The Sequestration will affect Linn Benton Community College.

LB, and colleges like it, are set to lose the equivalent of 5 full time staff instructors and 1 adjunct professor, as a consequence of the Budget Control Act of 2011.  

While representatives of the two parties in the Congress bicker about whose fault the sequester is, its effects will begin to roll out over the next thirty days and these effects, while only representing 5% of the discretionary budget, will not be negligible to those affected.

Congress's inability to avoid the sequester, as was the original intent, has led to the ending of automatic overtime for federal law enforcement, cuts to immigration enforcement, cuts in education spending like the kind LB faces, and cuts to the USDA putting the US beef supply at risk because of a lack of inspectors.

Michael Houser a faculty member of the Business Management Department said, when asked about sequestration, “I would say that the congress and president should come to an agreement to avoid the sequestration since it wasn’t intended to begin with.”

Despite the rhetoric in Washington, the sequestration cuts aren’t apocalyptic and they completely ignore the ballooning mandatory spending of Medicare and Medicaid. However, for individuals affected by them, they will be significant.

Jim Huckestein, vice-president of finance and operations here at LB, said that, “there will be consequences to everything, [from the sequester].” The only federal funding that won’t be affected, over the next thirty days, is Pell Grants, which received a 1 year reprieve from Congress last year, and Student Loans which aren’t susceptible to the sequester. “Every federal grant will potentially be affected by the sequester,” he said.

These cuts may come as a surprise to students who have never heard of the sequester. According to Paul M. Johnson, professor of Political Science at the University of Auburn,“ The term, sequestration, is an effort to reform Congressional voting procedures so as to make the size of the Federal government's budget deficit a matter of conscious  choice rather than simply the arithmetical outcome of a decentralized appropriations process in which no one ever looked at the cumulative results until it was too late to change them.”

Jennifer Combs, a student here at LB, said that she had heard only recently learned about the sequester on NPR. When she found out that the sequester would, in part,  reduce the deficit by cutting education, she said, “cutting education is the wrong way to go.”

Cathy Baird, another student, felt that, “for people using these programs, they depend on them, it is not a luxurious lifestyle. With unemployment so high how are people supposed to get ahead?”

Emily Smucker said that it was ridiculous that Congress's plan to get the economy going included cuts to education spending. “If other countries can fund higher education we can do it too.”

While the Congress might still find a legislative compromise to avoid this latest fiscal crisis, citizens should know that their representatives were more willing to cut teacher, firefighter, and police pay, then cut corporate subsidies which amount to over 100 billion, over budget programs like the f-35 joint strike fighter, a 2 billion dollar jet that can’t fly in the rain, or even reign in the pentagon’s stealth program, which approaches 300 billion dollars. These cuts in essence are all pain, for those affected, with no meaningful gain for the nation as a whole, the cuts will reduce the deficit by about .05%.

At a Glance
OMB Reports on the progress of the sequester.
Sequestration hurts small businesses too. 

Politico's live coverage of the Sequester.

The National Science Foundation will be cutting 1,000 jobs as a consequence of the sequester.

Profile on Paris

For Joe Paris, professor of Computer Science and President elect of the faculty, teaching wasn’t a profession he was born into. While he was finishing his Bachelor’s at Western Oregon University he learned that the Computer Science department was looking for someone to teach office applications courses. In need of  some supplemental income he took the position. “At the time teaching wasn’t even on my radar, I suppose you could say I sort of fell into it,” he said.

He has been teaching ever since, and has been an instructor here at LB for the last eight years. He was the treasurer for the faculty and is now the President elect representing the faculty. He is well liked by the faculty, clearly given his recent election to President, and is respected by his students.

When asked how they felt about him, one student in his “Programming in C” class, Azahra Keith responded, “I like him, he spends time helping me out of the classroom. When I get behind I know I can go to his office where he will help me out.” Other students in the class smiled and nodded in agreement.

He is also well rated on, the known to be brutal website, Rate My Professor. Students there said of him, “Joe Paris is an excellent teacher. He expects a lot from his students” and “I found Mr. Paris was very knowledgeable and helpful. I found his expectations were high and he pushed his students. I felt he was a great instructor and I learned a lot and would recommend him to others.”

