On Dec. 4, 2014, Bellevue College President Dr. Dave Rule attended the second Higher Education Access Summit in Washington, DC. The summit was held at the White House and President Barack Obama along with First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden presented at the event.
According to The American Council on Education, the summit was “focused on efforts to help students prepare for and graduate from college.” Also, the leaders who participated in the event ideally are supposed to be “committed to take concrete new steps in one of four areas: building networks of colleges around promoting completion, creating K-16 partnerships around college readiness, investing in high school counselors as part of the First Lady Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher initiative and increasing the number of college graduates in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.” Bellevue College has plans that follow those initiatives.
Earlier last week, Rule sent out an email to all Bellevue College officials mentioning goals and annual plans for this new year. The email contained information on workshops, reinventing governance and the strategic plans of the college. “Annual Planning and Reinventing Governance efforts are being coordinated by Effectiveness and Strategic Planning in collaboration with the Strategic Planning Steering Committee,” Rule explained.
Another way Bellevue College is taking actions towards those commitments is by developing the STEM Program. According to their website, “STEM to Stern is a prestigious program that […] is a two year long cohort class for high-potential transfer students planning to major in fields related to Science, Technology, Engineering or Math.” Another plan is to create a new program, called BC RISE. RISE stands for Research, Innovation, Service and Experiential learning.Based on the Bellevue College’s Spring 2014 Exceptional Magazine. A major plan for Bellevue College scheduled in 2016 is a “$39 million, 70,000 square foot building” that is intended to “house BC’s growing health sciences programs, with laboratories incorporating the latest technology, providing an improved teaching and learning environment for students and faculty.” The programs that would be offered in the new building would include nursing, radiation therapy, radiologic technology, diagnostic ultrasound, nuclear medicine technology, neurodiagnostic technology, health professions, radiation and imaging sciences and healthcare technology and management. The building is currently under construction, next to Landerholm Circle.
For more information on the STEM to Stern program or to apply, visit their website or give them a call at 425-564-2279. For more information on the Higher Education summit visit acenet.edu