CWI Compass Connect - May 18, 2016
In the Spotlight
Recently, a College of Western Idaho (CWI) employee had the chance to showcase his commitment to helping Treasure Valley residents bridge the gap to higher education. Tomas Puga, coordinator of Advising and New Student Services, was scheduled to host a group of parents from Parma for a campus tour and information session. Unfortunately, they were unable to get time off work and had to cancel the visit. Puga responded by traveling to Parma to meet with the parents in the agriculture fields they work and answer questions about CWI. One parent captured the visit in the above photo. Thank you Tomas for going above and beyond to help promote all CWI has to offer the community.
News Highlights
College of Western Idaho to Increase Student Tuition and Fees
$3 per-credit-hour increase to supplement budget shortfall
On Tuesday (May 17) the College of Western Idaho (CWI) Board of Trustees unanimously approved a $3 per-credit-hour tuition and fees rate increase for credit seeking students in its service district. Beginning this fall semester students will pay $139 per credit hour, up from $136. It is the first tuition and fees rate increase at CWI since 2011. The increase will support the College’s operating budget for the coming year.
CWI has three primary sources of revenue: tuition and fees, property taxes, and state appropriations. Currently, the College’s tuition and fees are nearly half the cost of Idaho’s public universities, the property tax levy rate is $16.63 compared to Idaho’s other community colleges with levy’s ranging from $95-$112 per $100,000, and state funding for CWI is 61 percent of the average of Idaho’s other community colleges based on full-time equivalent student enrollment.
CWI’s modest increase of 2.2 percent is aligned with the State Board of Education’s 2 to 3 percent approved tuition and fees increase for Idaho’s public four-year higher education institutions.
“The decision did not come easy for the Board,” said Mary Niland, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “We have held our tuition for the last four years, but with increasing costs to operations the College has limited funding options to support superior quality of instruction. We must maintain the quality of our programs to properly prepare students for the careers of the 21st century. The Board’s decision on tuition and fees rate increase is based projections in property tax revenues and state appropriations, anticipated enrollment for the coming year, and most significantly the requirements of support services to maintain high quality education for our students. CWI will continue to operate as lean as possible to continue providing affordable, quality teaching and learning opportunities.”
CWI Students Rack up Awards at National Event
College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Business Professionals of America (BPA) chapter has added to its illustrious history with an outstanding showing this month (May 5-9) at the 2016 BPA National Leadership Conference. CWI’s success at this year’s event, held in Boston, Massachusetts, was highlighted by one gold medal, three runner-up finishes, and a third-place award. Since joining the organization in 2010 CWI students have thrived at the annual event, placing in the top-three 31 times.
CWI’s success this year was headlined by a first-place finish from Evan Lewis in College Payroll Accounting. Lewis graduated from the CWI Applied Accounting program this spring. His win marks the 12th gold medal earned by a CWI student at a national BPA conference.
Joining Lewis on the podium were students from CWI’s Business and Information Technology programs. Kristin Burbidge, Laura Bagley, and Pam Roemer joined forces to place second in Administrative Support Team. Meanwhile, Travis Clemmens earned silver in IT Concepts and Kaj Forney took second in Computer Security. Forney capped the honors for CWI with a third place finish in Management, Marketing, and Human Resources.
Trustees Approve Proposed Zone Map
On Tuesday (May 17) in their regularly scheduled May board meeting, College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Board of Trustees reviewed and approved a proposed zone map to comply with a new state law, House Bill 512, which requires Idaho’s community colleges to divide their respective taxing districts into five zones nearly equal in population as practicable. The proposed trustee zones will now be provided to the State Board of Education for final consideration in their June meeting.
In the April Trustee meeting, the CWI Board was presented three options by the College’s Geographic Information Systems and Geography Faculty member, Bryan Krouse, based on 2010 census data for Ada and Canyon Counties. The Board selected one option that provided the best representation of the communities they serve. Trustees shared its top option with the public to gather feedback on the proposed Trustee Zone for CWI. Based on feedback, the Board made slight modifications to better align with voter precincts.
2016 CWI Commencement a Success
College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) 2016 Commencement ceremony is in the books and thanks to the support of countless CWI employees the celebration was a perfect closing to a phenomenal year. Ceremony manager, Crystal Van Komen, estimates close to 600 graduate candidates and GED completers attended the ceremony held at Taco Bell Arena in Boise. This is an increase of 200 students compared to the previous year. In addition, record number of family, friends, and supporters were in attendance to cheer on their favorite graduate; the arena reported 5,182 attendees.
