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| Everett Community College |
Enrollments are down about 4% statewide. At Clark they are down 1% for Fall. Several possible factors were discussed: increased tuition, students getting jobs and stricter financial aid rules. Additionally transfer rates from CC's to 4yr Universities are down too.
There is interest from the state in exploring competency based degree options at CC's. Western Governor's University has been successful with this model for several years.
There is a great deal of interest in Bachelor of Applied Science programs. Approximately half of the CC's either have or are in the process of getting approval for BAS programs. Clark is currently exploring BAS options and more discussion needs to happen as they require a great deal of human and financial resources.
There was also discussion about CC's offering an Adult High School Diploma as an alternative to the GED test which recently increased to $150.Finally, in case you missed them there have been a number of articles about the future of higher ed recently. Time Magazine published a special report just last week and the Chronicle of Higher Ed published College Reinvented in mid October. A number of suggestions, models, etc to "save" higher education. It will be interesting to see which ones gain traction.
Let me know if you want further information about any of the items in this post.
Best,
Tim
I have been reading your blog. Before I started grad school I kept a blog, so I know how much work it is. I am interested in this blog because I want to know what YOU think is important to Clark College, academics, funding, etc., etc.
ReplyDeleteI was glad to see this post was shorter and had fewer ideas to process. Short and to the point makes a blog easier to follow regularly.
Scott Morris, ABE
Scott,
ReplyDeletethanks for the feedback. I'll do my best to keep them brief and provide my perspective regarding issues important to Clark College.
Hi Tim,
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in hearing more about the Bachelor of Applied Science degree. We've beend talking about this in Early Childhood Ed. If a student gets a BAS, can they then move into a traditional Masters program? Is is regarded as equal to a BA or BS?
Kathy Bobula
Kathy,
ReplyDeleteTo my current understanding the answer is yes. The intent of the BAS is to provide additional capacity and opportunity for students. These programs are needed to meet the increased demand for Bachelor degrees that current 4yrs are not able to do. Whether a Masters program accepts a degree is of course up to them but as the BAS degrees are laid out I can't see why they wouldn't.
Tim