March 30, 2007, Ed. 12 |
Produced by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges |
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This Week in Legislative Senate operating and capital budget proposals released
Next week in Legislative Bill cut-offs Floor action And more floor action?
Legislative Hotline Hearing Impaired Washington State TDD Relay Service Legislature’s Web site Governor’s Web site TVW Web site Legislative News is published weekly during legislative sessions by the staff of the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, 1300 Quince Street SE, PO Box 42495, Olympia, WA 98504-2495, telephone 360-704-4310, FAX 360-704-4415. Suzy Ames, editor
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Senate operating and capital budget recommendations released The Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, released her capital and operating budget proposals on Wednesday. At the press conference, Sen. Prentice said the budget recommendations are all about “building security for Washington’s future,” with healthy investments in education, transportation and government programs. Sen. Craig Pridemore, D-Vancouver, unveiled highlights from the operating budget recommendations for higher education, including 10,000 additional higher education enrollments, funding for faculty recruitment and increased support for the State Need Grant, which would expand eligibility to an additional 3,200 students. Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Thurston County, touted significant increases in the capital budget to support higher education and economic development. The following are highlights for the two-year college system: Capital Budget Proposal The chair’s $4.2 billion capital proposal includes $2.1 billion in bonds and is similar to the governor’s and House’s budget proposals. The proposal includes $518.2 million in SBCTC projects ($436.1 funded from bonds). The SBCTC request list is totally funded, with the exception of the Repairs “B” Projects. In addition, $5 million is added for an inflation pool with language similar to the House. The primary difference between the Senate chair’s proposal and the House budget is that the North Seattle/Employment Security/Department of Social and Health Services Employment Resource Center, which was requested as a certificate of participation funded project and included as a partially state-funded project in the House budget, is not included at all in the Senate chair’s proposal. The chair also includes $498,000 in the 2007 Capital Supplemental for emergency repairs at the Grays Harbor College – Raymond Riverview Education Center. Other Projects of Interest The chair proposes funding for Snohomish, Island and Skagit counties with $1.5 million for a study and another $2.5 million to acquire land, or to pre-design facilities and infrastructure if a no-cost land option is identified for the recommended development. The chair does not fund either the Painters’ request for $2 million for their Duwamish Education Center or $200,000 for the Washington State University/Shoreline zero energy house, both of which were funded by the House. Both the chair and the House provide $500,000 for the Chinese Garden at South Seattle Community Garden. Operating Budget Proposal The Senate Ways and Means chair’s proposal, like the House budget, represents a 20 percent increase over the current (2005-07) operating budget. (The governor’s proposal was a 19.4% increase.) However, the chair has proposed funding at different levels for certain items and in different areas. Tuition: The State Board is authorized to increase tuition by up to two percent each year of the next biennium. In addition, state funds equivalent to annual one percent tuition increases are provided. Enrollments: The chair’s proposal includes funding for 5,700 enrollments at somewhat different levels than requested. (The House budget funded 4,650.) They break down as follows:
Compensation: The one-time 1.6 percent cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for 2007 is made permanent for all employees. For I-732 represented employees: COLAs of 3.7 percent for fiscal year 2008 and 2.8 percent for fiscal year 2009 are funded, effective July 1 of each fiscal year. For all other non-represented employees: COLAs of 3.2 percent for fiscal year 2008 and 2.0 percent for fiscal year 2009 are funded effective July 1 of each fiscal year. The House budget funded COLAs at same rates, but made the effective date of COLAs for non-represented employees September 1 of each fiscal year. In addition, the proposal includes:
Opportunity Grants: The Senate Ways and Means Committee budget recommendations do not include funding for new opportunity grants. The House budget funded $15 million for regional opportunity grants as described by Second Substitute House Bill 1096. Grants pay for tuition and fees, books, tools and supplies for low-income students to participate in high-demand programs. Two-year colleges would receive $1,500 for each FTE with income below 200 percent of federal poverty level for individualized support services. SBCTC Compensation Study: Funding was not included for a compensation study. Job Skills: The chair’s recommendations include $500,000 to expand the current Job Skills Program. Equipment: The budget proposal includes $2 million for professional and technical equipment. The House budget did not include funding for equipment. Distance Learning: The chair’s proposal includes $1.2 million for the development of two new online degree programs comprising up to 40 courses to be shared by the 34 community and technical colleges; a system manager to train and support faculty in online instruction; the purchase of rich media tools; and the creation of a single system-wide log on. Applied Baccalaureate programs: The chair’s proposal provides $504,000 for the second cohort of students in the four existing applied bachelor’s degree programs; and also appropriates $452,000 in startup and planning funds for two additional applied baccalaureate programs, one of which must be at a technical college. Other items of interest: In the Higher Education Coordinating Board’s budget, funds are proposed for:
