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This has been a good week for visibility for our colleges. As you may have heard, President Obama released his proposed budget for 2013 at Northern Virginia Community College, calling for “giving community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers” where we teach “skills that businesses are looking for right now,” from aviation to IT and health care. This AACC Bulletin highlights proposals for “landmark investments in community colleges,” including a College to Career Fund, a $1 billion Race to the Top for higher education and a First in the World fund to help colleges develop and expand strategies for completion.
And on Tuesday morning, the King County Aerospace Alliance selected the South Seattle Community College Aviation Maintenance hangar at Boeing Field to announce an ambitious plan to support a “faster, stronger, better” infrastructure for the region’s aerospace industry. The five-point plan includes developing a pipeline of trained aerospace students into the workforce. As members of the Alliance, we helped to shape this initiative, which includes “workforce navigators” to guide students into well-paying aerospace careers. At Tuesday’s news conference, we heard that the average age of workers at the Boeing Company is close to 50 years old, and that local schools are preparing only half the number of trained workers needed for production every year.
Our colleges already play a major role in supplying workers for this key industry for our region, and we have been developing many more programs and partnerships. As partners in the statewide Air Washington consortium announced last fall, North is receiving $1.1 million to increase the number of students getting into the pipeline by focusing on aviation electronics, and South will receive $1.4 million to increase the capacity and success of students in the Aviation Maintenance program. All of our colleges have strong programs in science, math, engineering and technology (STEM). Seattle Central has a long history of providing opportunities for students to enter the NASA STEM pipeline: Since 2005, the college has partnered with the Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium to provide scholarships and Undergraduate Research opportunities for students at Central. Through Washington NASA Space Grant funding, the college has sent two students to work at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, funded 18 Undergraduate Research projects, and provided scholarships for 85 students at Central, in addition to two transfer scholarships to the UW.
Surrounded by our aviation students on Tuesday, King County Executive Dow Constantine called aerospace “an indispensible source of family-wage jobs” in this area. It remains one of the most important industries for the Puget Sound. Did you know that every job at the Boeing Company generates three more in related industries throughout the region? We are in a position to create a significant impact on individuals, families, and our community in the near future and for future generations.
Please keep this week’s news in mind as you speak with business leaders, partners, educators and elected officials about the value and contributions of community colleges and our students.
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Green for the 21st Century in Seattle
Innovations in curriculum and operations have earned the 2009 Green Washington Award for the Seattle Community Colleges – Central, North and South. All three colleges are active members of the Seattle Climate Partnership and North was an early signer of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. A district-wide Chancellor’s Sustainability Initiative provides energy, focus and a forum for emerging training and initiatives.
Sustainability is infused into programs ranging from urban agriculture at Central to environmental science, real estate and building management across the district. Students have funded a sustainability coordinator. Campus activities include reducing the carbon footprint and promoting recycling and energy conservation, which earned a “Recycler of the Year” award for South. Last year, the college culinary operations diverted 31 tons of materials to a regional composting facility – which returned the compost to “green” the college landscape.
For more information visit www.seattlecolleges.edu/green
Helping displaced workers to‘Start Next Quarter’
During the economic downturn, thousands of displaced workers turned to the Seattle Community Colleges at the same time regional employers reported a need for skilled workers to fill jobs in the new economy. To help both potential workers and employers, the Seattle Community Colleges developed Start Next Quarter (SNQ), a two-part initiative designed to improve the success of dislocated workers who enroll in technical education programs. SNQ invites prospective students to assess their eligibility for workforce funding online and connects them to a comprehensive two-day college success workshop held at each campus. The workshops are based on a model developed at one of the district campuses. Students who complete the workshop are more likely to complete their training programs and to obtain jobs using their new skills. The project was developed in part through a grant from the League for Innovation, funded by the Walmart Foundation Bright Futures project to serve displaced workers.
Visit www.startnextquarter.org
A coalition of community partners was instrumental in creating a unique training facility that meets the region’s need for workers in high-demand fields, including training for new generations of green jobs. Representatives of education, business, labor, government, economic development organizations and community groups helped spur a land swap that doubled the size of the Duwamish branch campus of South Seattle Community College, located in the heart of the region’s industrial-manufacturing corridor. The coalition then identified critical workforce needs and educational services for the facility, which set the foundation for the Puget Sound Industrial Excellence Center, new construction and a newly renamed Georgetown Campus, reflecting the new strategic direction and community focus. Dedicated in 2008, the PSIEC serves as a focal point for economic development, educational opportunities, family-wage jobs and global competitiveness, and it has won statewide and regional awards.
