Residents and business leaders in Clarkston told Walla Walla Community College leaders that they need to maintain in-person job training. The comments came during the first of three public meetings on Monday.
The sessions, which were held throughout the morning and afternoon, invited the public to share their perspectives on the area’s workforce needs, possible ways to meet those needs and how WWCC might continue serving Clarkston students.
Currently, WWCC is considering a number of options for service in Clarkston. These include shifting to online or hybrid learning models; increasing employer-sponsored training programs; an industry consortium for industries like healthcare to offer long-term financial contributions; and facilitating a partnership with Lewis-Clark State College for WWCC students to attend in-person classes.
Much of the college’s financial troubles have been pinned on a Washington state enrollment model that pays community and technical colleges based on the number of full-time equivalent enrollments (FTEs). One FTE is equal to 45 credits per year.
That number of FTE’s has dropped over time for the Clarkston campus, from a high of 628 in the 2010-11 school year to around 134 this year.
A total of 16 other “peer colleges” took a loss when those funding changes went into effect, according to a chart shown to attendees at Monday’s meeting, while 13 saw an increase.
Because all state funding for community and technical colleges draws from the same pot of money, some saw an increase while others had reductions.
WWCC President Chad Hickox said the college is still invested in serving students in Clarkston.
“The brick-and-mortar portion of our operation is what’s really under doubt,” he said.
State Rep. Mary Dye attended the meeting, and said she wanted to pursue a carve-out in the state funding model that prioritizes rural and career and technical colleges, describing the current model as inequitable and unfair.
“I think we could get the political will to do it this year. I’d like to try,” she said, “and I’d like to get my colleagues to do that, too.”
While that political will has yet to be tested, Mark Brigham, a commissioner for the Port of Clarkston, said he felt a mix of multiple solutions, including community partnership, was crucial to maintain workforce training in nursing and trades.
“We can’t afford not to have nursing programs and tech programs for the manufacturers in the area that are currently here,” he said. “They’re already having a difficult time finding people to fill the jobs.”
In-person attendance in Clarkston has dropped, Hickox said, while online classes have increased. About 42% of WWCC students take online classes, a jump from 17% before the COVID-19 pandemic, Hickox said.
“We also hear from student focus groups and from self-report that the high cost of gas is meaning that they’d rather not come to campus five days a week,” Hickox said.
While no business leaders made specific promises for partnerships or support during the meeting, all seemed to agree that maintaining in-person training was critical.
At one point, Hickox made reference to educational strides made by online-only institutions such as the University of Phoenix, which quickly became the stand-in example for discussing online education.
Chris Clarkson, a senior equipment maintenance manager at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, said the skills he looks for when hiring couldn’t be taught online.
“I’ve never seen a machinist, a welder, an electrician, an electronics technician, a maintenance technician, come out of a University of Phoenix,” he said. “ I can’t picture in my mind how I’d even wanna hire that student where it’s all theory and no hands-on. It just means all the burden of the teaching is gonna fall on me.”
Later on, Hickox noted that science courses with labs have been offered online for several years. He also said they hadn’t yet “cracked the code” for machining or welding, but noted the use of a virtual reality welder used to train students.
“I think that there are things that can be done in an online space that look really different than what you might imagine when you hear ‘online education,’” he said.
Nikoli Greene, a representative for the Nez Perce Tribe, said there was already an unmet need for skilled tradespeople, including HVAC technicians, plumbers, and positions in biotech and fire management. He noted needs at local fisheries, as well as maintenance for hospitality businesses.
“We don’t have that expertise here, and so we’re paying a premium to get that,” Greene said. “There’s over 200 tribal students in the Clarkston School District. So, I know there’s opportunities that we can work together and collaborate. But the goal, I think, is to keep the campus.”
Another round of community conversations are planned for July 15 and 16.
