South Puget Sound Community College | Field Guide 2021

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Recognized as a top 10 best community college in the U.S. by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, SPSCC amplifies student success by offering transfer options to four-year institutions, professional and technical programs, and short-term degree and certificate programs so students can advance their career or education goals.

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Key Facts

Highest Enrolled Programs

Associate in Arts–Direct Transfer
Associate in Pre Nursing–Direct Transfer
Associate in Business–Direct Transfer
Associate in Science–Direct Transfer
Associate in Biology
Associate in Science–Direct Transfer

Enrollment

Headcount (all sources): 9,867
FTES (all sources): 4,633
Headcount (state-funded): 6,382
FTES (state-funded): 3,224

Students in Selected Programs

I-BEST: 211
International: 128
Running Start: 1,418
Worker Retraining: 226

Student Profile

Type of Student

Academic/transfer: 46%
Basic skills: 9%
Other: 4%
Workforce education: 41%

Race/Ethnicity*

American Indian/Alaska Native: 5%
Asian: 12%
Black/African American: 8%
Hispanic/Latino: 15%
Pacific Islander: 3%
Other race: 1%
White: 75%

Attendance

Full-time: 53%
Part-time: 47%

Family and Finances

Students receiving need-based financial aid: 42%
Students who work: 48%
Students with children: 26%

Gender

Female: 59%
Male: 41%

Median age

Points of Interest

SPSCC Feeds the Workforce

For students who are ready to get out into the workforce quickly, our technical certificate and degree programs can be the perfect path.

SPSCC's Workforce Transitions programs provide financial support to help connect students with a path into a high-demand, high-wage career, right here in Thurston County and beyond. These programs can support:

Professional-technical training (over 30 degrees and certificates available)
Job skills training — specific skills needed to gain employment
Pre-college skills (diploma, GED®, basic skills or ESL) to prepare for career training

Direct transfer and articulation agreements

For students looking to transfer to a four-year college or university and beyond, SPSCC offers Direct Transfer Agreements in many areas to ensure students take the classes needed to move into a four-year program. The Associate in Arts (AA), Associate in Business, Early Childhood Education Associate in Arts, Associate in Pre-Nursing and Associate in Science (AS) degrees (Tracks 1 & 2) are intended to transfer to four-year universities in Washington state. SPSCC graduates also have a direct path to bachelor’s degrees at international universities in Australia, England, France, Ireland and New Zealand in areas of anthropology, art, biology, business, history, humanities, philosophy, politics and social science.

Online and hybrid learning

In 2019, SPSCC launched Online and Evening Studies with 14 programs and degrees designed to be taken online, during the evening and on weekends. This provided opportunities for students to advance their education and career on their own schedule. Having solid online instruction methods in place when COVID-19 hit set up SPSCC’s faculty and administration to quickly transition to online, virtual and hybrid learning. SPSCC continues to provide options for students to be successful with online, virtual and hybrid classes.

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.