Public testimony: The Senate Ways and Means Committee held a public hearing on Wednesday afternoon to take comment on the chair’s operating and capital budget proposals. SBCTC Director of Financial Services Mary Alice Grobins spoke on behalf of the two-year college system. She thanked the committee for the capital budget recommendations for the two-year college system, both for the proposed projects and the additional funds to help mitigate inflation. For the operating budget recommendations, she thanked the committee for the increased enrollment growth and increased funding for the Job Skills Program. “The funds for the Job Skills Program will help us respond to business’ needs for customized job training,” she said. She praised the investments made in compensation for faculty and staff, specifically mentioning funding provided for faculty salary increments for both full- and part-time faculty, and for part-time faculty salary improvements for both years of the next biennium. In addition, she thanked the committee for keeping tuition increases low for community and technical college students and for providing a one percent tuition backfill so colleges can meet inflationary costs. She also thanked the committee for funding to help cover the cost of critical equipment replacements and for the expansion of distance learning. “These investments will help increase access for students who can’t get to our campuses,” she said. Lastly, she urged the committee to consider funding Opportunity Grants, which were funded by the House and are a high priority for the two-year college system. The Senate Ways and Means Committee passed the budget proposals out of committee on Thursday evening. The full Senate is scheduled to take action on the budgets on the floor on Saturday. After that, legislators will meet to find compromise between the House and Senate budgets. Strategies for increasing student retention The House Higher Education Committee held a work session on Monday to learn about two- and four-year college and university strategies for improving student retention and success. Representatives from Washington State University, Western Washington University and the University of Washington spoke about programs on their campuses that focus on early engagement of students in the culture of the campus. They included providing students with opportunities to participate in small group discussions; community activities; and one-on-one mentoring from students, faculty and staff. “An engaged student is a retained student,” said Kris Bulcroft, vice provost for undergraduate education for Western Washington University. Panelists also spoke of the challenges many low-income and first generation students face, such as navigating the culture of higher education and financing their education. SBCTC Director of Student Services Nani Jackins Park thanked the committee for the opportunity to speak about the various strategies for student success and retention being implemented at two-year colleges across the state. Jon Kerr, director of integrated basic skills for Pierce College, spoke about the highly successful Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) programs at Pierce College, which pair a basic skills instructor with a professional-technical instructor in the same classroom at the same time. “The I-BEST revolution has initiated enormous transitions across our district and very successfully put low-skilled adults on paths to high demand jobs like never before,” he said. “I-BEST is truly taking students from where they are to where they want to be.” Students participating in the program are retained at a much higher level and are often at the top of their class by the second quarter, he said. Mark Mitsui, vice president for student services at South Seattle Community College (SSCC), described how providing quality child care for students has aided student retention at South Seattle CC, especially for students attending part-time. “SSCC is a diverse, urban campus and we have found that child care is critical to allow our students to stay in school and be successful,” he said. A majority of students accessing child care are students of color and retention rates for parents are very high – with 86 to 90 percent returning quarter-to-quarter, he said. Mitsui credits the high-quality, culturally-sensitive, child care offered by the college as a major influence in retaining parents. “The parents and staff create a strong bond and establish that ‘high touch’ relationship that is so important for retention,” he said. “We have a lot of contact with parents.” He explained staff can see when parents are struggling and refer them to additional resources on campus, such as advising, financial aid or scholarship opportunities. Kristi Wellington-Baker, Opportunity Grant coordinator and coordinator of advising at Walla Walla Community College, highlighted the early success of the Opportunity Grants pilot program. She said the primary objective of Walla Walla’s pilot program is to support low-income students in reaching an educational tipping point in one of three career pathways – allied health-nursing, allied health-medical administrative support and energy systems technology. She said the key elements of successfully retaining students are community partnerships, industry mentoring, innovative instructional design, financial resources and intensive “high touch” advising. “The ‘high touch’ element you keep hearing about is really critical,” she said. “This is an at-risk population…a high percentage are first generation students, so they really struggle with navigating the system. One of the things we’ve learned is, for them, it’s not just not knowing the answer…it’s not knowing the question to ask.” Wellington-Baker said of the 48 students who enrolled fall quarter, 47 completed their coursework and remain in the chosen career pathway. Lastly, Wellington-Baker introduced Education Plans, an online advising tool currently being used at Walla Walla Community College, which is assisting students in planning their educational pathway in an innovative and efficient way. This platform is being used as an example of the kind of online advising tool the two-year college system would like to implement statewide. Wellington-Baker gave the committee an interactive demonstration of Education Plans, walking legislators through the same process a student would use to build a plan for a specific degree or program. She further explained that students have the ability to create as many plans as they want, import transcript information, and receive information and suggestions about what sequence to take certain courses. SBCTC’s Jackins Park said the two-year college system has been working with the Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction on the development of an online advising system as one high tech tool to complement other ‘high touch’ strategies to ensure student success. She assured the development of interactive advising would not replace advisors on campus, but would be used to help make