Wenatchee Valley College (WVC) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

Wenatchee, Washington Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

. The college provides students with

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

classes, certifications,

associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

s, and four

bachelor's degrees A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

. WVC's primary service district is one of the largest in the state, serving an area larger than

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, at more than . The school consists of two campuses, a main campus in central Wenatchee and an

Omak Omak ( Merriam (1997), p. 869) is a city located in the foothills of the Okanogan Highlands in north-central Washington, United States. With an estimated 4,845 residents as of 2010, distributed over a land area of , Omak is the largest municipa ...

campus. Because of the close proximity to area high schools, WVC maintains a sizable

Running Start Running Start is a dual credit enrollment program in Washington, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Montana and Illinois which allows high school juniors and seniors to attend college courses numbered 100 or above, while completing high school. It is simila ...

student population, with students attending college during the junior and senior years in high school.http://www.wvc.edu/about/ about Wenatchee Valley College

History

Wenatchee Valley College originally opened as a private college in 1939, supported by donations from 51 area residents. In 1941, Wenatchee Valley College was adopted into the state public education system. Originally, classes were held on the third floor of the original Wenatchee High School situated at King and Idaho streets. In 1949, the college moved to the home of A. Z. Wells on of land along Fifth Street. The home was hand-built, consisting of stones from the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

, and was modeled with castle style turrets. Wells House held all classrooms and offices, until additional buildings could be constructed allowing the Wells House to become a dormitory. WVC was able to purchase land from neighboring land owners, expanding the campus to its current . Wells House still stands on the WVC Main Campus, although the building is owned by the Wells House Committee, and the Wenatchee Valley Museum currently maintains the mansion. Community College District #15 was formed in 1967, expanding WVC's service area to include Chelan,

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

, and Okanogan counties. A satellite campus was set up in Omak in a former hospital building, until the Omak campus was built in the mid-1970s near downtown Omak. A large section of the WVC Main Campus in Wenatchee expanded in the late 2000s and early-mid 2010s. The college added parking to accommodate additional students. A new

Central Washington University Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academic and Student Life ...

extension building was constructed west of Batjer Hall and north of Sexton Hall. Anderson Hall was demolished to make way for the new Wenatchi Hall, which opened in September 2007. Wenatchi Hall provides expanded room for Allied Health and Safety programs, science, math and other courses. The Wenatchee Valley Foundation raised funds to help finance the construction of the Music and Art Center, which opened near the Wells House in the fall of 2012. The MAC houses "The Grove" recital hall and the MAC Gallery as well as rehearsal halls, computerized music classrooms, recording studios, a sculpture studio, and four 2-story art studios with window walls facing north. In the spring of 2015, students voted to assess themselves a fee to build a new rec center which is expected to be completed during the summer of 2017. In 2019, Wenatchee Valley College is going to tear down parts of Wells Hall and renovate the building.

Accreditation

Wenatchee Valley College is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. The Nursing Program and other Clinical programs are accredited through either the National League for Nursing or the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Sciences.

Campuses

The college has two campuses. The main campus is in

Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

. There is an additional campus in

Athletics

Wenatchee Valley College competes in the

Northwest Athletic Conference The Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC), formerly the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC), is a sports association for community colleges in the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, along with the Canadian prov ...

(NWAC) as the

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s, fielding men's teams for baseball, women's teams for softball and volleyball, and men's and women's teams for basketball and soccer.

References

External links