Seattle Colleges District

Seattle Colleges District
Former name
Seattle Community Colleges District
TypePublic
Established1970
ChancellorRosie Rimando-Chareunsap (interim chancellor)
Academic staff
1,251[1]
Students46,333[1]
Location
Seattle
,
Washington
,
U.S.

47°36′52″N 122°19′18″W / 47.61444°N 122.32167°W / 47.61444; -122.32167
CampusUrban
Affiliations
Websiteseattlecolleges.edu

The Seattle Colleges District (previously Seattle Community Colleges District; also known simply as Seattle Colleges) is a group of public colleges in Seattle, Washington. It nowadays consists of three colleges—North Seattle College, Seattle Central College, and South Seattle College. Together the colleges form the second largest institution of higher education in the state,[3] behind the University of Washington, to which many of their graduates transfer.

The district's origins can be traced to 1902, with the opening of Broadway High School[4] on Capitol Hill. It operated as a traditional high school until the end of World War II, when it was converted to a vocational and adult education institution for the benefit of veterans who wanted to finish high school but no longer fit in at regular schools. As a result, in 1946, Broadway High School was renamed Edison Technical School. Edison started offering college-level courses 21 years later, and it was reconstituted as Seattle Community College in September 1966.[5]

North Seattle Community College and South Seattle Community College opened their doors in 1970, whereupon Seattle Community College was renamed Seattle Central Community College.[6]

Seattle Central Community College was named Time magazine's Community College of the Year in 2001.[7]

In March 2014, the board of trustees voted unanimously to change the name from Seattle Community Colleges District to Seattle Colleges District and to change the names of the colleges to Seattle Central College, North Seattle College and South Seattle College.[8][9]

In 2018 Seattle Colleges partnered with the city of Seattle and Seattle Public Schools to launch Seattle Promise, a tuition covering program that aims to expand college access, success, and completion. Seattle Promise was part of the Families and Education Levy[10] passed by citizens of Seattle during the local election of November 2018. Seattle Promise offers graduating seniors of Seattle public schools paid tuition for up to two years or 90 credits as well as academic support and advising when they attend Seattle Colleges.[11]

  1. ^ a b "2019 - 2021 Catalog".
  2. ^ League for Innovation Board of Directors Accessed online 2020-04-26
  3. ^ Trustee Named for Seattle Community Colleges: Steven Hill, business and community leader, Seattle Community Colleges, 2013-01-10. Accessed online 2014-08-01.
  4. ^ Seattle Central Library Broadway High School History web page [1] Accessed online 2020-01-03.
  5. ^ Seattle Central History Page, [2], Seattle Central Website. Accessed online 2019-12-19.
  6. ^ Dave Wilma, HistoryLink.org Essay 3362, History Link (http://www.historylink.org/File/20001), June 11, 2001. Accessed online 2019-12-19.
  7. ^ Andrew Goldstein, Colleges of the Year: Seattle Central, Time Magazine, September 10, 2001. Accessed online 2019-12-19.
  8. ^ Julie Muhlstein, Two-year colleges trending away from 'community' name, HeraldNet (Everett Herald, Everett, Washington), March 21, 2014. Accessed online 2014-05-14.
  9. ^ Jill Wakefield,[3], Dropping "Community" from the College (The EvoLLLution, Toronto, Ontario), June 6, 2014. Accessed online 2022-07-05.
  10. ^ Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Levy Fact Sheet, 2018, Office of the Mayor, City of Seattle. Accessed online 2019-12-19.
  11. ^ Seattle Promise website, About, Seattle Colleges. Accessed online 2019-12-19.