Given the kind of vitriol that normally populates anonymous ratings sites it speaks to the kind of instructor that Joe is that the vast majority of his ratings, going back to 2005, are positive. A good instructor isn’t an easy instructor. While Joe might not be the easiest instructor, he is a good instructor because he will push you to meet your potential instead of dumbing it down to padden your GPA.

When asked what motivated him to teach, he said that as an instructor he is motivated by helping engaged students explore a topic they are interested in and helping them to have those “ah-ha” moments when a new, difficult topic clicks for the first time. “Seeing that sudden look of understanding on a student’s face is very, very rewarding,” he said.

While Joe has a passion for computer science, he doesn’t feel,like some, that everyone needs to learn how to code a computer. He feels that, “Computer literacy, is absolutely crucial to success in the world today.Preventing the loss of your important data, keeping yourself safe in an increasingly hostile digital world, and evaluating the information you find online are vital skills. Computer literacy is just as important to life today as reading, writing, and arithmetic.”

So while it might not be for everyone he did say that “Programming is really about creativity and creation. Taking a computer – an inert pile of metal, plastic, and silicon – and bending it to your will.  You’ve taken this machine, which is secretly scary to many of us, and made it do your bidding. That can be a real rush!”

Beyond just teaching Joe has taken an active role in campus politics first as treasurer and now as president elect. Dodi Coreson said of him, “The students love him, he is very caring and takes a lot of time in his office to worth with the students. I supported his bid for president, he is a really nice guy.“

When asked about why he decided to run for campus office he said, “Taking on a leadership role at the college was not a decision I made lightly. As President of the Faculty Association I’m looking forward to working with the college administration, classified personnel and students to help shape the college’s future and guide its direction.”

Joe Paris is more than your average professor, he is a man who is on a mission to make life better for students and faculty. When students or faculty are having a problem they should know that Joe is the kind of person who will stop and listen to them.

For those former students of Joe you should know that he said of you, “It’s also always thrilling to hear from students who have graduated and are working in the field who contact me to let me know how they are doing or to tell me how what I taught them helped them in their current position.“ So if Joe made a positive impact on your life, reach out and let him know.

At a Glance
Joe Paris
His Ratings
Fireside Chat with Obama talking about Computer Coding for High schoolers
Code Academy

Riding the Waves of change - part 1

To the average person on the beach, waves become visible just before their crash. The slow and steady growth is almost imperceptible, and when the growth changes to decay, the wave’s crescendo is visible to all. The power of the wave comes crashing down sweeping away those caught unaware and propelling those who saw the change coming.

Such a change in growth patterns is happening in colleges across America. The slow steady rise of tuition, population, and debt has reached a point where a break must occur. Just as a wave breaking provides both surf and undertow, the break in education can be a boon to students driving them towards competency and completion or deadly undertow dragging them back towards poverty and minimum wage.

Just as the lifeguard scans the beach looking for dangers and swimmers in distress, LBCC college administration has been scanning the educational horizon looking for ways to bridge funding gaps, propel more students towards completion, and adapt to changing demographics. This effort is being referred to, by LBCC administration, as the “Redesign”.

While the “redesign” is not yet fully defined, according to Bruce Clemetsen, Vice President, Student Services, the redesign is about trying to get to a sustainable model for education. “We still believe in the role of community colleges in community development. We have to adapt, and we are at a moment of extreme adaptation.”

This redesign will eventually touch every element of the college, from simple changes like texting students important information to more systemic changes like degree curriculum and requirement changes.

One of the potential curricular changes described was to the Culinary and Welding programs. Mr. Clementson spoke about how writing skills training could be embedded in the culinary and welding curriculum.

Instead of students going to a dedicated writing class, they would have a kind of circuit writing professor who worked with their, and other, instructors to meld writing with their instruction in their craft. While everyone needs to be able to communicate via the written word, not everyone needs to know the liturgical outflows of long dead white men.

By teaching writing skills and craft skills together the thought is that students will receive a more practical accreditation while also receiving the necessary level of  writing education for their preferred field.

The goal is, for some degrees, to move towards a more pragmatic and Socratic model with less lecture and more practice, flipping the classroom in essence. Part of the redesign is asking the question, “Is there a better way to teach or facilitate learning?”

