Leaders from Everett Community College and the University of Washington, Bothell inked a deal Tuesday that will allow qualified students to take courses at both institutions.
“We’re really focusing on making it as easy as we can for people from the Everett area to get started in our programs,” said Thomas Bellamy, UW- Bothell vice chancellor for academic affairs.
The dual enrollment agreement is a small piece of a larger effort to help more local residents enter the halls of higher education without going far beyond their doorsteps.
UW-Bothell in January will join other state universities offering courses in Everett through the newly renamed University Centers of North Puget Sound.
EvCC recently sent state lawmakers a preliminary report on its plans to help more than 1,000 area residents earn four-year degrees through the center over the next decade.
The $23.3 million plan “sets the table” for the broader conversation about higher education needs in the region, said Christine Kerlin, interim executive director of the center.
“We need something now,” she said.
The center serves students from Snohomish, Island and Skagit counties in classrooms at Everett Station. Five universities and three community colleges currently offer classes there.
UW-Bothell will add courses in business, interdisciplinary studies and nursing.
In the future, the plan calls for adding programs in secondary education, environmental studies and engineering.
Under its proposal, EvCC is asking that state for $14.5 million to expand classroom and office space on its campus to house the center by 2009.
It also wants to bring courses through videoconferencing and other distance learning methods to outlying areas – including Skagit Valley College and sites in Stanwood, Monroe, Arlington, Oak Harbor, Anacortes and Concrete. Costs to make that possible could reach $3.2 million.
In all, enrollment could grow from 250 full-time equivalent students in 2006-07 to at least 700, and as many as 1,500, by 2015-16, under projections.
EvCC was charged by the Legislature to come up with a plan for taking over the center, formerly called the North Snohomish, Island and Skagit County Higher Education Consortium.
Its work is separate from another legislatively appointed group that is studying whether to start a new four-year university in the region.
Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@heraldnet.com.
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