One tool student interns will use is the ICW Legislative Action Center.

Independent Colleges of Washington seeks 10 student advocacy interns, one from each member college, to organize students to be advocates for state financial aid programs. The weak economy has resulted in plunging revenue for the state, and higher education has seen state support reduced in recent years. In 2010, with the help of student advocates, we turned back proposals to essentially gut state aid programs. The governor is writing a budget proposal right now, and when the legislature convenes in January it will face a budget deficit of more than $4 billion. Student aid may well be on the chopping block again. If students can make their voices heard in Olympia, we can protect and possibly even enhance student aid programs at a time when they’re most desperately needed. Stable or enhanced aid will help students keep studying at the outstanding private college of their choice.

Our student advocacy interns will be responsible for organizing others from their colleges to contact their legislators and the governor and explain the importance of financial aid. Desired outcomes include:

• Students make face-to-face visits with legislators, either in their district office, at events on campus or in the community, or during the legislative session in Olympia
• Students send messages to the governor and legislators, through the ICW Advocacy Center or by written note or phone call
• Students help put a real face on student aid by lending their likenesses and stories to such collateral as ICW student aid all-star cards or by making advocacy videos and posting them to the Save Student Aid Facebook page
• Students sign up for the ICW Advocacy Center, and like the ICW and Save Student Aid Facebook pages

Each intern will be compensated $400 for their efforts in organizing, paid in $100 increments monthly at the end of December, January, February, and March and based on adequate progress on the outcomes above. Adequate progress in any given month means accomplishments on at least one of the outcomes: At least 10 students meet in person with a legislator, at least 25 students send messages through the advocacy center, students post at least one advocacy video, or recruit at least 75 followers for the ICW and Save Student Aid Facebook pages. In addition, the most successful interns can earn a bonus based on the outcomes, with in-person meetings and written contacts having the most weight in the ICW analysis of these efforts. The most successful intern will earn a bonus of $500, second $300, and third $200.

Interns will report to and receive advice and support from Greg Scheiderer, ICW vice president and lead staff on government relations. Monthly reports to be made on-line.

Background: Independent Colleges of Washington is an association of 10 private, nonprofit colleges in the state. Members of the association are Gonzaga University, Heritage University, Pacific Lutheran University, Saint Martin’s University, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University, University of Puget Sound, Walla Walla University, Whitman College, and Whitworth University.

The mission of Independent Colleges of Washington is to provide educational opportunity, choice, and success for students. We accomplish this by securing financial resources for students, advocating for public policy that supports students, building strategic collaborations, and by telling the compelling story of high-quality academically rigorous independent higher education.

To apply: Send resume to Info@ICWashington.org.  Include a cover letter telling us why you should be selected from your campus.  E-mail note of recommendation from someone in financial aid or other administrative office on your campus a plus.  Applications will be considered through December, with priority given to early applications.

The Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board sent out a news release today outlining the effect the governor’s ordered 6.3 percent across-the-board budget reductions will have on financial aid programs for college students. The news is not good.

The board estimates that the reductions, a cut of nearly $7 million from the State Need Grant Program, will mean that an additional 3,000 students from lower-income families will not receive the assistance for which they’re eligible. That will bring to nearly 25,000 the number of students who qualify for a grant but cannot receive one because the funds ran out. It’s a tough situation for those students. They’ll have to work longer hours (often at the expense of their studies) or take on more loan debt, and many may simply drop out.

That would be a shame. We can’t really blame the governor or legislature. In fact, their commitment to financial aid programs during recent budget crises has been laudable. The budget pressures, however, are enormous. Analysts are projecting the budget shortfall for the 2011-13 biennium to approach $4.5 billion.

This would be a good time to shore up support for student aid programs, as work is already under way on next year’s budget. We urge you to write the governor and your legislators. Thank them for their commitment to student aid, and urge them to keep up the support. When the budget is tight, investment in financial aid makes sense. It focuses scares resources where they’re needed most. And financial aid works.

