Fostering success through partnerships and collaboration

Washburn University and Washburn Institute of Technology have a unique relationship – the Technical College is under the leadership and management of the University. It is rare to see a technical college combined with a university, but it is a model that has proven successful in Kansas over the last four years. I had the chance to learn all about this unique partnership earlier this week when, as Chair of the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3),  I visited Topeka, Kansas, for a ribbon cutting ceremony for Washburn IT’s new Trane-NC3 Midwest Training Center for Climate Change and Energy Control Technologies (Center) and a roundtable discussion on productive partnerships.

Kansas state has a strategic vision for strengthening its economic and workforce development efforts. As part of this vision, the Kansas Board of Regents is a member of the National Coalition of Certification Centers, which has connected Kansas and Washburn IT to Snap-on Tools, Trane, and a network of colleges throughout the country that are focused on career and technical education. These strategic partnerships led to the establishment of the Center, which has already galvanized support from business, education and government leaders in Topeka  and across Kansas. Even Governor Brownback attended the pre-ribbon cutting ceremony, where he reinforced the importance of accelerating the movement of students from the K-12 system through the higher education system. Within the last year or so, Kansas committed to paying tuition for high school juniors and seniors who choose to enroll in career and technical college (Washington has a similar program called Running Start). This is an important move for Kansas, because as Governor Brownback noted, Kansas must grow its own talent since it is not currently a net importer.

The roundtable discussion was attended by an impressive list of educators, government officials, and partners from business and industry.  The lively discussion centered around the significance of partnerships and collaborative efforts that foster an environment of success. More specifically, we discussed: 21st century career and technical education; developing pathways to prosperity; designing and implementing credentials and skill certifications; increasing high quality school to college career teaching; expanding business and industry partner engagement; high performance campus improvements and fiscal stewardship; experiential learning environments and job shadowing; and expanding the number of young people who are prepared to succeed.

My takeaways from this experience are clear. Partnerships and collaborative efforts are key to fostering an environment of success. The reciprocity between and among multi-national corporations and small and medium enterprises was clearly highlighted, and they have the ability to leverage resources to drive a compelling vision for economic and workforce development. This has the potential to have a catalyzing impact on education and government.

Community college grads out-earn bachelor’s degree holders

CNN Money recently issued an article that reinforces something my colleagues and I have known for a long time: Graduates from community colleges who receive training in high-demand, middle-skill industries can earn more money than their peers who attend four-year universities.

This is important for a number of reasons. First, community colleges are affordable. In Washington state,  tuition plus fees for a two-year community college degree costs around $8,000, compared to about $50,000 for a four-year degree at a public research university. Many community college graduates complete programs that equip them with the skills to land family-wage jobs in aerospace, healthcare, manufacturing, biotechnology, and numerous other industries where demand for skilled workers is growing. To give you some perspective on how much you can earn with a two-year degree, dental hygienists earn around $68,000 per year; nurses earn around $64,000 per year; and air traffic controllers can earn a whopping $113,547 per year.

Second, the demand for middle-skill workers with 21^st century skills is growing in America and we need to make sure that community colleges have the capacity to deliver enough degrees and certificates to fulfill it. If “only 10 percent of American workers have the sub-baccalaureate degrees needed for middle-skill jobs, compared with 24 percent of Canadians and 19 percent of Japanese,” how can we compete with other nations for the skilled talent necessary to power our economy?

This challenge will grow more problematic in Washington state if our community and technical colleges receive another round of budget cuts in the biennial budget that the legislature will debate and pass this spring. State support for Shoreline Community College has shrunk from 59 percent of our budget in 2007-08 to 46 percent of our budget in 2012-13. In this competitive global economy, we cannot afford to make it more difficult to obtain middle-skill employment. That is why we need to invest in our community colleges – it is an investment in our workforce, our economy, and our future.

 

India: the next market for community colleges

Community colleges have a proven track record of success. They deliver skills training, prepare students for four-year institutions, and are more affordable and more accessible than most other institutions of higher education. This is something that America has known for decades, but more areas of the world, like India, are catching on and looking to build their own community & technical college systems.

India is home to almost 600 million individuals under the age of 25, making its population the youngest in the entire world. As such, providing education and skills training to  India’s millions upon millions of young people is key to ensuring the country’s future prosperity. India’s vision for a community college system addresses the need for skills development, student mobility, partnerships with business and industry, and a host of other factors.

Shoreline Community College’s Director of eLearning, Ann Garnsey-Harter, and I recently had the opportunity to visit India as part of a delegation sponsored by the Indian government and the U.S. State Department. I was honored to be part of a panel discussion titled, “Mainstreaming Skills Education: creating a relevant human resource,” which focused on various topics including the organizational and governance structure of a robust community college system, funding models, strategies for faculty recruitment and development, methods of curriculum development and how to involve the community, business and industry.

From my perspective, community colleges are where the ideals of democracy are realized because, with an open door policy, community colleges are truly for everyone. Of critical importance is the development of programs that provide portable, stackable industry credentials that are validated by a third party. At Shoreline Community College, NAM and NC3 provide such credentials and our students are succeeding in family-wage jobs with these credentials in tow.

It was truly an honor and a privilege to represent the US community colleges at this forum. I look forward to seeing what the future has in store for higher education in India!

The time is always right to do what is right

On February 1, 1960, four students in Greensboro, North Carolina, walked into a Woolworth’s department store, sat at the lunch counter, and ordered coffee. It was an ordinary act that fueled an extraordinary movement. By sitting down at the counter, these men stood up for justice, equality, and civil rights. Known later as the Greensboro Four, their leadership sparked sit-ins throughout the nation and called into question the concept of “separate but equal,” which we all know was anything but equal.