The redesign, as it relates to curricular changes, is, according to Dean of Student Services Lynne Cox, in part a recognition that there is a tremendous amount of free information available online and that colleges and universities need to become a place where one learns how to apply knowledge.

Mr. Clementsen said, “Some things will be going away, to create space for newer things.  pockets of students will feel this change.” While he wasn’t specific on which programs or activities were meant for the chopping block, it was clear that he and the rest of LBCC administration were doing everything they could to maintain as many programs, for as many students, as possible. It was also clear to that Mr. Clementsen and the rest of the LBCC administration are very much interested in the ideas, aspirations, and goals of faculty and students.   

Parts of the redesign are already being implemented. Some of these changes, like mandatory advisement and career center development, are meant to facilitate achieving Oregon’s 40-40-20 goal. The goal is to, by 2025, reach a point where 40% of Oregonians a bachelor’s or higher , 40% have an associate’s or higher, and 20% have a High school diploma. The goal is itself a recognition that today’s economy is a knowledge and services based economy and if Oregon is going to remain competitive in the national and global marketplace its citizens need to have the requisite education to compete.

Cox described Career Center Development as a program designed for helping undecided students decide on what major they want to focus on or what career best fits their skills and lifestyle. For some students one of the biggest stumbling blocks to college completion is figuring out exactly what one wants to do. A program like this, coupled with now mandatory advisement, should be beneficial to the student who needs some guidance finding the path to success.  

An integral part of this redesign is increasing communication between administration, faculty, and the student body. Mr. Clementsen stressed the value of this community and the need to foster deeper and longer lasting connections between it’s members. A student body that is well connected tends to be more successful he said, and it is his, and the rest of the administrations, intent to raise the bar without leaving students underwater.

At a Glance:
Education Redesign and Strategic Planning
Achieve the Dream
Committees Contact List for the Redesign

Infants and Expecting Moms on Campus

Think for a moment about expecting mothers, college students, and professors. What images come to mind? When one thinks of a community college student one generally conjures an image of a youngish person with few responsibilities in the world beyond making it to class on time, maybe working a part time job, and not forgetting to turn in assignments.

Similarly when one thinks of a college professor, generally the image of a wizened man, most probably with a beard,  comes to mind. If one were to go back a decade or two these two images would more or less perfectly describe the people found on college campuses.

The image of an expecting mother, however, is not likely to be associated with being a student or a professor, and yet it is increasingly common for expectant mothers to either be employed or in school when they conceive.
Today the average age of a community college student is, according to the American Association of Community Colleges, 28 years old, the median age is 23 and 57% of students are women. Meaning the majority of college students are women between the ages of 23 and 28.

On it’s face this seems a random fact, but 23-28 is an especially important age range for the average American woman, because the average age of first conception is 25.4 years almost smack in the middle of the range.

Given that nearly 50% of community college students have either been pregnant or helped in the process and that of that population some 60% drop out as a result speaks to the challenges faced by expecting mothers who are also students.

 
This means that community colleges have to be more than just a place for students to learn, increasingly community colleges will need to be a place for families to thrive. When a woman has to choose between her education or her career and her desire to start a family  society as a whole loses out. The challenges faced my expectant mothers will require of colleges institutions for helping to support them as they begin or finish their academic careers.

While LBCC does offer childcare for children, they do not, at present, offer childcare for infants and babies. This leaves expecting mothers with little option beyond relying on family members for support or hiring a stranger to watch their children while they are at work and school. 
 
There are several women who are taking on this challenge right here at LBCC Marci Bailey-Moling a professor in the Chemistry department Justeen Eliott a writer and editor here at The Commuter, and Laura Penny to name just a few.
 
Marci, who has been a professor here at LB for the last 7 years, will be having a baby boy in February of this term. Far from being nervous or stressed, Marci exuded enthusiasm and optimism about having a baby and maintaining her professional life. While she counted her blessings she also felt that other expectant mothers have to believe in themselves and know that they can do anything they set their minds to.

For her the biggest challenge that she has faced has been time management and planning. There are so many little things that have to be done in preparation for a new baby, not least of which was in making sure that she would have the time off she needed to spend with her newborn. 

