OLYMPIA - Several progress reports on issues related to the effort to raise educational attainment in Washington will be presented when the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) holds its next-to-last meeting on Thursday, April 26 at Olympic College in Bremerton.
The HECB is preparing to make way for the Washington Student Achievement Council, a new state higher education agency created this year by the Legislature and Governor to focus on improving student achievement. The HECB will officially be dissolved and the Council established on July 1.

The HECB meeting will include a number of panel discussions and presentations on topics that are likely to be of concern to the new Council as it strives to carry out its mandate.

Issues that will be discussed:

  • College Bound Scholarship Program-This program provides financial assistance to low-income students who signed a pledge in middle school to meet certain standards and successfully enroll in postsecondary education programs after high school. The first College Bound students will begin enrolling in college this fall. HECB staff and a representative of the College Success Foundation will review progress on outreach efforts, student characteristics, development of the payment system and support provided to College Bound students in this year's senior class.
  • Common Core Standards Implementation-These standards are a set of learning expectations for K-12 students in English-language arts and mathematics that are now being adopted nationwide. Washington adopted the standards last year. When fully implemented during the 2014-15 school year, students will be assessed based on the common core standards. The HECB presentation will describe various efforts to implement the standards.
  • Update on Kitsap Higher Education Center-In 2008, the HECB reviewed the need for a higher education center in the Kitsap/Olympic Peninsula region and issued a report and recommendation to develop two centers-one at Peninsula College and one at Olympic College. The HECB presentation will include remarks by the consultant who developed the recommendation and by higher education representatives concerned with the issue.
  • Strategic Master Plan Metrics-In November 2011, the HECB adopted seven "next steps" for continuing progress on the state's 2008 Strategic Master Plan for Higher Education. In February, the Board reviewed a conceptual model for monitoring progress on the next steps. HECB staff will present a set of proposed metrics that can be used to monitor progress.

Also at the HECB's April 26 meeting, the Board will hear reports on new legislation directing the Washington Student Achievement Council and the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to prepare separate reports on the effectiveness of the State Need Grant program in meeting the higher education needs of low-income students and achieving the state's higher education goals.

Source: Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board