the time a student spends with an advisor more efficient. “Technology is becoming ubiquitous, it is everywhere,” Jackins Park stated. “The expectation of success in college is supported by the ability to be able to get information electronically.” She said online advising resources provide an environment where students can explore and get comfortable with interactive technology – 24/7. Hearing Highlights: Web-based advising system will help students complete college On Monday the Senate Higher Education Committee held a work session on a Web-based advising system that the SBCTC and the Higher Education Coordination Board (HECB) are collaboratively developing. The goal of the advising system is to inform students about what classes they need to complete a college certificate or degree program. HECB Associate Director of Academic Affairs Andi Smith and SBCTC Student Services Director Nani Jackins Park presented on Web-based advising systems and how they might be used to help students efficiently make their way through the state’s educational system. Smith gave a brief overview of the HECB process and a walk-through of some software being piloted by the University of Washington and Bellevue Community College. Jackins Park then talked about the system being developed by the SBCTC. Sen. Paull Shin, D-Edmonds, commended the SBCTC and HECB team for their highly-skilled methodology and stressed the importance of person-to-person contact. “We are humans,” he said. “We don’t want to make robots out of students.” Jackins Park responded that the SBCTC and HECB want to be responsive to the needs of all the different kinds of students who come to Washington state higher education institutions. “We know there has to be close collaboration between the stakeholders,” she said. “We think it’s our responsibility, not the students’, to integrate those services. We take that very seriously.” Collective bargaining bill heard The Senate Labor, Commerce, Research & Development Committee held a public hearing on Substitute House Bill 2361 on Monday. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Steve Conway, D-Tacoma, would allow a new group of higher education employees to be covered by collective bargaining. The bill would allow employees of institutions of higher education who are exempt from civil service under the Public Employees Collective Bargaining Act to be represented, with the following exceptions:
Leslie Liddle, executive director of the Washington Public Employees Association, spoke in support of the bill on behalf of a coalition of labor unions and said they worked with the two- and four-year college representatives to clarify the current language of the bill. John Boesenberg, human resources director for the SBCTC, and Terry Teale, executive director of the Council of Presidents, both testified they are neutral on the bill. Both said at the request of the sponsors, they had worked with the stakeholder groups to develop language that addressed the questions and concerns of higher education. Neil Culver, an exempt staff member at the University of Washington, testified in support of the bill and said after 26 years of work he would like the opportunity to be represented. Creating a committee on the education of students in high demand fields On Wednesday, the House Higher Education Committee held a public hearing on Substitute Senate Bill 5731, which would create a committee on the education of students in high demand fields. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Paull Shin, D-Edmonds, creates a committee that will develop a plan to increase the capacity of Washington state higher education institutions by 10,000 students per year by 2020 to produce baccalaureate and advanced degrees in high impact, high demand areas of study. The committee will consist of: two members of the House of Representatives; two members of the Senate; and one person each from the Higher Education Coordinating Board, the SBCTC, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Labor Council, the Council of Presidents, the Prosperity Partnership, and a graduate student member of the Washington Student Lobby. Sen. Shin told the committee that students need to be provided with what is needed for the future. “To me, political stability comes from economic stability,” he said. “When students graduate from college and find family-wage jobs, that’s political stability.” Bob Drewel, executive director of the Puget Sound Regional Council, urged the committee to approve the bill. He said Washington state is number one in the nation in employment of engineers and in the top 10 in employing life scientists, physical scientists, computer specialists and recent science and engineering graduates. However, only 14 percent of degrees earned in the state are in the high demand fields of computer science, engineers, life science, secondary teachers, health technologists and technicians, doctors, nurses and medical researchers. “This is a fundamental mismatch between the needs of our economy and the opportunities we should be providing our students,” he said. David Lovell, research associate professor at the University of Washington (UW) and faculty representative from the UW Council of Faculty Representatives, also testified in support of the bill. Afterward, Chair Rep. Deb Wallace, D-Vancouver, said an amendment to include workforce education is being considered and asked Drewel and Lovell for comments. Lovell said he believes adding workforce education will be compatible with the purposes of the bill. “Those of us who teach and do research at the universities are committed to the idea that everyone should have an opportunity to develop their abilities and skills to whatever extent they can,” he said, “and workforce education has to be an important part of that objective.” SBCTC Assistant Director Loretta Seppanen spoke in support of the bill and also the amendment. John Lederer, associate director of academic affairs at the Higher Education Coordinating Board, and Bryan Wilson, associate director for policy and research at the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, testified in support as well. On Thursday, the committee held an executive session where they adopted three amendments and passed the bill, with the following changes:
