Peninsula College receives accreditation to offer four-year degrees
College boosts efforts for veterans
Peninsula College President Tom Keegan has committed the college to being a veteran-friendly campus as part of a memorandum of understanding between the school and the state Department of Veterans Affairs.
"Peninsula College was recently identified in the top 15 colleges in the nation in the country who do work to embrace veterans," Keegan said, referring to the college's inclusion on the 2011 list of Military Friendly Schools recently released by G.I. Jobs, a publication for people going from the military to civilian life.
The recognition is "not why we do this work," Keegan said Tuesday.
"The most important thing is that the college serves those who have served our country," he said.
As part of its efforts to recruit and support local veterans and their families, Peninsula College, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., will host a Veterans and Family Resource Fair from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday.
The fair is designed to connect veterans and their families to Peninsula College and other regional educational and training resources. It includes a free barbecue -- while supplies last -- a sidewalk drawing contest, campus tours and a "petting zoo" for electronic gadgets.
John E. Lee, director of the state Department of Veterans Affairs, signed the memorandum, as well as Mike Gregoire, Gov. Chris Gregoire's husband.
"I understand that there are 250 veterans or their family members enrolled here at Peninsula College," Lee said.
The formal agreement commits the college to increasing awareness of veterans' programs on and off campus, training staff, fostering social support and acceptance of veterans, encouraging veterans to use GI Bill benefits, helping them succeed in higher education and ensuring that staff and veterans have access to services.
Peninsula College has established a veterans services team of seven faculty and staff members.
Peninsula College President Tom Keegan has committed the college to being a veteran-friendly campus as part of a memorandum of understanding between the school and the state Department of Veterans Affairs.
"Peninsula College was recently identified in the top 15 colleges in the nation in the country who do work to embrace veterans," Keegan said, referring to the college's inclusion on the 2011 list of Military Friendly Schools recently released by G.I. Jobs, a publication for people going from the military to civilian life.
The recognition is "not why we do this work," Keegan said Tuesday.
"The most important thing is that the college serves those who have served our country," he said.
As part of its efforts to recruit and support local veterans and their families, Peninsula College, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., will host a Veterans and Family Resource Fair from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday.
The fair is designed to connect veterans and their families to Peninsula College and other regional educational and training resources. It includes a free barbecue -- while supplies last -- a sidewalk drawing contest, campus tours and a "petting zoo" for electronic gadgets.
John E. Lee, director of the state Department of Veterans Affairs, signed the memorandum, as well as Mike Gregoire, Gov. Chris Gregoire's husband.
"I understand that there are 250 veterans or their family members enrolled here at Peninsula College," Lee said.
The formal agreement commits the college to increasing awareness of veterans' programs on and off campus, training staff, fostering social support and acceptance of veterans, encouraging veterans to use GI Bill benefits, helping them succeed in higher education and ensuring that staff and veterans have access to services.
Peninsula College has established a veterans services team of seven faculty and staff members.
By Paige Dickerson
Peninsula Daily News
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PORT ANGELES -- Peninsula College is now fully accredited to offer its own four-year degrees, said Tom Keegan, college president.
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities of Redmond evaluated the community college over the course of the spring quarter and granted the status to the school last month, Keegan said Tuesday.
The status means that the one four-year program that the college offers without working in partnership with another institution -- the applied management bachelor's degree -- is accredited and also that it may begin offering other four-year degrees, although it has no plans to do so soon, Keegan added.
The letter from the Northwest Commission informing the college that it met its standards, says:
"The commission commends the Peninsula College faculty, staff, students and administrators as highly collaborative, dedicated, enthusiastic and genuinely committed and collectively determined to meet challenges faced by the college as evidenced by the institution's beautiful, efficient facilities, successful grant development and effective teaching."
The applied management program's first class of 14 people graduated in 2009.
The program was set up as a pilot program as part of the process of accreditation, Keegan said.
"First, the Washington State Legislature has to approve the four-year degree on a pilot program, and then it goes to the Higher Education Coordinating Board, where we competed with other colleges, and we were selected for the program," Keegan said.
"Candidacy status is the idea that you have to have a program before you can accredit it.
"This is a significant milestone for our college."
Although it will not be Peninsula College's own degree, the college is finalizing an agreement with Western Washington University in Bellingham to offer students at the community college a general studies liberal arts degree through the university, Keegan said.
He said he hoped the degree would begin in the winter quarter, but it depended on how negotiations with the university go.
Keegan said that degree program puts in place one of the final pieces since a study was done about five years ago that revealed local employers were looking for employees with degrees in environmental science, business management, liberal arts and teaching.
The college has worked in partnership with Western's Huxley College of the Environment to offer a four-year degree in environmental science.
Seattle City University offers four-year teaching degrees through Peninsula College.
"It is time to redo that study and see what areas employers and employees are looking for us to have training," Keegan said.
"We will continue to work with employers in workforce training needs and develop appropriate degree programs."
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: September 07. 2010 11:37PM
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