OLYMPIA, Wash. — Community and technical colleges are calling for investment from Washington state lawmakers this legislative session. Staff at community and technical colleges have launched the Reinvest in Our Colleges campaign and are asking for $500 million in permanent funding over the next two years.

Nearly 60 percent of postsecondary students in the state attend or graduate from CTCs, but those 34 colleges receive less than 40 percent of the state's higher education funding. Jim Howe, vice president for legislative affairs with the American Federation of Teachers of Washington and also a faculty member at Lake Washington Institute of Technology, said CTCs can fill the state's growing labor gap.

"There's a shortage of workers in so many fields - high-tech and nursing and things like that - and we're the ones that can supply those,” Howe said. “But it's a heavy lift, and we're struggling with our funding already."

In 2013, the Washington Student Achievement Council set a goal that 70 percent of adults would have postsecondary credentials by 2023. To achieve that goal, the colleges will need to graduate more than 45,000 students a year, roughly 12,000 more students than they currently graduate.

Howe said pay needs to be competitive to retain faculty. Forty percent of staff only make three-quarters of market-value salaries.

House Bill 1300 would create the Reinvest in Our Colleges program, with goals to increase compensation for faculty, establish an office for diversity and equity, and provide better wages for faculty and staff that work with incarcerated populations. The bill also calls for funding to increase the number of counselors at the colleges.

Earl Martin, a counselor at Everett Community College, said another bill, HB 1355, would set ratios for the number of students to each counselor.

"The last time the state had a standard was many years ago and they called for 1-to-500. But that was just a policy recommendation, never put into code,” Martin said. “We're asking for almost twice as high as that at the 900 level."

Martin said counselors are key for getting students ready to be part of the workforce. He also noted that community and technical colleges are the affordable - and sometimes only - option for Washingtonians. On average, tuition costs per quarter at CTCs are nearly 40 percent less than at a university, and nearly 65 percent less than at a research university.


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A new report found Michigan kids have remained stagnant across several key indicators of student success, such as fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math performance.

One in four Michigan students who go onto postsecondary opportunities require remedial education, and the number is more than 40% for the state's Black students.

Hayley Butler, data and policy analyst for The Education Trust-Midwest, which released the report, said Michigan needs to invest in education, but also make improvements in systems, policies and practices.

"We want to see more services provided to the students who need the support, so that they're able to achieve at high levels," Butler explained. "We know all students are capable of reaching high potential if they have what they need to succeed."

The report pointed out learning loss due to the COVID pandemic has widened opportunity gaps for low-income students and students of color. Michigan ranks 32nd in the nation for fourth-grade reading. And since 2003, students in other states have improved their eighth grade math scores by nearly three times more than eighth graders in Michigan.

Butler added unprecedented federal funding for public schools as part of COVID relief packages is an opportunity to make needed changes, from fair funding and investment to transparency, public reporting and accountability.

"We would love to see more data systems and fiscal transparency to ensure that the extra funds that we're calling to be invested in the system are actually spent in the classroom," Butler urged. "In ways that we know evidence said serve students and actually helps them reach their potential."

She noted it is important for Michigan to look to other states implementing evidence-based policies and funding models to ensure students with the highest needs receive support.

Montana's effort to increase college graduation numbers is getting a boost from a new grant.

The nonprofit Complete College America has chosen the Treasure State and two other states for its Policy, Equity and Practice initiative, made possible through a $1.75 million grant from Ascendium Education Group.

The goal is to help underserved students, such as low-income, Native American and rural students, graduate in a timely manner and without a mountain of student debt.

Crystine Miller, director of student affairs and student engagement for the Montana University System, said the initiative will help students with needs in math and English, which are indicators of academic outcomes.

"How do we provide them the right courses so that they're in college-level, credit-bearing courses, that they're not wasting time and money on prerequisite courses that don't get them any credit and that they have to pay for," Miller questioned. "And how do we help them do that in a way that launches them into their academic path?"

About 90% of low-income, first-generation students do not graduate within six years, according to EAB, formerly known as the Education Advisory Board.

The initiative also will support the Montana 10 program. Miller noted the program offers comprehensive support for underserved students in three areas: financially, academically and by connecting them with advisers or coaches. She added in its pilot cohort of 235 students across three universities, the outcomes were encouraging.

"We have about a 20% increase in retention for those cohorts," Miller reported. "And because of the outcomes we're seeing and because we really believe that this can transform how we do things and how we make sure that all Montanans have access to a college degree, we're expanding Montana 10."

Complete College America's initiative is also supporting higher education efforts in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

Many U.S. college degree programs can take years of full-time study, a serious time crunch for working adults. That's why more universities are offering flexible coursework options to improve enrollment - especially in rural areas.

Reporter Nick Fouriezos covers higher education in rural America for the non-profit Open Campus. He said 40% of today's college students have full-time jobs - which causes some to back away from higher education.

"The biggest issue facing a lot of rural education and a lot of rural students," said Fouriezos, "is that they haven't been given the awareness of what is available and what is actually possible for them."

Nationally, 7.5 million of the nearly 20 million college enrollees for fall 2020 were going to school part-time, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, people living in rural areas have increased participation in higher learning over time - but the numbers have not kept pace with urban gains, especially in college and postgraduate education.

Fouriezos said with mounting student debt, tuition and living costs, more students want to see a direct connection between their initial classes and the careers they're pursuing.

"I think it's a mistake to focus too much on how can we convince people, 'This degree is good for you,'" said Fouriezos, "and instead saying, 'Hey, what are your needs and how can we meet them?'"

Because the definition of a "typical" college student is changing rapidly, Fouriezos said some institutions are exploring the idea of adding three-year bachelor's degrees.

"What we're typically finding more and more of is for rural students," said Fouriezos, "higher education really means part-time education."

Institutions exploring three-year degree programs include the University of North Texas and the University of Minnesota in Rochester.

Support for this reporting is provided by Lumina Foundation.