The engagement and energy was also at an all-time high. Much of the excitement was shared through the #cwigraduation hashtag, which can be viewed at cwi.edu/graduation. A video recording of the ceremony can be found on the graduation webpage as well.
Dual Credit Students Try to Advance in Geothermal Contest
Five College of Western Idaho (CWI) Dual Credit students are competing for $2,500 and a trip to California through a nation-wide contest aimed at promoting geothermal energy. The competition is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office, in partnership with the Center for Advanced Energy Studies and the Idaho National Laboratory, to promote the future of clean energy. Students from Thomas Jefferson Charter School in Caldwell entered the competition as part of a CWI Dual Credit class project. Fifteen high school entries from Idaho, including two from Thomas Jefferson Charter, were selected to advance to the second round of the contest.
Emma Brickey, Rebecca Lamb, Dorla Rueda, Breanna Thompson, and Emma Siple make up the two Thomas Jefferson teams selected to advance in the contest. The project was part of Jamie Brunmeier’s biology 120 class, through which all five students are earning college credits from CWI. Thompson and Siple collaborated on one submission, while Brickey, Lamb, and Rueda partnered on another. Their entries required research on geothermal energy and creation of an infographic on the topic.
After being selected to advance to the regional round of the competition, both teams have been revising their work based on judges’ feedback. Updated infographics must be re-submitted by May 15 for consideration in the final, national round of the competition. The final phase of the competition will consist of developing and executing a social media campaign to promote the submitted infographic.
The winning teams selected from round three in both the high school and college categories will receive $2,500. The overall grand prize winner will receive $2,500 and a trip to the Geothermal Resource Council’s 40th Annual Meeting in Sacramento, California, Oct. 23-26. For more information on the competition, visit www.caesenergy.org/geothermaldesign/.
Idaho Gives a Huge Success for CWI Students
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Foundation’s participation in Idaho Gives was a huge success. The 24-hour online fundraising event took place on Thursday, May 5. Thanks to generous contributions from CWI employees, the Foundation’s board of directors, and the community at large, CWI students will now have even more opportunities to achieve their academic dreams.
Idaho Gives is an annual day of giving designated to support the state’s nonprofits. The CWI Foundation participates in the event as the only charitable, nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting CWI. All proceeds the Foundation received this year, including a $1,500 match from Bank of the Cascades Foundation, will go toward a scholarship created by CWI employee Nikki Houston.
So far, Houston’s scholarship has been awarded to two students; Christina Northrop and Alicia Anderson. The roughly $5,000 in new funds raised during Idaho Gives can potentially help up to 18 additional students.
“It’s humbling to live in a place where people care so much about a scholarship and about education,” Houston said. “I am so grateful for everyone’s support. I can’t say ‘thank you’ enough.”
“On behalf of Nikki, her family, and the CWI Foundation, thank you for supporting Idaho Gives,” Mitch Minnette, the CWI Foundation’s executive director, said. “Thanks to our community’s support, we will continue working toward our goal of helping CWI students decrease their debt.”
This year, the collective efforts of more than 600 organizations brought in $1,053,681 for Idaho Gives. Next year’s event will be held May 4, 2017.
Long-Time Paramedic Pays it Forward
A retired paramedic is stepping forward with a gift to the College of Western Idaho (CWI) Foundation. Local business owner Joe Levitch has established a scholarship for students going through CWI’s Paramedic program. Levitch, who worked to save lives for nearly 40 years, says the scholarship is his way of paying it forward.
“This scholarship was a gift to me from my coworkers and (St. Luke’s Health Systems) on my retirement,” Levitch said. “I loved the profession. It shaped me and this is my legacy.”
Levitch started working in emergency medical services right out of high school. He became a paramedic in 1979 after completing his studies at Stanford University Medical Center. He moved to the Treasure Valley a short time later and continued his passion. Along with being a founding member of Saint Alphonsus Life Flight, he also worked for Ada County Paramedics and Air St. Luke’s.
“I like the concept of carrying things on,” he said. “Years ago, I paid for a friend’s paramedic education and he paid me back. I then used that money to pay for another paramedic education and they repaid me again—all the while the account was growing. I have helped very deserving people by loaning money to pay for people to go to school for years. They paid it back and the pot has grown. Now, it fills me up to give money to offset the cost of becoming paramedics.”
The Air St. Luke's/Joe Levitch Pay it Forward Paramedic Scholarship is available to full-time students enrolled in the Paramedic program, offered through CWI’s Workforce Development division. Applicants must be prepared to write an essay.
“For me, this is much more than a money thing,” Levitch said. “I want to be tied to your success and career. It means a lot to me that I am encouraging future generations to be great paramedics.”
