
Big Bend Community College | Field Guide 2021
Big Bend Community College (BBCC) is a Hispanic-Serving Institution with a mission
to be our community’s first choice to dream, learn, and succeed. BBCC was founded
in 1962 and serves a 4,600-square-mile service district in the central Columbia Basin.
The college creates opportunities for students to succeed by offering a bachelor’s
degree, college transfer, vocational and developmental education, community service
and continuing education programs, along with student support services. Our strong
partnership with local businesses and industries means our programs are tightly aligned
to job opportunities. Offering affordable and accessible programs, BBCC is primed to help new high school
graduates, laid-off workers, seasoned employees, and future university students —
all types of students count on BBCC to reinvent themselves.
Key Facts
Highest Enrolled Programs
- Academic Transfer
- Nursing
- Commercial Pilot
- Early Childhood Education
- Systems Administration
- Medical Assistant
- Industrial Systems Technology
- Administrative Professional Services
Enrollment
- Headcount (all sources): 4,030
- FTES (all sources): 2,027
- Headcount (state-funded): 2,760
- FTES (state-funded): 1,448
Students in Selected Programs
- I-BEST: 15
- International: 7
- Running Start: 453
- Worker Retraining: 158
Student Profile
Type of Student
- Academic/transfer: 36%
- Basic skills: 15%
- Other: 1%
- Workforce education: 48%
Race/Ethnicity*
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 3%
- Asian: 3%
- Black/African American: 2%
- Hispanic/Latino: 48%
- Pacific Islander: 1%
- Other race: 1%
- White: 53%
Attendance
- Full-time: 60%
- Part-time: 40%
Family and Finances
- Students receiving need-based financial aid: 48%
- Students who work: 45%
- Students with children: 29%
Gender
- Female: 55%
- Male: 45%
Median age
22
Points of Interest
Workforce education
Big Bend completed construction on its new 25,000-square-foot facility that will house its Aviation Maintenance Technology program. Instruction should begin in the new facility during winter quarter 2021. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently selected Big Bend Community College’s Unmanned Systems program for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems-Collegiate Training Initiative (UAS-CTI), a new program that recognizes universities, colleges and technical schools that prepare students for careers in UAS or drones. Big Bend Community College’s Agriculture program is also set to expand winter quarter 2021, with the addition of a new Agricultural Mechanic training certificate and degree.
Student success
Big Bend issued 525 degrees during its first-ever virtual commencement ceremony in June 2020 — including 37 degrees to Running Start students. Also in 2020, 100% of BBCC’s nursing program graduates passed the NCLEX-RN licensure exam on their first attempt. The nursing program achieved a 100% pass rate during 12 of the last 13 years. In the past five years, more than 750 students earned their GED® or high school diploma equivalency through the college’s Transitional Studies programs. Big Bend’s new Open Doors program had 569 students enrolled during the 2019-20 academic year. Open Doors serves people who are 16 to 21 years old who have dropped out of school or are not expected to graduate from high school by the age of 21.
Continued growth
The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges in October 2020 gave BBCC approval to move forward with its first applied bachelor’s degree program. The Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) in Applied Management degree will launch fall quarter 2021. Big Bend was also just awarded a $3 million federal Title V grant to assist Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) as they work to improve the academic attainment of low-income and Hispanic students, and to expand and enhance their academic offerings, program quality and institutional stability.
Data is from the 2019-20 academic year. Reflects headcount unless otherwise noted.
*May not add up to 100% because students may be counted in more than one race. Percentages calculated on reported value.
President
Dr. Sara Thompson Tweedy
Trustees
- Anna Franz, JD, chair
- Jon Lane
- Stephen McFadden
- Juanita Richards
- Thomas Stredwick
Year Founded
1962
Service Area
Adams, Grant, Lincoln counties
Legislative Districts
9, 12, 13
Page Manager:
krose@sbctc.edu
Last Modified: 11/20/23, 10:54 AM