Workforce demand for some career programs offered by Washington State Community College is so acute that students are being hired away before completing their studies.

Sarah Parker-Clever, the vice president for academic affairs, told the college board of trustees Monday afternoon that one way to respond is using a sort of staged credentialling model that would allow students to obtain incremental credentials and to advance according to their level of accomplishment rather than following a rigid schedule of coursework.

“The welding program particularly stands out. We’re going to start with it as a competency-based program,” she said. “These students are finding a lot of work, and that’s one reason they’re not finishing the program. We want to create a bridge from non-credit to credit, get them to completion a little faster.”

Parker-Clever said after the meeting the competency-model is in a sense an inversion of the usual course process.

“Instead of thinking of a class where students move through as a unit, they would demonstrate competency and move on,” she said.

Students also would be able to request an assessment for prior learning, she said.

“If they’ve been working in the field and have certain credentials already, they can submit a portfolio. Also, we’re working with workforce development to package things in a certain way, for instance so that welders could get credits but not necessarily an associate’s degree,” she said.

The goal would be to get students through the course more quickly if they demonstrate competence.

Parker-Clever said the model might have applications to other courses as well.

“Other institutions have done IT (Information Technology) programs in this format,” she said. “It’s a lot of work to develop this model, so we’ll see how it goes with welding.”

In other business, the board:

Approved an audit report from chief financial officer Jess Raines, which stated that the college’s books had been given a “non-modified” rating, the highest available. College president Vicky Wood noted that a clean audit is essential for the college to continue receiving federal student aid support.

Was advised that the McDonough Foundation had granted the college $50,000 in support of the nursing program and its success coaching, to be applied toward developing program flexibility to attract more adult students.

Was informed that Peoples Bank had donated $60,000 toward creating a scholarship program that would provide four $1,000 scholarships per year.

The board’s next regular monthly meeting will be held at 4 p.m. Nov. 19 in the community room at the main campus building