Overview

Agriculture in southeast Washington, long the region’s economic engine, was slowing by the late 1990s. The kind of farming that required food processing was moving overseas, and lumber mills were closing. The primary employer in the small city of Walla Walla was the local penitentiary. “This was a community in financial trouble,” says Steven VanAusdle, the president of Walla Walla Community College.

In 2000, the Aspen Prize-winning college, which has a campus in Walla Walla and one 100 miles away in Clarkston, created an enology and viticulture degree program. Since then, the number of local wineries has grown from 16 to over 170, many staffed by WWCC graduates. But the success of the wine program isn’t merely defined by the relatively small number of students who graduate from it. Rather, it has spurred the creation of national wine distribution and other related facilities, as well as a healthy hospitality sector that has left the region relatively unwounded by the recession, That boosts the employment prospects of not just winemakers but also chefs, nurses, and all the other community college graduates in demand in a thriving society. “That community college has been at the forefront of the redefinition and re-creation of that community,” says Rob Sentz, a vice president at Economic Modeling Specialists Inc., which has helped WWCC anticipate workforce needs.  

Responding to Labor-Market Needs

In 2011, new WWCC graduates earned $41,548, on average, nearly twice the amount of other new hires in the region. State development officials attribute much of that to the vision of VanAusdle, who set out to transform the college from one left vulnerable to the fate that awaited small towns throughout rural America to one that would train and funnel students right into high-paying jobs they—and the community—needed. To do so, college officials analyze job and wage predictions and conduct feasibility studies to weigh the value of prospective programs. They switch course when the economy demands it. Even though students were still interested in carpentry, for instance, the college closed the program when construction waned. When analysis showed that the region could absorb at least twice as many nurses as WWCC was producing, it doubled the nursing program. Irrigation instruction shifted from farms toward lawns and sport fields, where there is more work. A new energy program provides technicians for the area’s growing stock of wind turbines. Labor statisticians helped the college plan a watershed ecology degree that will provide jobs especially for Native Americans coming to the college from a nearby reservation, which struggles to maintain salmon populations. “We’re very intentional,” says Janet Danley, dean of instruction at the Clarkston campus. “Yes, we have good programs. But we match those programs with careers that are available in our communities.” Walla Walla is innovative not just when it comes to workforce needs, but also in getting students in the door and through to completion. Through programs at two local corrections facilities, the college is leading 1,600 inmates a year, to credentials—vocational certificates and associate degrees. Instructors in adult basic education programs, such as one at a local meatpacking plant, are trained to coach their students into degree programs. “We all want GED students to enroll in college programs,” says Terri Trick, an adult basic education instructor. “[VanAusdle] speaks to it in every meeting we have.” 

Little Left to Chance

Getting students in the door is just the beginning. Thanks to focused efforts, 54 percent of full-time WWCC students graduate or transfer within three years, compared to 40 percent of community college students nationally. Two new retention specialists reach out to students at risk; after contacting 300 people who were students in the spring but had not registered for the fall, one-third re-enrolled. Faculty make heavy use of a system to trigger alerts when students are absent, miss assignments, or otherwise fall short.

And at a school where four in five students are the first in their family to attend college, little is left to chance.  Every student must see an advisor every quarter until they have proven themselves academically. All professors advise; they receive regular training, follow an advising syllabus, and have a day cleared from their schedule each term to meet students. Anyone educating or advising a student can access an easy-to-use, informative online portal that allows them to see each step remaining to degree completion and every possible roadblock.                                                                 

Strong Faculty Support

Students speak enthusiastically about their professors calling each other to talk about issues they noticed on the online portal, sending them text messages reminding them to register, and never letting them leave an advising meeting without a firm understanding—and computer printout—of where they stand on the way to their degree. Sandra Cruz Camora, 37, dropped out of college once before but now is succeeding in pre-nursing coursework. When she got to WWCC, she spent more than an hour with her adviser mapping out every potential path and how long it would take, and those meetings with her adviser and professors continue to guide her. “No matter who you are, how old you are,” Camora said, “they make you feel confident that you can accomplish what you want to accomplish.”