Gary Locke still has a lot to do. Governor Locke stepped into the role of Interim President at Bellevue College in June of 2020 in the midst of a worsening pandemic. “I’ve always loved college campuses,” he says, “I took this job because I just find the college campus so stimulating.” What was intended to be a year-long tenure will end up being three years. The college recently announced the appointment of a new president after a nationwide search, but Locke isn’t done yet.
A nontraditional college president from outside academia, Locke recalls being brought on “during a time of controversy and upheaval,” and is proud of the calm and stability he helped bring to the institution. The COVID pandemic highlighted for him the uneven quality of online education, as schools across the country pivoted to virtual classes and he saw his own children’s frustrations. “The pandemic is forcing colleges and universities to adapt much faster than they would have otherwise,” says Locke.
He sees a future where a virtual mode of education is a larger part of the college equation, and feels it’s critical for Bellevue College to stand for high quality online classes. The college is the only one in the state to require specific training from a nationally recognized organization for eLearning faculty, so “If you take an online course at Bellevue College, you can be assured of the quality and design of that course.”
In addition, Locke has focused on making courses and student services easily available for nontraditional students. Nearly a third of Bellevue College’s students are 25-50 years old, and of those, about half work full time and about half have children. “How can courses be convenient for them? How can contact with faculty and advisors happen when it’s convenient for them?” asks Locke. While some of the college’s courses are asynchronous, Locke emphasizes that even then students should still have live connections with faculty, “There is no substitute for that kind of interaction.”
“Given the wide range of demographics that community and technical colleges serve, they must evolve to meet students where they’re at,” he says. “The goal of Bellevue College is to ensure all students achieve their educational goals. If the community college experience is cumbersome, confusing, unnecessarily inconvenient, and doesn’t offer courses when they need them, students will drop out. If the experience is too frustrating - then we lose them.”
Governor Locke is trying to speed up the transformation of Bellevue College toward these ends. He cites the outstanding faculty and programs at the school - both two and four year degrees. The Bachelor’s in Healthcare Management and Leadership is in the top ten programs of its type, and is pursued by students as far away as the East Coast. Locke says, “We just need to be moving faster to meet the needs of our very wide student body.”
Complementing changes to improve the reality for students, Locke is trying to overhaul systems that serve employees as well. More training opportunities and improved performance metrics will maximize resources and benefit staff. Noting that tuition and reimbursements from the state don’t cover the cost of Bellevue College’s programs, Locke says “Government is different than the private sector - and we can’t run like the private sector - but we can be informed by business principles.”
While working to meet the needs of students and staff, Locke is also working to provide value for a third contingent - regional companies, many of which have huge workforce needs that lead them to recruit out of state or even out of country. Bellevue College wants to serve both local people who may be hired by these companies in the future, and loyal employees who need additional education so they can compete for higher level job opportunities at their current employer.
“We want Bellevue College to be the regional education partner of private companies and nonprofits, offering concierge and customized programs and services,” Locke says. “How do we offer a course with highly specific content that meets the needs of both employees and businesses? That might mean a four week course with twenty hours of specific instruction,” and Locke and Bellevue College staff partner with companies to determine what that looks like.
Governor Locke will be working hard at Bellevue College until his term is complete, and only then will he look to pursuing improvements to his golf game, doing the remodeling and re-landscaping he enjoys, and spending more time with family and friends.
“Given the wide range of demographics that community and technical colleges serve, they must evolve to meet students where they’re at.”