The financial brick wall going up for students at some community colleges doesn’t exist at Shoreline Community College.

“Years ago, we chose a different solution than some of the schools now having problems,” SCC financial aid manager Ted Haase said. “That choice is now helping our college and our students.”

In recent weeks, students at community colleges in Washington and across the country are feeling the pinch of tightening credit policies at major lenders for student loans.  Citibank is one of those lenders, but bank officials say they are not singling out community colleges, but rather have suspended loans at all colleges with small loan volumes and short repayment terms.

"The combination of a significant increase in our funding costs, as well as the expense of originating and servicing these loans, has made loans to borrowers at these schools economically unworkable at this time," Mark Rodgers, a spokesman for Citibank, said in one published story.

"The last couple of weeks have really been something," Kim Matison, the director of financial aid services at Tacoma Community College, said in a recently published report. Citibank and KeyBank have just pulled out of student loan financing agreements at TCC. "It's one thing to read about it happening. It's another to have it happen to you and your students directly."

Matison said TCC had 10 lenders offering student loans last fall. That list is now down to six, and could soon be at five. Changes at Bank of America are forcing the college to consider dropping that lender.

Matison said the market could collapse further.

"If something does happen, it's likely to happen all at once," she said, adding that she is closely monitoring developments.

Loans for students attending Shoreline Community College aren’t affected because at SCC, all such loans are made directly by the federal government. The only other community colleges using the direct federal loan program are Spokane Community College and Spokane Falls Community College.

Students in Washington take out about $900 million in student loans each year, said John Klacik, the director of student financial assistance for the state Higher Education Coordinating Board. About 40 percent of the loans are made directly through the federal government and aren't affected by the market turmoil, he said.

“For Shoreline Community College, it was just a philosophical decision a number of years ago,” Haase said. “We felt that the direct federal loan program would just be more stable for our students.”

Haase said that there are no interest rate advantages in either the direct federal loan program or going through approved private lenders. “There is a slightly lower fee in the direct federal program,” he said.

The fact that most major four-year colleges in the state, including the University of Washington, also use the direct federal loan program was a factor in the original SCC decision, he said. SCC historically transfers a higher percentage of its graduates to the UW than any other community college in the state.

“Students getting loans here are already familiar with the process when they go to the UW,” Hasse said. “If they want to consolidate loans, they’re already in the same system.”

If there has been any downside the federal program, it has been for SCC staff, not students, Haase said.

“We process, literally, every penny by hand,” he said. That situation is expected to change in the coming months with software upgrades coming from the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges. “We’re excited,” Hasse said. “The time saved in loan processing will mean we have more time for helping students.”

For more information about financial aid at Shoreline Community College, contact the financial aid office at 206-546-4762, by e-mail at finaid@shoreline.edu or by fax 206-533-6609.

SHORELINE, WA — Science doesn’t have to be serious and only for the science student.  In fact, science can be quite the opposite.  It can be like joining TV’s CSI team to find the solution.  The field of biotechnology offers just such an opportunity for adventure and diversity as well as an exciting career.

On Aug. 11-13, local high school students will get a chance to role play biotechnologists at the Biotechnology Summer Student Experience at Shoreline Community College.  

A group of 14 teenagers from Best, Summit, Roosevelt, Auburn Riverside and Garfield high schools will experience the real deal, working side-by-side with Shoreline Community College Biotechnology Outreach Coordinator, Adrienne Houck, performing lab activities in the college’s biotechnology lab. Participants will perform things that biotechs do every day in their jobs such as drawing liquids and bacterial transformation Students will also have an introduction to bioinformatics, experiencing how to use computers to retrieve gene information and how researchers analyze it and integrate it into gene-based research and development. 

“It’s exciting to provide an opportunity for students to work in a realistic laboratory, using equipment they might not have seen before,” says Houck. “Many of these students have not been able to participate in outreach science programs focusing on biotechnology.  With very few of these available in the area, they are highly competitive and focused on the very top student.  We wanted the “everyday” student that is interested in science, who needs opportunities like this to see how to get into a great career.”

SCC Biotechnology Program Director and Professor Guy Hamilton will talk about college life and the biotechnology and science programs.  A representative from the Financial Aid Office will be on hand to talk about financial aid and scholarship opportunities for the Lab Specialist program and the students will tour the campus. 

Science Dean Susan Hoyne says the Biotechnology Program at the college is first rate.  “Shoreline has an outstanding biotech program that’s hands-on. Major companies and institutions employ our graduates and we equip our students to work in a lab anywhere in the world. Lab technicians don’t need to have a PhD—they just need to enjoy science.” 

The lucky students will also tour the Amgen Pilot Manufacturing Plant in Bothell, where they will watch scientists work on research projects, specifically the design of possible new pharmaceutical products. 

“When researchers have products that are promising, they are sent to the pilot plant to see if it can be replicated and the integrity of the product can be kept while increasing the amount,” says Houck, who says that if successful, clinical research, which include clinical trials would be the next step.

The young students will walk through several basic research labs and see the scientists in action and how product is transferred through bioreactors. Bioreactors are large metal containers kept at strict standards that increase the product amount into many liters.

“They get to see a very unique view into this field compared to other biotechs in the PNW area,” says Houck, who points out that the students will see the researchers using the same tools they used earlier in the laboratory at the college.  “It makes careers in biotechnology seem obtainable because they experience it in action.”

Students will have the opportunity to talk to administrators and researchers and ask questions about their work and careers in biotechnology. They will be awarded a certificate of completion.

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