Help us create opportunity, choice, and success for students. Write today! We’ve made it easy at our Legislative Action Center. If you haven’t already, sign up to be an ICW Advocate and receive occasional email alerts about higher education policy issues and notice when your calls or emails can make a big difference.

Some of the students who attended the Independent Colleges of Washington scholarship luncheon Aug. 13 have a message for everyone who helps support student financial aid in its many forms! Photo: ICW.

It’s hard to believe that college campuses are already beginning to bustle with activity. Freshmen are moving in, orientations start next week, and classes begin on five Independent Colleges of Washington member campuses before the calendar flips over to September.

Many of those students will only be going to college thanks to your help! Generous donors to ICW contributed more than $1 million again last year to support scholarships and other assistance for students. Legislators reaffirmed their support for student aid programs despite terrible budget challenges, though increasing weakness in state revenues may force some reductions in aid soon. Washington taxpayers get a bargain from the state’s private, nonprofit colleges and universities, which confer nearly a quarter of the baccalaureate and higher degrees awarded in the state each year while receiving less than two percent of the higher education budget, which goes to students in the form of financial aid.

Independent colleges contribute academically rigorous liberal arts education to the rich tapestry of choices available to the state’s students, providing opportunities for scholarship that lead to successful careers, fruitful lives, and engaged and informed citizenship.

Last week we had a scholarship luncheon in Seattle to bring together some of the students who benefit from ICW scholarships and the donors who make it happen. It’s rewarding and satisfying to see how big a difference a scholarship can make in a young person’s life, and the plans, hopes, and dreams that are made possible with a little financial assistance. They, and we, thank all who help make it happen.

Pacific Lutheran University will become the seventh independent college of Washington to celebrate spring commencement when 875 graduates receive their degrees on Sunday at the Tacoma Dome. William C. Bell, president and CEO of Casey Family Programs, will be the keynote speaker at the ceremony.

The members of Independent Colleges of Washington are smaller colleges—PLU’s enrollment is just under 3,600—but together our 10 institutions enroll nearly 40,000 students and confer about a quarter of the baccalaureate and higher degrees earned in Washington each year. This year around 8,500 students will receive their degrees from one of these great colleges.

Our impact is felt even more strongly in some degree fields. For example, our colleges award about 36 percent of the education degrees and 39 percent of the baccalaureate and higher nursing degrees in the state. PLU has strong programs in both of these in-demand degree areas.

Congratulations, Lutes!

Happy grads! University of Puget Sound photo by Ross Mulhausen.

More happy graduates will take the walk this weekend when three Independent Colleges of Washington members hold commencement ceremonies: Gonzaga University Law School, Whitworth University, and University of Puget Sound.

Every year ICW members confer about 25 percent of the baccalaureate and higher degrees earned in Washington; there will be about 8,500 graduates this year. Small class sizes and personal attention help students complete our rigorous academic programs “on time”; nearly 80 percent of our graduates earn their degrees in four years.

About 181 new graduates will participate in the law school ceremony at Gonzaga Saturday, where the undergraduate and graduate commencements were held last weekend. Law grads will hear a keynote address from Hon. Richard Jones, who sits on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

This weekend’s will be the last commencement ceremonies at Whitworth University for President Bill Robinson, who retires from his leadership post this summer. Robinson will shake the hands of 112 graduate degree recipients on Saturday and 480 undergraduate degree earners at Sunday’s ceremony. He’ll keynote both.

University of Puget Sound will hand diplomas to 727 graduates Sunday. Scott Jackson, a 1980 alumnus of Puget Sound and vice president of PATH, an international nonprofit that works on global health, will be the keynote speaker.

Congratulations to all of the graduates, and proud parents, too!

SMU graduates

The first wave of the class of 2010 will hit the streets as three members of Independent Colleges of Washington—Gonzaga University, Heritage University, and Saint Martin’s University—hold their commencement ceremonies this weekend. About 8,500 students will receive their diplomas.

