Field Guide 2011 - 2012

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This guide features your community and technical colleges, highlighting just a few of the remarkable education programs, partnerships and innovative endeavors at each campus. Take a look inside and see for yourself the good work going on every day at your 34 community and technical colleges.

A College-for-all System is Born

Washington's first junior college started in 1915 in Everett when 42 students began a one-year college program on the top floor of Everett High School. By 1941 eight junior colleges were operating in Washington, all locally administered and locally funded, with a combined enrollment of 1,000 students.

Funding Then and Now

In 1991, when the CTC system was formed, the state's share of the two-year college system's budget averaged 85.3 percent. Today, the state's share of the CTC system's operating budget averages 54.8 percent.

A Note From the Field

Your community and technical college system remains focused on the educational challenge of our time: educating more people to higher levels in Washington State. Now, more than ever, students are relying on CTCs to make a better life for themselves. Faculty and staff are committed to their success.

A Few Things You Should Know

• In 2007, Washington’s CTC system was ranked the fourth
  most-productive system in the nation when averaging
  completions to the state’s funding per FTE (National
  Center for Higher Education Management Systems, 2007).
• State funding has decreased by $1,045 per full-time
  student, a 21 percent decrease since FY 2008.
• At the same time state funding decreased, demand increased, with enrollments growing by more than
  18 percent.
• 330,608 students were served in the 2010-11 academic
  year, the highest in our history.
• eLearning has increased nearly 66 percent since 2008.
• Nearly 40 percent of Washington’s bachelor’s degree
  graduates are CTC transfer students.
• 32 percent of graduates in STEM fields began their
  studies at a Washington CTC.
• Nearly 30,000 people completed a professional-technical
  degree, certificate or short-term certificate in
  2009-10. A majority (75%) got jobs within 6-9 months
  of finishing their training and most CTC graduates (91%)
  stay and work in Washington, giving back to the state’s
  economy.
• For every state dollar invested in CTCs, $1.70 in tax
  revenues is returned to the state.
• For every dollar students invest in Washington’s CTCs,
  they receive a cumulative $5.90 in higher future income
  over the course of their working careers.
• At career midpoint, CTC graduates earn an average
  $49,000 annually, which is 35 percent more than those
  with just a high school diploma.

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