News Links | September 21, 2021
System News | Opinion
How it feels to join a nursing program at Campus Zero
In the winter of 2020, I interviewed for the associate dean of nursing position at
Lake Washington Institute of Technology (LWTech). On Friday March 6, 2020, I received a call asking if I would start on March 9. Little
did I know that nursing students in clinicals at a long-term healthcare facility would
soon be at the center of the first U.S. Covid-19 outbreak ...
Community College Daily, Sept. 20, 2021
Yakima Valley College starts fall quarter with limited in-person classes
Yakima Valley College begins its first day of classes for the fall quarter Monday. Most classes will remain
online only, but a limited number of hybrid classes will bring some students back
to campus. This quarter, certain theater, music and clay classes will have in-person
components, as well as some science labs, Dean of Arts and Sciences Kerrie Cavaness
said.
Yakima Herald, Sept. 20, 2021
Wenatchee Valley College extends vaccination deadline
[Wenatchee Valley College] has updated student vaccination requirements and extended the student vaccination
deadline until Nov. 1. Students must either attest that they are fully vaccinated
by Nov. 1 or complete a medical or religious exemption form and have it approved by
Nov. 1.
News Radio 560 KPQ, Sept. 19, 2021
Home Away from Home exhibit opens Sept. 22 in The Gallery at TCC
“Home Away from Home,” an exhibit by photographer and [Tacoma Community College] art professor Alice Di Certo, explores the stories of local immigrants, refugees
and undocumented citizens through photo essays and interviews.
Suburban Times, Sept. 19, 2021
Everett Community College cancels $1.2 million in student debt
Everett Community College is forgiving $1.2 million in student debt accumulated during the pandemic. EvCC is
using institutional Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) to cancel student
debt for 3,442 students who attended classes spring quarter 2020 through summer quarter
2021.
Patch, Sept. 18, 2021
Demand for COVID testing grows in Yakima Valley, rest of the state
Demand for COVID testing has increased in the Yakima Valley and statewide as infection
rates have increased. The community testing site at Yakima Valley College tested an average of 612 people a day from Monday through Friday this week, with
the Sunnyside site picking up another 250 people a day.
Yakima Herald, Sept. 17, 2021
Eastern Washington colleges begin crackdown on submission of student, staff vaccine statuses
... The Community Colleges of Spokane have taken an approach similar to WSU’s, requiring students to attest to their vaccination
status in order to register for winter quarter classes, while employees are also bound
to the state’s Oct. 18 deadline. ... Meanwhile, 1,893 out of 6,524 enrolled Spokane Community College students (29%) have attested ... At Spokane Falls Community College, 1,287 out of 3,747 enrolled students (34.3%) have attested.
Spokesman-Review, Sept. 17, 2021
Big Bend Community College enrollment down; professor leaves
The unexpected resignation of a Big Bend Community College professor has forced the school to cancel a program this fall and prompt a hunt for
a replacement. BBCC Communications Director Matt Killebrew said that because of privacy
concerns, he could not release the name of the instructor, the reasons the instructor
resigned, or the program affected.
Columbia Basin Herald, Sept. 16, 2021
Trends | Horizons | Education
GAO report: Office of Federal Student Aid is understaffed
The Office of Federal Student Aid at the Department of Education is understaffed,
as its staffing levels haven’t kept pace with the growing student loan portfolio,
according to findings by the Government Accountability Office. From fiscal year 2010
to 2019, FSA’s Direct Loan volume increased 450 percent and the number of borrowers
increased 150 percent, but the number of staff increased only 6 percent during that
time frame.
Inside Higher Ed, Sept. 21, 2021
Survey: Students support vaccines, mask mandates
A new survey has found that students support vaccine and mask requirements. College
Pulse conducted the survey for Kaplan. Of the 1,001 college students across the United
States polled this month, 72 percent support colleges requiring students to be vaccinated
if they want to attend in-person classes.
Inside Higher Ed, Sept. 20, 2021
Report: Community colleges drive workforce education, training
A new survey found that community colleges, and especially their noncredit programs,
play an outsize role in providing job-focused education. Opportunity America, a Washington,
D.C., think tank focused on economic mobility, explained the survey findings in an
accompanying policy report released Tuesday.
Inside Higher Ed, Sept. 16, 2021
Politics | Local, State, National
A 'forceful voice' for community college
Jill Biden returned to in-person teaching at Northern Virginia Community College this
fall. The first lady, an English and writing professor, taught online last semester
and spoke widely and publicly about her eagerness to come back to the classroom.
Inside Higher Ed, Sept. 21, 2021