If you’ve ever gone to the Bellevue College campus, you know that the address is 3000 Landerholm Circle. The patch of road is named after Merle Landerholm, the first president of what was then Bellevue Community College.
I wonder what they will name after Jean Floten to signify the immense impact she has had on the school and education in this state and nationally. It should be something significant.
Floten will be leaving Bellevue College in a few months to become chancellor of Western Governors University, an online educational facility.
The school was started in 1997 by the governors of 19 western states. It offers a number of bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in many disciplines.
The change for Floten probably comes as a surprise for many. After all, Bellevue College is the third largest institution of higher learning in the state, behind only the University of Washington and Washington State University. It has 39,000 students — a mixture of full-time students and others in training or other types of classes. WGU, on the other hand, has an enrollment of 20,000 students, 984 of whom are in Washington.
But this is hardly a step down for Floten. Instead, it seems just one more step she will take to bring education to the students who need it.
Consider the beginnings of the state’s community colleges. They were formed to offer in-place education to students who could not — for whatever reasons — go “off to school” at one of the traditional four-year colleges and universities.
The state’s community colleges offered courses in technical programs and also provided the first two years of regular college courses.
That worked for awhile. But more and more, as students wanted to get a four-year degree at a college close to home and in the Bellevue area, that meant a lot of students. Fortunately, Floten, who has been president of BC for 23 years, was here to help make that happen.
She pushed — OK, some would say “badgered” — state education officials and legislators to let BC expand its offerings. Finally, the state said “yes,” albeit in a very limited way.
Perhaps that’s why it’s really no surprise that Floten would move on to the only way to provide a complete educational package to students without having to buck the entrenched state colleges and universities that are reluctant to share what is available to students.
It’s obvious that the state’s four-year colleges and universities don’t have the capacity to meet the growing needs of students. That situation has only become worse with the ongoing recession and the increase in tuition that schools have to charge to — so to speak — stay in business.
Going to WGU will cost a student about $5,800 a year in tuition and fees. Compare that with the four-year public schools in this state that charge $6,900 to $9,000 a year. Even better, you can take classes from the comfort of your own home with your computer.
The result of operations such as WGU will be to increase the number of people in our state with four-year degrees. That means more people with advanced education who can help propel us into a more and more competitive world.
Another plus: since WGU is a private, nonprofit entity, it doesn’t have to deal with the entrenched bureaucracy of state agencies and thus can move quickly to meet the needs of students.
WGU has a strong pedigree of educational leaders on its board of directors. It’s now bringing on one of the stars in delivering education to the people.
It’s going to be hard to think of Bellevue College without Jean Floten. But we should cheer as she expands educational offerings to more and more people, not just in Washington, but throughout the country.
Craig Groshart is the editor of the Bellevue Reporter.
