The 2015 Legislature kicked off its 105-day session
this week with swearing in ceremonies and multiple hearings. The Legislature’s
priority will be writing the next two-year state budget — a challenging task. The
state faces a $2 billion budget shortfall in addition to a Supreme Court mandate
for additional K-12 funding. About 12 percent of the Legislature is comprised
of new members elected to the House and Senate this past fall. This means new
committee chairs and, in some cases, new leadership roles.
SBCTC will keep you posted on committee hearings,
proposed legislation and other details important to our students and colleges.
Senate committee
hears about dual credit opportunities
Jan. 15 — Joyce Hammer,
SBCTC director of transfer education, testified before the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee on dual credit
options offered through community and technical colleges for high school
students. The two-year college system currently provides dual credit in Running
Start (serving 20,100 students during the 2013-2014 academic year), College in
the High School (3,998 students) and Tech-Prep (26,457 students). Colleges also
offer credit to students if they score well on Advanced Placement (AP) and
International Baccalaureate (IB) tests.
Hammer also outlined the system’s goals to improve
dual credit opportunities for students. These areas include:
·
Coding,
transcription and tracking to see which dual credit opportunities students pursue
when they come into the system.
·
Gathering
metrics on incoming students’ AP and IB scores which colleges will be able to
track using ctcLink.
·
Creating
consistency among two- and four-year public and private colleges and
universities for credit awarded for AP and IB scores.
·
Looking
at and possibly expanding dual credit opportunities for the University of
Cambridge examination program, currently in use at two high schools but
possibly expanding to more schools.
State goals and legislative
priorities focus of Senate work session
Jan. 14, 2015 — State education goals call for 100 percent of
Washington adults to have a high school diploma and 70 percent to have a
postsecondary credential by 2023. Community and technical colleges are the
catalysts for making it happen, according to Marty Brown, SBCTC executive
director.
At a work session before the Senate Higher Education
Committee,
Brown shared data on the accessibility and affordability of community and
technical colleges. Among the highlights: resident tuition of $4,000 per year;
a 388,000-strong student population with a median age of 26 and a high number
of students of color, working parents and financial-aid recipients.
Forty percent of bachelor degree graduates from public
universities start at community and technical colleges, said Brown. And two colleges
–
Olympic College and Renton Technical College – have been named
among the top 10 two-year colleges in the nation by the prestigious Aspen
Institute. Walla Walla Community College was named the top community college in
the nation in 2013, along with co-winner Santa Barbara City College.
“The things we do, and the things you do to help us, come
to fruition,” Brown said.
Dr. Ed Brewster, president of the Washington Association of
Community and Technical Colleges, spotlighted the many paths students can take
to earn certificates and degrees. “Students can enter our process in a variety
of places and in a variety of ways,” said Brewster, who is also Grays Harbor
College president. “We work with them to complete their credentials at a
certificate level, or a two-year degree level and, in many cases now, at a
four-year baccalaureate level.” Business partnerships, advisory committees and
Centers of Excellence ensure college job-training programs keep pace with evolving
industry standards, he said.
Brown and Brewster also discussed the community and
technical college system’s 2015 legislative
priorities. While the governor’s proposed operating and capital
budgets follow system priorities, the proposals fall short of requested funding
levels, they said. They also repeated concerns that the proposed funding method
for compensation increases would create an unfunded mandate for a long-overdue
need. (See further description under Jan. 12 House Higher Education Committee.)
Senate hears
testimony on governor’s proposed budget
Jan. 14, 2015 — The governor’s proposed 2015-17 operating budget
received a public hearing before the Senate
Ways and Means Committee. Nick Lutes,
SBCTC operating budget director, called the proposal a “welcome step in the
right direction” and recognized the tough choices faced by lawmakers this
session.
Mirroring his testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on Jan.
12, Lutes praised the governor’s priorities and voiced concern over the
proposed method of funding faculty and staff salary increases. For more
details, see the testimony before the House Appropriations Committee, below.
Students testify on legislative
priorities
Jan. 14, 2015 — Two interns shed light on community and technical
college students’ priorities at a House
Higher Education Committee meeting.
Alexandra
Minea, a Highline College student, kicked
off the discussion with an overview of the new SBCTC internship program. The program
gives two-year college students a chance to learn about the legislative
process, gain professional work experience and earn college credits. Minea and
her fellow intern and presenter, Robert Lasker, will track legislation,
advocate for student priorities, participate in hearings and monitor floor
actions. “As student representatives, we too strive for a unified message to
best serve our system and our students,” she said.
Robert
Lasker, Washington Community and
Technical College Student Association (WACTCSA) president, highlighted student
priorities:
·
Protect higher
education funding and broaden the statutory definition of “Basic Education” to
include K-14.
·
Find new,
designated resources to support higher education.
·
Make it easier
for students to use Electronic Benefits Cards (EBT — often referred to as “food
stamp” cards) on campus.
·
Dedicate funding
to open educational resources and create incentives to reduce textbook costs.