While other women in a different circumstance might be limited to only 12 weeks, Marci’s time management practices, foresight, and accumulated sick leave will enable her to spend the entire spring with her newborn. When she does return to work in the fall her husband, as is becoming more common, will be staying at home to take care of the child while he works on his law degree.

For many female college students becoming an expecting mother means dropping out of school, at least for a time, but this is not true of all students. One such champion is Justeen Eliott, who had her first child just three-and-a-half months ago and never stopped attending classes.

During the first week of the trimester, and afraid she might be dropped if she didn't attend class,  Justeen went into labor on the evening of Sept. 26, a Tuesday night, had her baby six hours later, early Wednesday morning, and was back in class by Thursday morning and all without painkillers.  

Her determination is an inspiration to all women who wonder if they will have to sacrifice family life for work/school life. She spoke of how being in online classes, versus in person classes, really helped her in remaining in school.

In the intervening months Justeen has relied on her mother to help her with child care. Grandma watches her son while Justeen is  in class and her husband, Kent, is at work. She really stressed the need for expecting mothers to have family to rely on and a stable relationship with their partner before they embark on motherhood, “I wouldn't have been able to make it without Kent, I do not know how single parents make it.”

Laura , a straight pre-nursing student, with a five month old son, says that the hardest part of college life with a child is getting all her homework done. She said that, "Online classes help out a lot" because of their flexibility.

When asked about what she needs from LBCC she said, "I would like them to have a designated area for breast-feeding moms". A completely fair request given that there are already designated areas for smokers. Why not have them for mothers of infants, its a far worthier cause.

These women demonstrate that it is possible to start a family without giving up on your career and academic goals. It takes hard work and determination on your part and it requires academic institutions to offer services to their students to facilitate their success.


At A Glance

One such service is already offered here at LBCC, free-headstart for the children of parents registered at LBCC or at OSU from 7:45 A.M to 3:05 P.M.They have one class for three year olds, two for four to five year olds, and one class for infants and toddlers. 
Eight families make use of this program receive more than just childcare, staff at the center offer health and nutrition training for parents as well as training in developmental programs like tantrum management and bed time procedures.
LBCC Head Start Program Head Start Sites in Linn and Benton Counties
Maternal Child Health Programs in Linn County

Odyssey photos from LBCC

The Arcimoto is an all electric 2 seater vehicle, classified as a motorcycle by the state of Oregon. It designed with the urban commuter in mind. With a range of 40-120 miles per charge it can get you to work and back in one charge. On display in the Quad at the Albany campus of LBCC on Thursday Oct 18th.

Cars and trucks on display from local companies and auto-dealers for the Odyssey Alternative Fuels event on October 18th.

Dan Lara a spokesman for the Odyssey event giving his speech about how an all above the approach to solving our nations energy problems start with local educational institutions like LBCC. This event took place in the Quad at the Albany campus of LBCC on Thursday Oct 18th.

Dan Lara a spokesman for the Odyssey event posing for a photograph after his speech in the Quad at the Albany campus of LBCC on Thursday Oct 18th.

Portrait and Mug shot

Mug shot of . Photo taken in the quad at LBCC campus in Albany on Thursday afternoon.  

Local hackysack guru ; with the tools of his trade. He gathers daily with friends in the quad at LBCC campus in Albany to play, new players are welcome to come and join in the fun.

Jehovah's Witnesses on Campus evangelizing

Jim Monteraselli, Star and Taelor Strange, and Sara Peck man the Albany Jehovah's Witness table this past Monday. They represent a growing number of Witness's who are on campus evangelizing.

Mrs. Strange brought her daughter to this weeks outreach. A devout and loving mother she takes her faith very seriously.

The group was happy to have their photo taken and wanted people to know that there are Witnesses in Albany.

The Times goes live....

Looks like the times isn't just a newspaper company anymore. They are  vlogging, blogging, podcasting, and now doing live video like a traditional cable news company. I like the possibilities of this, does anyone else see this as the method via which news media will survive. 