The application period for this scholarship is currently open. The deadline to apply is May 31.
Earning Credit Where Credit is Due
Students at Caldwell High School recently earned credit where credit is due. Thanks to a community effort between College of Western Idaho (CWI), the Whittenberger Foundation in Caldwell, and Boise State University, more than 50 students got a jump start on their college education. They collectively earned 728 credits through the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP).
CWI’s CLEP Initiative
Over the past few years, CWI’s Dual Credit team has been actively working to help Spanish-speaking high school students earn college credit through native language skills testing. Students who successfully pass CLEP testing can earn between eight and 16 credits. The tests are conducted at Boise State’s Testing Services. The credits earned are kept in a national database for up to 20 years, and can be transferred to a student’s institution of choice when they are ready.
“The test isn’t the most important part of this; getting them here on campus is,” Steve Jenkins, CWI’s Dual Credit and College Readiness Project coordinator, said. “Exposing them to college is key.”
Students Who Benefit
Some of the students who recently tested say they have already chosen where they want to go to school. CWI, Boise State, and University of Idaho are among their top choices. Then there are a number of students like Max San Pedro who have yet to decide. Out of 80 possible points, he scored a 78—the second highest score to date.
“I know I want to work in the oil industry as an engineer,” San Pedro said. “But I don’t know where I want to go to school yet. I’m only a junior. I’m taking chemistry as a dual credit course. I just have to figure it out.”
That’s where people like Claudia Beltran can help. The Spanish teacher at Caldwell High School worked to expand this CLEP initiative to include all high school students who could benefit—not just juniors and seniors.
“One of the students testing here today isn’t even a native language speaker,” Beltran said. “Our goal is to give all students an incentive to go on.”
Partners Make it Happen
The Whittenberger Foundation played a large role in this day’s testing effort. The actual test and transportation cost per student is roughly $150. The Foundation awarded the CWI Foundation with a $5,000 grant to help cover the majority of the expenses.
“The Whittenberger Foundation chose CWI for this grant because of its focus on the youth of Southwest Idaho,” Scott Gipson, the Whittenberger Foundation’s board president, said.
In addition to the grant, Boise State provided students with lunch and allowed them to tour the campus. CWI also picked up some of the cost, and coordinated the testing.
“We could not do this without our valuable community partnerships,” Stephen Crumrine, CWI’s Director of Dual Credit, said. “This is a brand new initiative. We (CWI) are the only ones who are doing this, and we have the connections to make it happen.”
“Being a newer institution, it gives us the flexibility to offer these types of services,” Jenkins said. “Some of these students weren’t even thinking about going to college. Now they are. This is a catalyst to get them there.”
To date, the Dual Credit team has helped Treasure Valley high school students earn 2,213 college credits through CLEP testing.
Motivated to Achieve Academic Success
A College of Western Idaho (CWI) employee is helping two students offset some of their college costs. Enrollment Advisor Nikki Houston established the “LTH Don’t Give Up” Scholarship at the end of last year with the goal of helping single parents achieve their academic dreams. Alicia Anderson, a Liberal Arts major, is one of the two CWI students who were awarded the scholarship. With the scholarship’s help, Alicia is motivated to achieve academic success.
Alicia’s Story
Growing up, Alicia always knew education was the key to success. She is not only the first person in her family to attend college, she is the first in her family to graduate from high school. She moved away from her home in Idaho Falls after graduating to attend Boise State University, but ended up dropping out to support herself by working two jobs.
“I knew I’d go back to school eventually, but it wasn’t until I got pregnant with my son at the age of 20 that I realized if I wanted to provide a better life for him, I needed to do something beyond retail and customer service,” she said.
When the time came for Alicia to reconsider school, she says it happened during an unexpected time. She had heard about free application week at CWI and decided to check it out. She says one thing led to another and before she knew it—everything worked out perfectly and she was back in class. Her son, Eli, was about to turn seven years old, he was going to school full time, and she had more time to focus on her studies.
“The past few years have been emotional and especially difficult to handle as a single mom,” she said. “Being a single parent hasn’t affected my goals in a bad way, but rather given me the drive and motivation to overcome obstacles in order to succeed.”
Eli’s schedule now allows Alicia to juggle a full-time job, a three-quarter time class schedule, and the many activities little kids enjoy. She manages to keep a 3.0 grade point average as well.
“I try really hard,” she says. “And I work really hard to give my son the things I never had. One day, I’ll be able to look back and appreciate the struggles I endured to make my dreams come true, and I’ll be better equipped to help Eli achieve his dreams.”
