Hundreds
of community and technical college representatives gathered in Olympia this
week to honor students and discuss priorities with legislators. Meanwhile,
House and Senate committees kept up a fast pace, hearing bills and holding work
sessions on a number of issues, including sexual assault prevention, student
mental health and early registration for spouses and domestic partners of
active duty military members.
Trustees advocate for
system, recognize students
Jan. 28-29 — The
Trustees Association of Community and Technical Colleges (TACTC) held its
annual two-day Legislative Contact Conference in Olympia to celebrate this
year’s Transforming Lives award winners and to hear lawmakers’ views on higher
education issues. The event kicked off with a Wednesday dinner honoring five students whose
lives were transformed by community and technical colleges.
Thursday
was devoted to legislative and policy discussions. Gov. Jay Inslee gave the keynote speech, crediting the job-relevant
training offered at community and technical colleges. “One of the things you do
better than anyone else is to actually match training with the needs of the
workforce,” he said. “I appreciate so much your leadership and your competency
in identifying the real demands of the workforce.”
The
governor highlighted investments in his proposed budget: Basic Education for
Adults, I-BEST, the MESA community college program and capital projects. He
also cast education as a continuum that stretches from early childhood
education through college. “We need every educational rung on that ladder. Kids
want to climb to different places. We need to respect all those goals,” he
said.
Earlier
in the day, Sen. Barbara Bailey,
R-Oak Harbor outlined her goals as Senate
Higher Education Committee chair. Her priorities include student
completion, year-round access to higher education, reduced student debt and
less need for remediation. She credited community and technical colleges for being
accessible and affordable. “There’s nothing that warms my heart more than being
on a community or technical college campus…the feeling of being on a campus
where you know a lot of people are really thrilled to be there,” she said.
Sen.
Bailey advised reminding lawmakers that four year degrees aren’t the only route
to success. “Not every student is destined for a four-year degree, and that’s
ok. We have the opportunity to educate in a way that gives people the tools to
go out and be successful.”
House members hear testimony
on new grant program, early registration, mental health task force
Jan. 28 —
Members of the House Higher Education
Committee heard testimony on bills that would create a new grant contract
program, require colleges and universities to make early registration available
to spouses and domestic partners of active duty members of the military, and create
a task force on mental health and suicide prevention in higher education.
Scott Copeland,
SBCTC student services policy associate, testified on HB
1154,
a “pay as you earn” proposal. The bill would replace the State Need Grant and
College Bound Scholarship programs with “Affordable College for Everyone”
programs.
The new
programs would keep the current eligibility criteria. However, they would
require students, one year after leaving college, to contribute back to the
programs within certain income affordability limits. The goal is to help
replenish and ultimately expand the programs to cover more students since the
State Need Grant and College Bound Scholarship programs are now underfunded.
Copeland
joined other higher education representatives in lauding the intent of the
measure, but expressed concern that it would replace grants with loans and possibly
increase student debt.
Copeland
also testified on HB
1052,
which would expand early registration to the spouses and domestic partners of
active duty military members. He thanked family members for being the “biggest
supporters of our military,” yet expressed concern that the measure might cause
unintended “leapfrogging” – even ahead of veterans. The community and technical
college system, he said, generally seeks to grant priority registration to
students who are closest to graduation so they stay on track to transfer or
enter the workforce.
Committee
members also heard testimony on HB
1138,
which would create a task force on mental health and suicide prevention at
colleges and universities. Lori Miller, a Seattle
Central College faculty member, spoke about her experience helping the
college community after two students committed suicide in an academic quarter.
“Suicide
is preventable,” Miller said. “Let’s get the conversation going about what we
can do across the state at our colleges and universities to stop the epidemic
of students dying by suicide.”
Joe Holliday,
SBCTC director of student services, also testified in support of the bill.
“We
support this bill,” he said. “We pledge to work actively on it with the task
force. We’re in.”
Senators
hear about sexual assault prevention and response
Jan. 27 — Joe Holliday, SBCTC director of student
services, testified before the Senate
Higher Education Committee during a work session on campus sexual assault.
Holliday outlined what the community and technical college system is doing to
prevent and respond to sexual assaults on campus:
·
Each college has either adopted or is working
to adopt a model student conduct code developed with the Washington Attorney
General’s office. The code prohibits sexual misconduct, including sexual
violence, and provides guidance on due process proceedings.
·
Colleges notify students of the institution’s
sexual assault policies at least annually. Some colleges, like Green River
College, have developed video resources to educate students. Colleges as a
system are looking at developing similar education methods at a statewide
level.
·
To help prevent and address sexual assault on
campus, each college has campus safety personnel, work closely with local law
enforcement and social service agencies to provide a web of services and
support, and use a behavioral intervention team to address students of concern.
·
Challenges faced by colleges include working
proactively to implement federal law changes. Stretched staffing and resources
make it difficult for colleges to work on prevention and education while
remaining responsive to students and administering new procedures.
·
To help colleges improve prevention and
response, Holliday suggested a statewide approach that would combine resources
and talents while identifying, adapting and bringing to scale effective
practices in sexual assault prevention and response.
System
priorities become bills
Four
system priorities are now in bill form and have legislative sponsors:
·
HB
1704/SB
5354
– Allows community and technical colleges to provide associate degrees in
corrections institutions within existing funds through an ongoing contract with
the Department of Corrections. The bills are sponsored by Rep. Eric Pettigrew, D-Seattle and Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam.
·
HB
1705/SB
5619
– Ties Basic Education for Adults program funding to a caseload model.
Sponsored by Rep. Larry Haler,
R-Richland and Sen. Barbara Bailey,
R-Oak Harbor.
·
HB
1706/SB 5620 –
Grants permissive waivers for building and student and activity fees for active
duty military. Sponsored by Rep. Derek Stanford,
D-Bothell and Sen. Barbara Bailey,
R-Oak Harbor.
Coming
up next week
Senators
next week will continue the college trustee confirmation process. They will
also hear a State Board-supported bill on waiving building and student activity
fees for active duty military, SB
5620.