You can't just be a newspaper company or radio company anymore. If you want to survive in the digital age you have to do everything, and you have to do it all well. The same thing is happening over at Huffington post, except its following the ala carte model. Instead of watching an entire news cast people are watching individuals stories.

 I imagine the next BIG thing in news delivery is going to be social/tailored news casts where you might have a thirty minute news cast with like 10 stories all of which had been tailored to your viewing preferences . Imagine a world where not only did everyone have their own unique front page, but they also had their own unique news casts. 

Why I won't be voting for Obama or Romney

 Domestic Social policies are important, there is no way to argue any other way, BUT, voting for a candidate solely based on those policies is dangerous in the extreme. Part of the problem our nation faces today is our consistent failure to educate ourselves and our propensity towards voting for for the perceived lesser of two evils(evils who are generally only different on social policies). 

Social wedge issues aside, there are a variety of reasons why I won't be voting for Obama. The Patriot act has still not been revoked or revised, nor has the White House made it a priority. While the president could not on his own remove this law, it is absolutely something he could have used his bully pulpit to limit. 

 Targeted killing and kill lists are considered legitimate tools for use in the Global War On Terror, and can include Americans living abroad.

 Extraordinary rendition is still being practiced and Guantanamo is still open. The Drug war is still in full swing, which would be acceptable if the president had actually appointed someone who didn't feel like it was their job to continue wasting money on the drug war. 

Lets not forget the crony capitalism of Solyndra and GE. The bailouts 2.0 to the same people who caused the crisis in the first place. 

We are still antagonizing for an attack on Iran, and we admitted to creating the Stuxnet virus and launching an attack on a legally acting sovereign ala Russia and Estonia. While some liberals might feel that more drone strikes and computer worms are preferable to ground troops I beg to differ. 

Part of the problem with war today is that our population doesn't feel any of the consequences of it. War needs to be hell, when its not we wage it carelessly and for trivial reasons. It was wrong when GWB told fifth ave America to go shopping as he shipped out mainstreet to fight in the sands of the Middle East and it is wrong for Obama to use cyber war and institutional inertia to continue those campaigns. Not to mention the incredible risk that he has put citizens in openly admitting that the United States bilaterally, with Israel, and without UN approval, launched an offensive attack on another Sovereign nation. 

 While the CIA and NSA may think themselves top dogs, the real talent, as always, is in the for profit private black market and this kind of behavior is going to have long term repercussions ala 9/11. Imagine waking up to a digital attack of mass proportions and having to explain to the population that there is little that can be done because we did it first. 

Most importantly the President has the power to indefinitely detain anyone, anywhere, for any reason, without Du process. This isn't hyperbole, I don't watch Fox or Alex Jones, if we the people don't start actually engaging with our political apparatus on foreign policy and economic policy we will lose our Republic. Its these kinds of big picture policies that make it impossible for me to vote for Obama. People need to stop voting with their hearts and start voting with their minds.

Take none of this as an endorsement for Romney who I see as a naked politician who will do/say whatever he has to get elected. I don't think he would be "bad for America' but I don't think he would be particularly good either. At present I am leaning towards Gary Johnson or "none of the above". 

What happened to Mike?

Everyone knew something was up Thursday, May 22, when Mike Savin failed to show up for class a second time in the same week. Having never missed a class the previous trimester, even when visibly ill, it was disconcerting to students. 


The fill in professors, Brigid Bacus and Marci Bailey, assured students that it would be okay and that Mike was just sick.

Students in Chemistry 222 found out May 29, a full week later and past the deadline to drop with a “W," that Savin had resigned. The exact why of his resignation was never articulated. Rumors abound as to why a well liked and respected instructor would simply leave three weeks before the end of the term. 


Had students been told the day Savin resigned, that he had resigned, it would have been possible for any in the class to drop with a W if they so chose. However, since Backus and Bailey did not inform the students of Savin's resignation until after the deadline to drop, such an option was precluded.

Bailey claimed that she could make no comment on the situation and Backus claimed to know nothing other than that she was filling in for Savin for the rest of the term. 

Numerous students were unwilling to make any comments on the record for fear of reprisals from the chemistry department. Students expressed everything from fear of being personally targeted for merely speaking positively about Savin, to fear of the evening class as a whole being targeted to prove that Savin was not fulfilling his contractual obligations. 

