Meeting the challenge of our diverse and growing student population
TCC student Clark Hernandez discovered his passion for teaching while coaching football at O’Dea High School in Seattle. But when he decided to return to college and earn his teaching credentials, he found that in spite of a university background, he didn’t have the academic preparation for college. He enrolled in developmental classes at TCC, and quickly moved to TCC’s university transfer program, where he is now preparing himself for acceptance to Seattle University next fall. Clark says that at TCC he has been able to take advantage of relevant coursework and the personal support he needed to step into his chosen future. You can read more about Clark on page 3 of this magazine. Clark is one of thousands of students who enter TCC each year to prepare for future careers, and find programs tailored to their interests, program requirements and learning styles.
As the economy slowly recovers, shortages continue to increase in fields like accounting; nursing and other health occupations, technology, engineering and others—shortages that community colleges have the greatest ability to address quickly and affordably. The trend is expected to continue. Jobs that require at least one year of college or a specialized certificate will account for 42 percent of job openings over the next six years. Despite the deepest budget cuts in TCC’s 46-year history, TCC’s quality of instruction has remained high. Faculty and staff continuously take advantage of current research to improve teaching and learning and enhance student outcomes. (See “Universal Design for Learning” on page 2 for one example.) Maintaining quality and serving community need continues to be a difficult challenge. We have eliminated 74 full-time positions throughout the college since staff reductions began three years ago. For 2011-13 the college is facing a range of budget reductions from a low of $4.6 million (21%) to a high of $7.2 million (31%). At the same time, the line of students enrolling at TCC continues to grow. Almost as quickly as registration opens each quarter, students standing in line to sign up for classes find that many courses they need are full. We have moved past the point where we can meet the burgeoning education and training needs of our community. This year, even though the state continues to fund the Worker Retraining Program, students in the program are often faced with closed classes before they can even start training for new careers. This is devastating on both the human and economic levels. The quality of our future depends on our ability to weather this economic storm and continue to provide the strong education and training programs for which we are known. We remain committed to doing the most we possibly can with the resources we have.
Dr. Pamela J. Transue, President Tacoma Community College ii
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