News Links | October 26, 2021
System News | Opinion
Walla Walla Community College could see biggest loss of staff among Valley colleges over vaccine mandate
Walla Walla Community College has the potential to lose the highest number of employees — over a dozen — among
higher-learning institutions in the Valley due to the state vaccine mandate, officials
there said Thursday, Oct. 21. Whitman College reported few losses, and a Walla Walla
University spokesperson stated no staff left as a result of the COVID-19 vaccination
requirement.
Union-Bulletin, Oct. 23, 2021
TCC welcomes the Islamic Center of Tacoma after devastating Oct. 11 fire
Starting this weekend, the members of the Islamic Center of Tacoma will worship at
Tacoma Community College (TCC). On Oct. 11, the Islamic Center of Tacoma faced a devastating fire that had rendered
the building unusable, due to smoke, fire and water damage. The Islamic Center, the
only mosque in the immediate area, has more than 3,000 members, and hosts daily prayer
services, weekly services and a weekend school for children.
Suburban Times, Oct. 22, 2021
State Board to vote on 4 Bachelor of Applied Science degrees
The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges will meet for its regular business meeting Thursday, Oct. 21 from 9 a.m. to 12:30
p.m. Board members are expected to vote on final approval of four Bachelor of Applied
Science degrees: Clark College ... Highline College ... Pierce College ... Yakima Valley College ... The board will also hear a presentation on cybersecurity by Kathi Hiyane-Brown,
president of Whatcom Community College.
Suburban Times, Oct. 22, 2020
Everett Community College prepares for ctcLink technology upgrade
Everett Community College is preparing for a college-wide technology upgrade in November that will give students
new mobile-friendly tools for class registration, financial aid and other services.
"Switching to ctcLink is exciting for our college community, especially our students.
Students, faculty and staff will have anywhere, anytime access to ctcLink for their
college business," said Pat Sisneros, EvCC Vice President of College Services.
Patch, Oct. 21, 2021
Wenatchee Valley College hosting Arbor Day event Friday
Wenatchee Valley College is holding its Arbor Day Celebration Friday at 10:00 am on the WVC campus in Wenatchee.
While Arbor Day is normally in late April (it was April 30th this year), WVC staff
decided to hold their Arbor Day celebration in October. The reason being that the
college benefits from being an Arbor Day Foundation Tree Campus and must hold at least
one arbor celebration per year.
News Radio 560 KPQ, Oct. 21, 2021
LCC still seeing low enrollment, but numbers are stabilizing
Lower Columbia College still is seeing lower enrollment than pre-pandemic, President Chris Bailey told the
board of trustees Wednesday evening. Last year, the college dropped 15.2% in full-time
enrollment, and then fell another 3.4% last spring and 3.3% combined this year in
the summer and fall quarters. That puts LCC in the “middle of the pack” of enrollment
in other community and technical colleges across the state, he said.
Daily News, Oct. 21, 2021
Trends | Horizons | Education
DataPoints: Education, income and poverty
From 2019 to 2020, real median incomes among U.S. householders ages 25 and older dropped
for all educational attainment groups, according to a recent report from the U.S.
Census Bureau, whose collected information coincided with the Covid pandemic. Individuals
with less education (who also earned the least) were hit particularly hard.
Community College Daily, Oct. 26, 2021
Enrollments continue to slide this fall
Enrollments at community colleges continued to drop this fall by -5.6%, according
to preliminary information from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) Research
Center. Combined with the -9.0% decline two-year colleges experienced last fall, enrollments
at community colleges have dropped -14.1% since fall 2019.
Community College Daily, Oct. 26, 2021
Addressing the mental health of LGBTQ+ students
LGBTQ+ college students face “sizable” mental health challenges compared to their
heterosexual and cisgender peers, according to a new report by the Proud & Thriving
Project. The study found that LGBTQ+ students experience a higher incidence of substance
misuse, depression, suicidal ideation and academic and extracurricular disengagement
than their non-LGBTQ+ peers.
Inside Higher Ed, Oct. 26, 2021
Commentary: DEI and distance learning: Emerging strategies for success
Over the past several years, many community colleges have engaged in training sessions
to increase awareness and cultivate an affinity for improving diversity, equity and
inclusion (DEI) in the campus instruction, curriculum and culture. Initial efforts
have focused on the existence of both conscious and unconscious bias and, admittedly,
most of the training has been staff-centered.
Community College Daily, Oct. 25, 2021
Survey: Many students are unaware of their college's COVID supports
When the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE) at the University
of Texas at Austin first polled students about their experiences during the pandemic
in fall 2020, almost 60% of students said they didn’t know if there were COVID-related
support services offered on their campus. So, six months later, CCCSE followed up
with 120,833 students across 273 colleges.
Diverse Education, Oct. 21, 2021
Politics | Local, State, National
Reporter’s notebook: Eyeing the airline workforce
The pandemic has exacerbated concerns about workforce pipelines for jobs in the aviation
industry, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The industry was already facing a potential shortage of various positions, from pilots
to maintenance technicians, due to retirements, education and training costs, and
difficulty finding qualified workers, the report says.
Community College Daily, Oct. 26, 2021
It's not over till it's over
President Biden told Democratic lawmakers last week that tuition-free community college
would likely be scrapped from his social spending package, disappointing higher education
advocates and dealing a blow to the administration’s college-affordability agenda.
Inside Higher Ed, Oct. 25, 2021