One student who had no fear of speaking up was Gil South . Gil felt that Savin was an excellent instructor and that the chemistry department at LBCC would suffer from the loss. He reached out to Savin to let him know that he appreciated his service and time and that he were sorry that Savin would no longer be teaching at LBCC. He emphatically felt like blame for his departure should be placed on the department and not on Savin.

Instructor Savin also made no comment. Savin has taught high school chemistry, college chemistry, is currently an assistant at the Oregon State University chemistry department and tutors in the Mole Hole.






At a Glance


Professor leaves suddenly right before finals and no one is talking, not even the students.


 Mike Savins Linkedin profile

Mole Hole Schedule 

Linn Benton Chemistry Department

Profile of an Occupier

http://www.interzoneorganic.com/

We have all seen them on the nightly news, on youtube, twitter, and of course facebook. The amorphous but vocal Occupy movement that started back in 2011 in Zuccotti Park. The movement is still active globally, and Occupiers of all colors and nationalities can be found everywhere from Spain to right here in Corvallis. But who exactly are these occupiers, what do they want, and why are they here?

I sat down with one such occupier, Eric Coker, at the local Interzone campus coffee shop to see exactly what it was that motivated him to join the Occupation over other social justice movements or political movements. He arrived on time and dressed like a normal adult college students in cargo shorts and a t-shirt.

An educated and articulate man Eric isn’t the picture of the Occupation most of us are use to seeing on our screens. Absent are the Guy Fawkes masks, dreadlocks,protest language, and gauged earrings while the passion for social justice, social equality, and pragmatism remains.

When asked about almost any social or economic issue Eric had a ready and articulate answer. When asked about how some have pointed out that many of the occupiers are from a privileged class and that protesting economic inequality from one’s IPAD was inherently hypocritical, Eric strongly disagreed. "We are all part of the privileged class and being a part of the privleged class does not prevent one from commenting on social inequalities", he said.

He felt that the Occupy movement recognized the privilege of race, gender, and economic status by virtue of birth, and that other groups by not recognizing these things could never solve the problems that are besetting our nation.

He also stressed that being part of the privileged class does not preclude one from pointing out the inherent social injustice of the society in which one lives. If anything he felt that it was the civic responsibility of the privileged classes to come to the aid of those who were either less fortunate by virtue of their birth or by virtue of the baked in inequality of our current consumption based economic system.

Unlike what has been primarily distributed over the web Eric was quick to emphasize the need for cooperation and bridge building between faith groups, political groups, and social justice groups versus the need for more protesting. "While it might get me in trouble i do recognize that there is certain amount of overlap between the Tea party and Occupy." Eric pointed out however that the Occupy chapter in Salem had tried to have a group meeting with the Tea Party but that it had broken down because of the wide differences of opinion on basic terms and on social wedge issues.

Wedge issues and social rights issues were the primary reason that Eric became involved with the Occupy movement. While both of the movements are populist in rhetoric, they differ very widely on the social issues from women's rights and homosexuality, to the death penalty and other social rights issues. The one thing Eric was vehement about was that Occupy and he were not bound to any one party or ideology, "I support whatever works, it is not about ideology it is about practicality" he said.  

While he and the greater Occupy movement do see political protest as a viable means of civic engagement, it clearly isn’t the only methodology they are following.





At the recent city council meeting where they gave a presentation on why the city of corvallis should be moving their money. Instead of playing the Code Pink obstruction game of distraction and disturbance the occupiers, almost ironically, waited their turn, gave articulate speeches when called upon, and only during a natural lull in the meeting did they quickly chant, “Move Our Money” and link arms with “duct tape” chains.

Aside from actions against the banking industry Occupy and occupiers like Eric are interested in social justice and social equality. 


One of the main drivers of Eric and Occupy is a passion for social justice, and this is something that is not just rhetorical. Occupy Corvallis is actively working to try and improve the living conditions of the homeless by helping to bridge communication gaps between City hall and main street and by networking with existing social justice groups. One such action is going to be a meeting with the chief of police and the mayor where suggestions will be made to try and discourage police from abusing and profiling the homeless while also offering solutions to help in transferring homeless individuals back into productive society..