Creating the Washington college bound scholarship program The House Higher Education Committee held a public hearing on Wednesday on Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5098. The bill creates the Washington College Bound Scholarship Program, which authorizes the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) to purchase credits through the Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) Program for 7th grade students who are from low-income families. (The bill was amended to remove first generation college students from those eligible for the scholarship.) Students must pledge, during their 7th or 8th grade years, that they will graduate from high school with at least a C average and not have any felony convictions. The scholarship would provide funding to cover the cost of the student’s tuition, fees, books and materials, minus the value of any other state financial aid received. The HECB would administer the program. Sen. Phil Rockefeller, D-Kitsap County, sponsor of the bill, said the state clearly needs to do a better job in motivating and preparing students to participate and succeed in postsecondary education. “As a matter of policy it makes sense for us to seriously work on the goal of removing the barriers of financial constraints in the pursuit of training and education after high school,” he said. “At the same time, the incentive for moving forward can be used to good advantage in motivating students to stay in and complete high school, get their diploma and then move on.” SBCTC Student Services Director Nani Jackins Park spoke in support of E2SSB 5098, saying that presently there are over a million adults in Washington state who have a high school diploma or less and no college experience. “We know that education and training is necessary to adequately prepare folks for the workforce,” she said. “The Washington college bound scholarship program holds great promise to forward this goal by helping young people begin thinking, dreaming and planning for college while they’re in middle school.” Sherri Ballantyne, director of financial aid and veterans at Bellevue Community College, listed three components of the bill that will be beneficial to the families and students of Washington state: It is a reliable funding source for students and families and can be counted on for four years of whatever type of education they wish to pursue; this scholarship is not a merit-based scholarship, and the grade point average requirement is reasonable enough that it’s open for many students who haven’t yet discovered their passions, their talents or their skills. A panel of three students from Franklin High School strongly urged support of the bill. One of the students asked the committee to add an amendment that students must commit to a B average instead of a C because a 2.0 grade point average is not high enough to be admitted to most colleges in Washington state. The students presented to the committee a petition from 800 students and community supporters of the bill. Higher Education Coordinating Board Executive Director Ann Daley, Madeleine Thompson of the Workforce Training Education and Coordinating Board, and Michael Itty with the League of Education Voters also testified in support. An amendment was added that clarifies the notification process in the bill because of public disclosure issues with OSPI providing information for the scholarship program. Schools will now be responsible for providing that information. The bill was passed out of committee as amended on Thursday. Expanding the applied baccalaureate degree pilot program Substitute Senate Bill 5104 was heard in the House Higher Education Committee on Wednesday. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, expands the applied baccalaureate degree programs. Two additional programs are created – at least one of which will be at a technical college. SBCTC Assistant Education Services Director Loretta Seppanen thanked the committee for the second year funding for the four original baccalaureate degree programs. She said an amendment will be forwarded to the committee requesting a slight postponement in the date of action for SSB 5104, but that this will not prevent the onset of the two additional baccalaureate degrees programs in 2009. An amendment was added that changes the date by which colleges must be selected for the pilot from February to June 2008. The bill was passed out of committee as amended on Thursday. Implementing Washington Learns tuition policy recommendations Second Substitute Senate Bill 5806, sponsored by Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, was heard by the House Higher Education Committee on Wednesday. The bill implements the Washington Learns higher education recommendations to establish a statewide tuition policy and specified policy issues. SBCTC Operating Budget Director Deb Frazier spoke in support of the bill. She commended it for setting up a long-term funding strategy for higher education that recognizes the need for stable and predictable funding levels, and also spoke in favor of funding benchmarks compared to similar institutions. Terry Teale, executive director of the Council of Presidents, also testified in support of the bill, saying that this bill continues the progress being made in keeping the financing package pieces together in one piece of legislation. Improving mathematics and science education Thursday, a public hearing was held on Second Substitute House Bill 1906. The bill would improve math and science education in the K-12 system. Sponsored by Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina, the bill covers the main sections from the governor’s omnibus education bill. The bill would: create an after school math support program with community-based organizations; create a math and science instructional coach program; require the State Board of Education (SBE) to adopt new math and science standards; require the SBE to identify three math and science curricula for each grade span; create two new alternative routes to teacher certification for math and science teachers; and require a common math test for college readiness to be used by all colleges and universities as a measure of college readiness. In 2SHB 1906, a conditional scholarship program is created for paraeducators who have three years of experience to enable them to complete an associate degree and enter an alternative route program to obtain a math, special education or ESL endorsement. Loretta Seppanen, SBCTC assistant director for educational services, testified in support of the bill that aims to improve math and science education in the K-12 sector, and praised support for the paraeducators program. “We know exactly which courses these paraeducators should be taking,” she said. “We have colleges ready to help students do that right now. This is the ideal way to go. Keep the focus on more math teachers.”
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