Whatcom Community College

Whatcom Community College (WCC or Whatcom) is a public community college in Bellingham, Washington, in Whatcom County. Established in 1967, Whatcom has been accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities since 1976.[1]

Whatcom Community College
TypePublic community college
Established1967
PresidentKathi Hiyane-Brown
Academic staff
78 full-time faculty, 244 part-time
Administrative staff
479 employees
Students11,457
Location
Bellingham
,
Washington
,
United States
Campus72 acres
ColorsBurgundy and blue
MascotOrca whale
Websitewww.whatcom.edu

Academics

Whatcom offers transfer degrees, professional and technical training programs, basic education, job skills, online courses, and Community & Continuing Education classes.[2]

Student demographics

Demographics
  • 56% female; 44% male
  • 68% between the ages of 16–24
  • 76% from Whatcom County (of students 20 and younger)
  • 53% attending full-time (12 credits or more)
  • 21% students of color (of degree/certificate seeking students)
  • 42% first-generation (of degree/certificate seeking students)[2]

Student profiles
  • 6,832 credit seeking students annually
  • 1,110 Running Start students annually (569 FTE)
  • 300+ international students from 30 countries
  • 239 veterans annually
  • 4,056 Community & Continuing Education students annually[2]

Campus

WCC's 72-acre campus, located in north Bellingham, is made up of 12 buildings: Auxiliary Services Building, Baker Hall, Cascade Hall, Foundation Building, Health Professions Education Center, Heiner Center, Kelly Hall, Kulshan Hall, Laidlaw Center, Pavilion, Roe Studio, and Syre Student Center.[2][3]

Athletics

WCC competes in the Northern Region of the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC).[4] WCC has intercollegiate teams in three sports: men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball and men's and women's basketball. Soccer and volleyball seasons begin in September and end in late November. Basketball begins in mid-November and runs through the end of February. All of the Orcas' home games are held in either the Pavilion or the Orca athletic field on campus.[5]

Honors

In October 2014, the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security designated Whatcom Community College as a national center of academic excellence in information assurance and cyber defense. WCC is among the first community colleges in the nation to earn this distinction.[6]

Whatcom Community College was one of three schools to receive the Progress and Succeed Award from Hobsons, an education software and services company, in July 2014. The award recognized WCC's for using the company's online student advising and support technology, which replaces manual processes and integrates degree planning, advising, and scheduling.[7]

According to the Aspen Institute, WCC is among the nation's top 150 community colleges. The non-profit institute selected the colleges from a pool of more than 1,000 public two-year colleges that have demonstrated exceptional levels of student success. As of 2014, of Washington state's 34 community and technical colleges, Whatcom is one of six to receive this recognition.[8]

Whatcom Community College President Kathi Hiyane-Brown received the 2014 Chief Executive Officer Award from the Trustees Association of Community and Technical Colleges. The award recognized President Hiyane-Brown's dedication to student achievement and her focus on offering innovative academic and professional-technical programs that prepare students to successfully transfer to four-year schools and to excel in their careers.[9]

WCC's auxiliary services building earned LEED Silver certification for its sustainable design elements. The building, which opened in spring 2013, is home to the campus facilities department and the copy, print and mail center.[10][11]

gollark: With a Markov chain thingy and a set of past messages, we should be able to generate hydraz-like messages easily.
gollark: That second one seems much nicer and terser.
gollark: Nuvar.
gollark: PotatOS actually prints strings backwards 1/5 of the time.
gollark: I think the flowchart is probably not much use. At all. And is wrong.

References
  1. "NWCCU Main Directory". www.nwccu.org.
  2. "About Whatcom - Whatcom Community College". whatcom.edu.
  3. "Tour the Campus - Whatcom Community College". whatcom.edu.
  4. "Northwest Athletic Conference - NWAC". www.nwaacc.org.
  5. "WCC Athletics - Whatcom Community College". www.whatcom.ctc.edu.
  6. Wilson Criscione (October 14, 2014). "Whatcom Community College recognized as national leader in cybersecurity". The Bellingham Herald.
  7. "WCC recognized for technology use". BBJ Today.
  8. "Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence List Announced - The Aspen Institute". 23 January 2014.
  9. "WCC President Hiyane-Brown Named CEO of the Year, Recognized for Leadership, Dedication to Students". WhatcomTalk. June 10, 2014.
  10. "WCC building gets LEED Silver designation". The Bellingham Herald. March 6, 2014. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014.
  11. "Kudos: WCC building earns LEED Silver status". BBJ Today. March 7, 2014.

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