Tag Archives: Seattle Colleges

News

Seattle Colleges Accused of Retaliating Against Due Process Whistleblower, BIPOC Student

by Ari McKenna

A former North Seattle College (NSC) professor, Paul Kurose, says he is being targeted by Seattle Colleges District (SCD) administrators after he wrote an email pointing out a pattern of SCD not honoring due process for students and staff of color. His direct supervisor, Vice President of Instruction Peter Lortz, has since levied a claim against Kurose for targeting white administrators that is currently being investigated by SCD. The NAACP, the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), and the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) are among those who have characterized Kurose’s treatment by Seattle Colleges as retaliation.

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News

Seattle Colleges Professors Protest Stagnant Salaries While Inflation Soars

by Ari Robin McKenna

The Emerald blows loudly as the royal trumpet, signaling that there is indeed life abundant. It’s the sound of information, the sound of challenge, the sound of change and — maybe most importantly — the sound of hope. Join me in supporting the Emerald as a recurring donor during their 8th anniversary campaign, Ripples & Sparks at Home, April 20–28. Become a Rainmaker now by choosing the “recurring donor” option on the donation page!

—Marcus Harden, Educator, Author, & Rainmaker

On Tuesday, April 24, a group of Seattle Colleges professors protested outside the Broadway Performance Hall before walking to their district headquarters, Siegal Center. Inside, union leaders, who professors say aren’t fully representing their needs, were bargaining. Their salaries for the next three years hung in the balance between the 0% raise professors say was initially offered by Seattle Colleges, the 15% raise the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Seattle Local 1789 is bargaining for, and the 40% raise they say is necessary to keep them afloat during historic national inflation in a city where the cost of living is over 50% above the national average.

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Voices

Seattle Promise Is Building Educational Equity

by Shouan Pan, Dr. Brent Jones, and Ana MariCauce

In the midst of a global pandemic, the Seattle Promise program, which guarantees two years tuition-free at Seattle Colleges, is thriving. This fall, more than 1,100 students are enrolled in Seattle Promise, working toward a degree or certificate they might otherwise not be able to afford. 

Nationally, during the pandemic, nearly all community colleges saw enrollment drop. But at Seattle Colleges, the nationally recognized Seattle Promise program actually grew post-secondary enrollment because of our partnerships and targeted student services. 

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News

Seattle Colleges Professors Say a Faulty Software System Is Driving Down Enrollment

by Ben Adlin

New student enrollment and registration software has been causing a range of problems for students, faculty, and staff at Seattle Colleges, and they say school administrators and State officials have been unresponsive to their repeated requests to make fixes. 

The transition to the new software platform, ctcLink, has caused headaches for students trying to register, in some cases making it difficult to search for required courses or wrongly telling students they haven’t completed a class’s prerequisites. The platform has also prevented faculty from making quick corrections to course descriptions and meeting times, creating even more confusion for students. There have even been occasions when students were mistakenly dropped from courses for nonpayment, though they had, in fact, paid.

Critics claim the problems have contributed to significant declines in enrollment at Seattle Colleges — which include South Seattle, North Seattle, and Seattle Central colleges — since ctcLink’s launch there in February. They say the lower enrollment has led to course cancellations and has cost faculty members their jobs.

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