Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/229104
Higher Education Update Chuck Denney WEA Higher Ed. Representative Complete College Wyoming is an initiative sponsored by Governor Mead and adopted by the Community College Commission, mandating that the number of degrees and certificates produced by Wyoming community colleges will increase by 5% each year over the next ten years (or 61% in total). In a meeting between the Complete College Wyoming Committee (appointed by Governor Mead) and faculty representatives of all seven Wyoming community colleges, it was announced that "accountability" measures related to that goal will be developed by the legislature over the next few years. Campus safety continues to be a main focus of legislative attention, and several bills are currently being drafted, at least one of which would allow individuals to carry concealed firearms on college campuses. Others address funding for campus security, as currently only one of the seven community colleges (NWCCD) has its own campus police force. Finally, at the time of the November 16th meeting, the Presidents' Council had submitted seven major funding requests to Governor Mead, the three most significant being a $14 million request for increased enrollment funding, a 4% increase for staff and faculty salaries, and a request to fund at least six of the colleges' capital construction projects. The governor released his budget in the first week of December; however, none of the requests for increased community college funding were included, and only two of the capital construction requests were funded. As result, many of the colleges are facing significant budget deficits if they can't get some of the requested funding added into the legislative budget in February of 2014. In the course of the November discussions, it became clear the WEA needs to take a leadership role during the next few legislative sessions to lobby for increased public support for community colleges, especially related to the Complete College Wyoming (CCW) mandates. One significant piece of the CCW is a requirement to "increase the number of high school students earning college credit" through concurrent and dual enrollment opportunities. In response to that part of the CCW mandate, WEA leaders will be working with local Higher Education leaders and the Government Relations Commission to update and revise WEA's legislative and governance platforms on concurrent and dual enrollment. Those revisions will be presented to WEA delegates at DA in the spring of 2014. Another piece of the CCW mandate is to create on each of the community college campuses a CCW committee, which will be responsible for driving changes to institutional curriculum, policy, and procedure in service to the CCW initiative. In response to that part of the mandate, Greg Herold and regional UniServ directors will be working with Higher Education locals to identify WEA members willing to serve on those campus CCW committees. Finally, because community colleges are facing significant budget deficits unless there is legislative action, the WEA is looking for Higher Education members to serve on Legislative Contact Teams (LCTs) during the February 2014 legislative session. Anyone interested in serving on their local CCW committee or on their LCT should contact their local leadership, their UniServ Director, or Greg Herold (gherold@nea.org). Sponsored By The Wyoming Highway Patrol On Saturday, November 16 , local Higher Education leaders from Northwest College and NWCCD met with Kathy Vetter, Ken Decaria, and Greg Herold to discuss organizing and legislative strategies for the 2014–2015 academic year. The discussion centered around three key issues that will be the focus of legislative action over the next several years: the Complete College Wyoming initiative, campus safety, and the Community College Presidents' Council budget requests. th Wyoming Schools Receive Blue Ribbon Awards from U.S.Department of Education The United States Department of Education has honored three Wyoming Schools with the prestigious Blue Ribbon School Award. The announcement was made in late September in Washington, D.C. The winners of the Blue Ribbon School award from the Cowboy State were Coffeen Elementary in Sheridan; Jackson Hole High School in Jackson; and Lovell High School in Lovell. All three were honored in the category of High Performing School. WEA President Kathy Vetter congratulated WEA members at these schools, saying, "WEA members are proud, hard-working educators, and these awards prove that great things are happening in Wyoming public schools. Thank you for being a member and working so hard to make Wyoming schools a great place for students!" "Educating everyone takes everyone. Receiving the National Blue Ribbon award is a true testament to the hard work and dedication of our students, families, teachers, staff and administration," said WEA Northeast Region President Jennifer Black, who also teaches at Coffeen Elementary in Sheridan. Each of the three schools received a plaque presented by representatives of the Wyoming Department of Education during ceremonies at their schools. The National Blue Ribbon Schools award honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students perform at very high levels or where significant improvements are being made in students' levels of achievement. The Blue Ribbon Schools program recognizes schools in one of two performance categories. The first category is "Exemplary High Performing," in which schools are recognized among their state's highest performing schools, as measured by state assessments or nationally-normed tests. The second category is "Exemplary Improving," in which schools that have at least 40 percent of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds demonstrate the most progress in improving student achievement levels as measured by state assessments or nationally-normed tests. This year the US Department of Education honored 286 schools nationwide. "Excellence in education matters and we should honor the schools that are leading the way to prepare students for success in college and careers," said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a statement from the US Department of Education. "National Blue Ribbon schools represent examples of educational excellence, and their work reflects the belief that every child in America deserves a world-class education." WINTER 2013 ICI_ 6 Winter 2013 Final.indd 13 | wyoea.org 13 12/12/13 3:40 PM