Lasker shared his life-changing experience as a
business student at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom. He is in his second year of
college and plans to pursue a Master in Business Administration. “I am
exploring career options that I could only dream about a year-and-a-half ago.
I’m a carpenter. I was constantly underemployed … And today, I’m sitting here
in front of you fine people, doing things I never thought I would do in my
life. So that’s why I’m here to advocate for community and technical
colleges.”
SBCTC launched the new, two-student internship program
just weeks ago, in partnership with WACTCSA, the Council of Unions and Student
Programs (CUSP) and Washington’s 34 colleges.
House committee hears
higher education system overview
Jan. 13,
2015 — Representatives from the
state’s higher education community briefed House
Higher Education Committee members about the mission, goals and challenges
colleges and universities face while educating students. The committee held a
work session on the higher education system, including SBCTC Executive Director
Marty Brown and Pierce College
District Chancellor Dr. Michele Johnson.
Committee members also heard from representatives from the Washington Student
Achievement Council, the Council of Presidents and the committee’s own staff.
Brown and Johnson provided an overview of the state’s
community and technical college system, providing committee members with a
portrait of the colleges’ students, programs and employees.
“It’s a nimble and flexible system,” Brown said.
Johnson described the community and technical college system’s
different program options like transfer, workforce, basic skills and
pre-college.
“Our students come to us from very many different
access points and as an open access institution — it’s really based on social
justice,” Johnson said. “It’s our way of saying every student should have an
opportunity so that our country can thrive and our state can thrive with these
trained and educated individuals.”
Brown and Johnson used their remaining time to
highlight the system’s legislative agenda and budget requests. With the theme
of student success, the legislative agenda stresses basic education for adults,
the Student Achievement Initiative, student support services, corrections
education, a fee waiver for active duty military students, employee compensation
and capital projects.
Gov. Inslee delivers
“State of the State” address
Jan. 13,
2015 — Gov. Jay Inslee delivered his State
of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature. With the theme
of “opportunity for all,” Inslee outlined his policy and budget priorities for
2015 session including education, infrastructure and clean energy.
“We know that expanding educational opportunities,
launching a transportation construction program and fighting carbon pollution
will put us on the right course,” Inslee said.
The education portion of the address focused on the
importance of early learning and K-12 education, while recognizing that higher
education is a vital part of a prosperous state and economy.
“Early learning is the best investment we can make in
our future,” Inslee said. “That’s where we start. But our success will require
a continuum of education, from early learning all the way through higher
education.”
Inslee reiterated that his budget freezes tuition at
the state’s public colleges and universities while supplementing financial aid
so that 17,000 more students can get scholarships. The Governor’s
proposed budget includes additional
funding for the Opportunity Scholarship, College Bound and the State Need
Grant.
“These investments are not based on wishful thinking,”
Inslee said. “They are based on a rock-solid foundation of proven strategies,
established reforms and demonstrable student performance.”
Inslee acknowledged the cuts to the state’s budget
over the past six years have not come without costs, like rising college
tuition. While state government has also found efficiencies, Inslee encouraged
lawmakers to find common ground to effectively address budget shortfalls.
“Some see the road
ahead paved only with cuts to services,” Inslee said. “Some consider only
revenue as options. Both camps will ultimately realize that neither view is the
definitive answer. We’re going
to approach our work with a bold spirit of seeking solutions rather than
finding excuses, and a can-do attitude of kicking aside our differences instead
of kicking the can down the road.”
House hears testimony
on governor’s proposed budget
Jan. 12,
2015 — On Monday, the House Appropriations Committee heard
public testimony on Gov. Inslee’s proposed 2015-17 operating budget. Nick Lutes, SBCTC operating budget
director, applauded the governor for listening to the community and technical
college system’s priorities. The proposal would fund the system’s
maintenance-level budget and include another $18.6 million to:
·
Provide academic
and skills training for people who lack a high school-level education so they
can pursue college and secure living wage jobs ($5 million for Basic Education
for Adults).
·
Support I-BEST
programs, which teach basic skills and academic or workforce subjects at the
same time, in the same class, so students learn quickly and in applicable ways ($5
million for I-BEST).
·
Support
innovations in pre-college (remedial) math and expand the MESA program. MESA — Mathematics,
Engineering, Science Achievement — helps underrepresented community and
technical college students succeed in school and ultimately pursue bachelor’s
degrees in STEM fields.
·
Provide targeted
workforce training in key industries ($6.6 million).
The governor’s proposal includes well-deserved adjustments
in faculty and staff compensation, but it would also create an unfunded mandate,
Lutes said. The proposal would fund about 65 percent of the cost and rely on
college tuition revenues to pay the rest. The $28 million draw on tuition funds
statewide could pull money away from much-needed student programs and services,
he said.
Coming up next week
Next week, legislators will hear from State Board and
college staff on expanding dual credit opportunities for students, the system’s
capital budget and operating budget proposals, financial aid opportunities and
job creation efforts.