At a glance

Eric Coker contact info  escoker@gmail.com
Occupy Covallis http://www.facebook.com/owscorvallis
http://business.time.com/2012/05/18/was-nick-hanauers-ted-talk-on-income-inequality-too-rich-for-rich-people/

Can you see me now?

You can’t measure what you can’t see best sums up the government's view on community college graduation rates and is at the core of the report and action plan released two weeks ago.

According to the report, about 37 percent of full-time, first-time students receive a degree or certificate within four years of beginning their studies. “Not all students take a linear path in their pursuit of higher education,” said Education Secretary Arne Duncan. “Many students work full-time and are balancing family obligations while also attending school. These new outcome measures will accurately demonstrate how postsecondary schools are preparing students for success in different ways.”

These changes to reporting may increase the bureaucratic requirements of institutions like Linn Benton Community College, but they may also open up additional avenues for funding and will give accrediting and ratings agencies a better idea of how well a given institution is performing.


LBCC is already collecting some of this information for in house policy analysis, the Department of Institutional Research has information on gainful employment, follow ups with recent graduates, and studies on debt to employment ratios, up to this point the Department of Education(DOE) only required information on first time, full time students. 


According to Bruce Clemetsen, the Vice President of Student services here at LBCC, roughly 50% of the students at LBCC are full time, but many of those students are here because of the relationship with OSU and are not counted for Linn Benton’s official graduation statistics.

Under the old rules almost half of LBCC students were not counted, regardless of whether or not they graduated. In fact students who start at Linn Benton community college but then transfered to a 4 year institution or another community college were not counted in the statistics for LBCC. All of this leads to a very fragmented and incomplete picture being sent back to the DOE. 
These changes in rerpoting will enable LBCC and other community colleges to show off their community programs, that are invaluable to locals, but have up to this point not counted in the official statistics.

One such program here at LBCC is the Waste Water treatment program, after speaking with industry LBCC learned, according to Bruce Clemetsen, that water treatment plants tend to be public utilities and that industry needed more workers who have education in not just water treatment, but also public works. 
As a consequence, next year the Waste Water treatment program will be rolled into an entry level Public Works degree with Waste Water treatment as a certification within the overall degree plan. This adds flexibility to the degree program while meeting an industry and community need.  

Through LBCC connections with local industry, this program has morphed into a much more successful and adaptive degree. This program, and others like it, represent the kinds of innovations that community colleges can bring to the educational market place. By listening to not just the students, but to industry, colleges can provide a better service for students and also for the larger community. But if the DOE isn’t looking, it won’t know it, which is what makes these rules changes so important. By looking at non-traditional students, non-full time students, and students who didn’t start at the “beginning of the year”, the DOE, will be able to see the value that community colleges are bringing not just to their communities, but to the nation as a whole by providing the skills and training necessary to fulfill the demands of an ever changing marketplace.

These changes to rules may also have the unintended beneficial consequence of facilitating additional relationships like the one that LBCC has with Chemeketa community college and will help to prevent overlap and redundancy in the educational market. Due to budget cuts certain programs have had to either be curtailed or cut back, in order to ensure that the community’s needs were met. LBCC reached out to Chemeketa community college and convinced them to offer EMT training in this area, in return LBCC sold them their existing equipment and made the arrangements to have Chemeketa teach the programs here as well. This way resources are freed up for LBCC to teach other valuable programs while also ensuring that the communities need were still met. 

Like with all things there is a tension between spending money on committees and research groups to parse the schools data and the need to spend that money on actual education. 

Hopefully, these changes in reporting will strike a balance that benefits all parties involved while fostering an environment that will facilitate the education of tomorrow's leaders and community organizers.

At a Glance

Department of Education Final Report on changes to guidlines and reporting - http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/cmss-committee-report-final.pdf

Department of education Press release on the Action plan -

http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/education-department-releases-action-plan-improve-measures-postsecondary-success

The Action plan - http://www.ed.gov/edblogs/ous/files/2012/03/Action-Plan-for-Improving-Measures-of-Postsecondary-Student-Success-FINAL2.pdf

LBCC Department of Institutional Research - http://www.linnbenton.edu/go/ir