Renton Technical College | Field Guide 2022

Renton Technical College logo Renton Technical College engages a diverse student population through educational opportunities for career readiness and advancement, serving the needs of individuals, the community, businesses and industry. Equity is at the core of our mission, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. RTC provides hands-on training for high-wage, in-demand careers in health care. We offer short-term certificates, associate degrees, and associate transfer degrees in fields as diverse as medical assisting, massage therapy, veterinary assistant, as well as a two-year Registered Nurse program. We continue to offer these labs in a safe setting that includes masking and physical distancing to ensure we meet the needs of our students and health care providers. The RTC service area includes the Renton, Kent, Auburn, Tahoma and Enumclaw school districts and the central and south portions of the Seattle School District.

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Key Facts

Highest Enrolled Programs

Commercial Building Engineer
Computer Science
Computer Network Technology
Automotive Technology
Medical Assistant

Enrollment

Headcount (all sources): 7,554
FTES (all sources): 3,192
Headcount (state-funded): 6,870
FTES (state-funded): 2,874

Students in Selected Programs

Applied bachelor's: 119
Apprentices: 1,907
I-BEST: 429
International: 19
Running Start: 151
Worker Retraining: 461

Student Profile

Type of Student

Academic/transfer: 13%
Basic skills: 16%
Workforce education: 70%

Race/Ethnicity*

American Indian/Alaska Native: 4%
Asian: 23%
Black/African American: 20%
Hispanic/Latino: 26%
Pacific Islander: 1%
White: 39%

Attendance

Full-time: 38%
Part-time: 62%

Family and Finances

Students receiving need-based financial aid: 41%
Students with dependents: 61%

Gender

Female: 44%
Male: 56%

Median age

Points of Interest

Students succeed at RTC, even during a pandemic

Renton Technical College (RTC) continued to offer hands-on training in a safe environment during the pandemic, allowing students to meet their educational and career goals when it was more important than ever. We expanded our online and flex options, investing in students by providing everyone the technology they needed at no cost and training faculty in remote teaching options. Equity is at the core of our mission. We are proud to serve a diverse population of students and to remove barriers to success, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Preparing the workforce

RTC prepares students for high-wage, high-demand careers in growing fields such as manufacturing, computer science and health care. Our collaboration with industry experts means our program outcomes align with workforce needs. In addition to certificate and associate degrees in career training programs, RTC offers Bachelor of Applied Science degrees in Network Architecture and Application Development, transferable credits and degrees, and Running Start.

Accolades

RTC is consistently ranked as one of the top two-year colleges in the country. Our success led to an unsolicited $5 million gift from MacKenzie Scott and Doug Jewett and recognition of our faculty, including Don Mee Choi, who won a MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant.” Our instructors are both experts in their fields and outstanding teachers who relish seeing students succeed.

Data is from the 2020-21 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.