Four years later, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., speaking before the campus of Oberlin College, said, “The time is always right to do what is right.” He challenged the nation to stand up and turn our ideals of “freedom and justice for all,” into a reality. This message was reinforced by President Obama when, in his 2009 inaugural address, he stated, “What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility, a recognition on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world.”

The time is always right to do what is right.

One of education’s most persistent challenges has been closing the education gap. A study funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that children who live in poverty and are not reading proficiently by grade three are about three times more likely to dropout or fail to graduate from high school than those who have never been poor. Furthermore, the study found that black and Hispanic children are more likely to live in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty and low performing schools.

The time is always right to do what is right.

Now, more than ever, we need Americans to choose careers in public service. Our children need dedicated teachers; our cities and towns need loyal citizens in law enforcement and emergency medical services; our government needs talent to ensure our future prosperity. In addition to domestic service, it is my hope that more Americans will choose careers in foreign service. We need you to learn to speak languages and understand the cultures of non-western countries. According to the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Report, eighty percent of Americans do not have a passport, and those who do have one, for the most part, choose to only visit or study in Western countries. As the report makes clear, America’s national security interests and economic vitality are at risk by this statistic. More than ever, we need Americans to choose careers of service. Our nation needs you. Our world needs you.

The great Sam Cooke once sang, “Oh there been times that I thought I couldn’t last for long. But now I think I’m able to carry on. It’s been a long, a long time coming. But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will.”

I hope we all take to heart the words of Sam Cooke, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and President Obama. It is time to seize the opportunity to take on the challenges facing our communities, our nation, and the world.

Counting our blessings

On a recent trip to China, I was deeply touched by the stories of two young boys named Sha Muo Go and Luo Ri Ha. These two young boys exemplify the hopes and challenges of many young people the world over. They go without nutritious meals on a daily basis, and their access to quality education is limited. In spite of these challenges, these boys understand the value of education. So much so, they walk over 19 miles a day to attend school so that one day they will have a better life. Additionally, thanks to the generous support of private Chinese citizens and, recently, the Chinese government, Go and Ha receive a healthy meal at school every day through a free lunch program.

This story underscores the importance of family and community in ensuring youth have access to quality education and nutrition during their developmental years. The free lunch program, which began when a few citizens came together to do good, is a reminder that it truly takes all of us to support our children’s success.

Closing the skills gap in manufacturing

According to the Seattle Jobs initiative (SJI), Shoreline Community College is delivering highly-skilled workers to the manufacturing industry through our National Association of Manufacturers-endorsed CNC Machining Program. A report issued by SJI reveals the manufacturing industry is booming in King County. While at the national level, employment in manufacturing is expected to decrease by 5.3 percent in the next decade, King County can expect a 10.9 percent increase  – making this one of the best areas for manufacturing in the entire country.

The CNC Machining Program is one of Shoreline’s strongest professional-technical programs. What makes it so strong? A+ accreditation scores from the National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS) and 100 percent employment following completion of the program. Third-party NIMS certification gives students proof that the degree they earn at Shoreline Community College has provided them with the skills employers need.

I am pleased SJI recognizes the commitment of this College to work with business and industry to ensure curriculum is aligned with industry needs. Whenever we can closely tie the education and training we provide to industry and then have third-party certification of those skills, the students win.  When the students win, their families win, the economy wins, everybody wins.

Read more about the SJI report here. Learn about the CNC Machining Program here.

Honoring Our Veterans

This Veterans Day, we salute the veterans who have served our country and are in our classrooms. Our veteran men and women have served our country with honor, and today I want to share with you how Shoreline Community College is helping veteran students transition from combat, to campus, to community through services and programs provided by our Office of Special Services. Over the last three years, we’ve seen a 48 percent increase in veteran students served. We expect this to continue to increase as more active duty military service members return from overseas and our military operations downsize.

As a U.S. Department of Education Center of Excellence for Veteran Student Success, Shoreline is using a multi-faceted approach that focuses on mitigating barriers faced by veterans during the transition from military service to the classroom and the community. We provide enhanced entry support; tuition waivers; disability services; assistance with securing internships, employment, and transfer to four-year institutions; and so much more.

Critical components of the Veterans Program include:

• Veteran Specific Counseling – Academic advising and personal counseling, veteran-specific orientation, and related support throughout attendance at SCC. Also offering workshops for faculty and staff and assistance to student veterans as they transfer to four-year institutions or re-engage in the community.
• Peer Mentoring – Provide opportunities for new student veterans to connect with veterans who are already successfully navigating the campus system.
• Veterans Resource Center – A quiet area where student veterans can gather, study, hold club meetings, and connect with each other. The VRC is staffed by VA work-study students and currently has four computer workstations and a 40-inch touch-screen tabletop computer for group use.
• Campus Veterans Education Team – A college-wide advisory group that oversees the campus’ efforts to remove barriers student veterans face as they transition to campus life.

For many veterans, these services make a big difference. Take SCC alumni and veteran Fred Austin. Over thirty years after serving his country in the Vietnam War, Fred became unemployed and was in need of re-training. He enrolled in the CNC Machining course at Shoreline and was met with one-on-one basic skills training, financial resources, career navigator services, and a supportive community. Now he has a full-time job with benefits that allows him to support his family.

With the right resources, Shoreline’s veteran students are succeeding in what is often a difficult transition to civilian life. These brave men and women have sacrificed so much on behalf of our country. Let us honor them today.