For more information visit georgetown.southseattle.edu
Seattle Central Community College is located on Capitol Hill, a vibrant neighborhood that reflects the diversity and activity of the city. The campus is minutes from downtown Seattle and accessible from every part of the city via public transportation.
Seattle Central is an educational home for its students, who come from all backgrounds and cultures, and from more than 50 countries around the world. Seattle Central was recently included in a New York Times “Education Life” article that featured ten top transfer programs across the nation.
The college has also received national recognition for its innovative student services and academic programs. Its team-taught, multi-disciplinary Coordinated Studies curriculum was among the country’s first at a two-year college, and is the longest continually running program of learning communities. The college’s 30 workforce education programs range from Apparel Design to Wood Construction and include the renowned Seattle Culinary Academy. Seattle Central is also among the first colleges in the state to offer a baccalaureate degree, with a new Bachelor of Applied Behavioral Science degree.
The campus continues to expand in its urban neighborhood and beyond. The college recently opened a landmark Science and Math Building and a Creative Arts Academy for students in the Graphic Arts, Photography and Publishing Arts programs. In the next few years, the college plans to add a $26 million facility at its Wood Construction Center and an $18 million project at the Seattle Maritime Academy on the Lake Washington Ship Canal.
Located in a residential neighborhood five miles north of downtown, the North Seattle Community College campus includes environmentally sensitive wetlands which have inspired a college-wide commitment to sustainability.
North is the starting point for many students who complete their bachelor’s degrees at top universities across the country, including Dartmouth, Penn State and University of California at Berkeley. Strong academic preparation, small classes, an innovative integrated studies program, broad e-Learning options and a variety of partnerships with four-year schools facilitate transfer and support student success. North consistently ranks among the highest community colleges in number of transfers accepted at UW Seattle, and graduates fare as well as or better than other transfers or students who started at UW as freshmen.
North also provides outstanding career training in more than 50 certificate and degree programs, many in emerging fields such as Nanotechnology, Anesthesia Technical Services, and Green Real Estate. In response to the growing demand for healthcare workers, North has expanded access to training and opportunities for advancement, incorporating the I-BEST teaching model, which helps students develop literacy, basic skills and workplace skills at the same time. The college partners with hospitals, non-profits, and trade and labor organizations to present programs on and off-campus. North has also been selected for “Military-Friendly School” designation by GI Jobs Magazine for two years in a row.
South Seattle Community College overlooks downtown Seattle and Elliott Bay from an 87-acre wooded campus in West Seattle. The college is distinguished by its innovative professional-technical programs, a new University Center, and one of the state’s first four-year degree programs.
South’s Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) degree in Hospitality Management is the only one of its kind in Western Washington, preparing students for management-level positions or enhancing their career skills. The Northwest Wine Academy features an on-campus winery where students consistently produce award-winning vintages.
The main campus features a six-acre Arboretum used by Landscape Horticulture students and adjacent to the landmark Seattle Chinese Garden. The Georgetown Campus houses the Apprenticeship & Education Center, Puget Sound Industrial Excellence Center, and the Labor Education & Research Center.
The college is a leader in instructional innovation: South pioneered the I-BEST curriculum, which incorporates English skills development into course content, an approach that has been widely adopted across the country.
In 2008, South was awarded a $2.4 million federal grant to support student retention and success, with a special focus on Asian-American and Pacific Islander students. In Fall 2010, the college competed successfully for a five-year $2 million Strengthening Institutions grant from the U.S. Department of Education, involving strategies to help students achieve the 45-credit benchmark that is a strong indicator of graduation.
Seattle Vocational Institute, located in the city’s Central District, is a division of Seattle Central Community College and collaborates with all the colleges in the district as well as with business, labor, government and community-based organizations.
SVI has developed the area’s largest delivery system for short-term workforce training and education leading directly to employment. The training center is focused on providing its diverse student body, primarily adults, with –
Every year, more than 1,400 students are enrolled in the Business Computer, Medical, Dental, Cosmetology, and Multiple Trades programs. SVI also offers English as a Second Language, Adult Basic Education, and GED preparation. Special programs assist students with the basic skills necessary to begin training, attain an education and become employed.