About the Community and Technical Colleges

The mission of the two-year colleges is to provide:

An open door to every citizen
Local access to higher education
Job training and education
Adult basic skills and literacy education

Each college is governed by a board of five trustees appointed to five-year terms by the governor with the consent of the Senate.

The CTC System – Fast Facts

There are 34 community and technical colleges in Washington state.
The two-year colleges serve nearly 500,000 students each year. This is equal to 60 percent of all students enrolled in public higher education.
The three mission areas of the two-year colleges are: workforce training, literacy education and transfer preparation to four-year institutions.

Workforce Training

Colleges tie their programs to the needs of local business and industry. Over 88,000 people who have lost their jobs have been re-trained at a two-year college and re-employed in high demand jobs.

46 percent of all students at two-year colleges enroll for job training.
41 percent of jobs in the workforce require the education that two-year colleges provide.
80 percent of workforce program graduates get jobs, even during the recent economic downturn.

Literacy Education

Two-year colleges provide 95 percent of all adult literacy education in the state.
The number of full-time students enrolled in basic skills increased 12 percent in 2005. The demand for basic skills classes continues to be unmet.

Transfer Preparation

Two-year colleges provide the initial education for 41 percent of students receiving bachelor’s degrees. This includes: 53 percent of K-12 teachers, 38 percent of engineering, technology, science, and math bachelor’s degrees; and about 78 percent of nurses.

41 percent of bachelor’s degree graduates are community college transfer students.
More than 1/3 of transfer students are the first in their family to go to college.
Once two-year college transfer students earn a year’s worth of college credits, 87 percent of them move on to a four-year college within a year.

For a detailed history of the community and technical college system, visit: http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/general/a_history.aspx

For a map showing the location of all 34 community and technical colleges, visit: http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/general/c_index.aspx