work,
considering the exceptional challenges for the education sector in the last two years,
and recognizes that current president, Amit B. Singh, played a leadership role in
the handling of the pandemic.
Edmonds Beacon, Nov. 23, 2021
Walla Walla Community College sees enrollment increase
Total enrollment at Walla Walla Community College saw a slight uptick this quarter, but it’s still down substantially from pre-COVID-19
days. The fall quarter enrollment figures were reported Monday during a meeting of
the WWCC Board of Trustees. Nick Velluzzi, vice president of enrollment services,
said 1,636 students enrolled this quarter, down 26 or 1.5 percent from the fall of
2020.
Lewiston Tribune, Nov. 23, 2021
Trends | Horizons | Education
2 more community colleges targeted by ransomware
... It is not surprising that community colleges are being targeted, Callow said.
Most, if not all, of the institutions have cybersecurity insurance, and many ransomware
gangs find a sector that pays off and return to it over and over. The fact that many
community colleges are struggling financially and may lack state-of-the-art cyberdefenses
also makes them an attractive target, Callow said.
Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 30, 2021
Reimagining supports to help single moms
A cohort of four community colleges is collaborating to increase the number of single
mothers earning degrees and credentials by 30 percent at each institution and collectively
offer new supports to at least 6,000 single moms by summer 2024. Their initial efforts
are outlined in a new report released today by Education Design Lab, a nonprofit that
designs and tests college program models to help underserved students.
Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 29, 2021
Responding to desperate need for more health care workers
The pandemic has placed an intense burden on health care workers and efforts are underway
to increase the health care workforce. In September, the American Nurses Association
(ANA) urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to declare the
nurse staffing shortage a national crisis.
Diverse Education, Nov. 29, 2021
Commentary: Time for OER
Open educational resources (OER) lower access barriers for students by eliminating
or greatly reducing the cost of instructional materials while empowering faculty to
customize and improve those materials. The alignment of OER with community colleges’
core mission of open access, local community engagement and equity is not lost on
the members of the Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER).
Community College Daily, Nov. 28, 2021
Commentary: Beyond opportunity and grit
While we know that hard work and persistence are essential to success, we also know
that opportunity and access are the true keys to student persistence and achievement.
The modern community college was established in all states following passage of the
GI Bill, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of vets entering American higher
education institutions.
Community College Daily, Nov. 23, 2021
Politics | Local, State, National
A PATH to greater public transit access
In an unusually quick turnaround for federal politics, a report published in May inspired
the introduction of bipartisan legislation just this month that would improve access
to public transportation for college students, an investment that is widely supported
by higher education advocates. It all began in January, when researchers at the Seldin/Haring-Smith
Foundation set out to answer the question “Do students need a car to attend community
college?”
Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 29, 2021
