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Editorial: SFCC takes right step in closing STEM gap

Fri., Feb. 13, 2015

The announcement that Spokane Falls Community College will begin offering a four-year applied science degree is welcome news in a state battling a “skills gap” in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Another computer-related degree is under consideration.

The applied science program is designed to produce graduates who are ready to take jobs in the information technology field. In its proposal to the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges, SFCC estimated this sector is expected to add 758,800 jobs nationwide from 2010 to 2020. The Spokane and North Idaho area is expected to see 11 percent growth in such jobs. There will also be management positions to fill.

It’s a step in the right direction.

Two years ago, the Washington Roundtable reported that 25,000 high-skill jobs went unfilled for at least three months because employers couldn’t find qualified applicants. About 1,200 potential majors in technology fields were being turned away from two-year and four-year colleges because they didn’t have the funding to create more slots. In 2005, this narrow educational pipeline produced only 21 computer science graduates for every 1,000 jobs in that field. Utah produced such graduates at five times that rate.

It’s a confounding situation for a state that leads the nation in per capita STEM jobs, but leaders have begun to respond.

In 2013, the Legislature passed a bill that allows high school advanced placement computer science courses to count as science or math credits. Before that, the courses were considered electives. Since the change, 10 more high schools have begun offering AP computer science.

The state is embracing the Common Core curriculum, which should help improve math instruction and reduce the number of students who need remedial help in college.

The Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, a public-private partnership, is increasing its outreach to low- and middle-income students who may be interested in STEM-related fields. Boeing and Microsoft put up money that’s matched by the state, and the awards were increased last summer. Students can collect as much as $22,000 toward a degree. About 4,400 students have taken advantage, thus far.

But the biggest challenge remains direct funding to higher education so colleges and universities can create more STEM slots. A significant incentive for lawmakers is the increased revenue that would come from meeting workforce needs: an estimated $720 million annually in sales tax and $80 million in local taxes, according to the Washington Roundtable business organization.

With the demands on lawmakers imposed by the Washington Supreme Court’s McCleary school-funding decision, money for the universities won’t come all at once. But they can do a better job ensuring that current majors end up with diplomas.

In the meantime, initiatives like SFCC’s show that the state is making progress.