Every year ICW members confer about 25 percent of the baccalaureate and higher degrees earned in Washington. Small class sizes and personal attention help students complete our rigorous academic programs “on time”; nearly 80 percent of our graduates earn their degrees in four years.

Gonzaga will graduate a record-size class for the eighth year in a row. GU will pass out diplomas to 2,092 students. The graduate school commencement is Saturday, undergraduates take the walk Sunday, and the Law School holds commencement May 15.  Rev. Charles Currie, S.J., will be the keynote speaker at both ceremonies this weekend, and also will receive the DeSmet Medal, Gonzaga’s highest honor.

At Heritage University 303 students earned degrees this year, and about half of them will participate in the ceremony on Saturday. Incoming Heritage President Dr. John Bassett will be the commencement speaker.

Rev. William R. Headley, CSSP, Ph.D., will be the commencement speaker Saturday at Saint Martin’s University. Saint Martin’s will confer 341 bachelor’s degrees and 80 master’s degrees at the ceremony.

Congratulations to all of the graduates!

In 2009, Saint Martin’s University and Seattle University were selected to receive $10,000 each to conduct a student research project focusing on energy efficiency and conservation.  This competition, open to all five ICW colleges on the west side of Washington, is funded by Puget Sound Energy.  On Thursday, April 8, 2010 each student group presented the results of their year-long research project to a group of engineers and other PSE employees.

The following is the Saint Martin’s University presentation developed to highlight their work on industrial paper drying.

A new report from The Project on Student Debt has some mixed news. While 2008 college grads left school with somewhat more debt than those in previous years, debt for students in the Western U.S. was generally less than that for students in the East.

ICW board member Laura Rehrmann, left, and Alicia Cottrell, a University of Puget Sound student and recipient of the ICW Board Scholarship, talk during a break in ICW's board meeting in October.

Washington state falls a bit below the middle. The average debt for graduates here was $18,987, ranking 35th highest in the country. Fifty-eight percent of students graduated with debt; that’s 27th highest in the country.

The average debt for students at Independent Colleges of Washington member institutions was a bit higher than the state average, just over $22,000. That’s a pretty small difference considering that average tuition is 4-to-5 times higher than it is at public colleges. Ninety percent of students receive some financial aid, including institutional aid which averages nearly $12,000. Coupled with state and federal grants, work study, and other scholarships, financial aid helps bring a high-quality, academically rigorous independent higher education within reach of all students, regardless of family income. You can learn more about the quality and affordability of private colleges in our annual fact book.

You can check out state-by-state data on the report, or download a PDF of the whole thing, from the Project on Student Debt Web site. There’s quite a bit of media coverage of the report, too, including the New York Times blog from yesterday and today, and CBS Moneywatch.

Quarless and his poster

Whitworth University recently posted this news item about senior Danjuma Quarless, who received a prestigious award from the University of Massachusetts for his scientific research and has been invited to present his findings at the annual conference of the American Society of Cell Biology. Quarless did some pretty brainy work on deflagellation-induced gene expression in Chlamydomonas. (Chlamydomonas is a type of green alga and unicellular flagellates. Flagellate are cells with one or more whip-like organelles called flagella, found in some animals. It says so in the Whitworth story!)

Near the end of the story, it’s noted that Quarless is part of Act Six, a leadership and scholarship program at Whitworth and several other Independent Colleges of Washington member institutions. Quarless received the ICW Board of Directors Scholarship this year. By coincidence, we interviewed him for the video below before we knew about his scientific awards.

Quarless provides proof of the power of financial aid. Already an award-winning scientist, Quarless plans to pursue a medical career. Without the help of financial aid and scholarships, he may never have been able to attend college at all. Scholarships help unlock the potential in many a capable student. That’s why we’re always encouraging everyone to Invest in Washington… One student at a time.