Alicia’s goal is to transfer her CWI degree to Idaho State University and study speech pathology.
Scholarship Helps Complete a Life Goal
A College of Western Idaho (CWI) employee is helping two students offset some of their college costs. Enrollment Advisor Nikki Houston established the “LTH Don’t Give Up” Scholarship at the end of last year with the goal of helping single parents achieve their academic dreams. Christina Northrop, a Nursing program student, is one of two CWI students who were awarded the scholarship. With the scholarship’s help, Christina is determined to complete her life goal of becoming a nurse.
Christina’s Story
Once Christina finally made the decision to enroll in nursing school, she found out she was going to become a parent—more specifically, a single parent.
“I was literally a few days away from applying for an RN program at a Texas college when I found out I was pregnant,” she said. “I knew then that I would have to move back home to Idaho in order to finish college. I packed up my little car to the brim and drove 1,600 miles to Idaho. My son, Milo, was born seven months later.”
Before leaving Texas, Christina became the first person in her family to graduate from college. She earned an Associate Degree in General Studies at a community college, and set nursing as her next academic goal.
“My father influenced me to go to college,” she said. “He always told me I needed a career to have a good life, and now my drive is intensified by the need to provide for my son.”
Shortly after Milo was born, Christina discovered the Certified Nursing Assistant program through CWI’s Workforce Development. After earning her certification last year, she started working on the courses she needed to competitively apply for CWI’s Nursing program. She earned straight As along the way, and learned she could apply for scholarships to help offset some of the costs of college.
"Thank you to the people who have devoted their time and money to this scholarship,” she said. “I want them to know how much I really appreciate the opportunity they're bringing to people like myself. It's important that they know their effort is not taken for granted!"
A few weeks after being awarded the scholarship, Christina was accepted into the CWI Nursing program. She begins her journey this fall.
CWI Veterans Association Supports Eagle Field of Honor
The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Veterans Association is fostering an important partnership with the Eagle Field of Honor this month by volunteering to support the organization’s annual patriotic flag display. The Eagle Field of Honor is a breathtaking tribute that features 600 U.S. flags.
The student-led Veterans Association has partnered with the Eagle Field of Honor for the past three years to host a similar display at the College’s Nampa Campus Academic Building. CWI’s Patriot Range is open to the public during the week leading up to Veterans Day.
In support of the display in Eagle, five CWI students volunteered on Wednesday (May 11) to help assemble flags at Lithia Ford of Boise. The group helped assemble 400 flags for the display. CWI students will continue supporting the effort next week by volunteering to relocate the flags, set-up the field, support the opening ceremony, and take down the field.
The 10th annual Eagle Field of Honor will stand from May 21-31 at Merrill Park in Eagle. The flag display is set in perfect rows and includes yellow ribbons with the name, rank, branch of service, and war/campaign of veterans and currently serving military personnel. For more information on the tribute, visit www.eaglefieldofhonor.org.
Education Faculty Present at Boise Conference
On April 27, Carol Billing and Molly Wolk represented College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Education Department at the Mountain Plains Adult Education Association (MPAEA) and Idaho Lifelong Learners Association’s (ILLA) Conference at the Riverside Hotel in Boise. The duo provided an overview of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaces No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
While the policy is still very new, Wolk and Billing explained how teacher preparation programs at community colleges are not considered within ESSA’s accountability plan. Since community colleges provide an essential pipeline of first-generation, non-traditional, STEM-focused and career switching students into four-year institutions, and ultimately into Idaho’s classrooms, the adoption of ESSA in Idaho needs to account for teacher preparation programs at all post-secondary institutions. Billing and Wolk are some of the first in the state to present on this new legislation, and their session sparked authentic and collegial conversation around this bill.
Administrative Specialist Faculty Wins May Honor
Teri Harbacheck has been selected as College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) May Faculty of Distinction.
Harbacheck is a faculty member in the CWI Administrative Specialist Program. She came to the College from Boise State University’s Selland College of Applied Technology. She currently teaches business English, business writing, business editing, and an entry-level Microsoft Word class for the four majors in the business department. This is her eighteenth year of teaching.
She was nominated by a coworker for her incredible breadth of knowledge in her field, willingness to provide advice and mentoring to other instructors, classroom savvy, and giggle.
Harbacheck has been married to her husband Joe for 35 years and has two children. Kyle is 30 and is completing culinary school in the Basque County, Spain. Katie is 29 and works for an orthopedic surgeon in downtown Boise as his athletic trainer. Harbacheck enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, reading, scrapbooking, playing the piano, and is an active member of her parish.
Please join in congratulating Teri for this well-deserved honor.
