Big Bend Community College (BBCC) is a public

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 se ...

Moses Lake, Washington Moses Lake is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,146 as of the 2020 census. Moses Lake is the largest city in Grant County. The city anchors the Moses Lake Micropolitan area, which includes all of Grant C ...

History

Big Bend Community College was authorized by the

Washington State Board of Education The Washington State Board of Education (SBE) is the overseeing body of education in the U.S. State of WashingtonMiss ...

in 1961. Beginning fall quarter 1962 BBCC held its first regular classes at night in Moses Lake High School. The college opened classes in a new facility located a short distance southeast of the city of

Moses Lake Moses Lake is a lake and reservoir along the course of Crab Creek, in Washington state, USA. Moses Lake is part of the Columbia River basin, as Crab Creek is a tributary of the Columbia River. Although originally a shallow natural lake, Moses ...

fall quarter 1963. In 1966, BBCC acquired a tract of land on the former

Larson Air Force Base Larson Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located five miles (8 km) northwest of the central business district (CBD) of Moses Lake, in Grant County, Washington. After its closure in 1966, the airport facility became ...

, which became the permanent college campus for all programs in 1975. The Washington State Legislature's Community College Act of 1967 designated BBCC as District 18 of the state community college system. The district includes

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

and Adams counties and the Odessa School district in Lincoln County.

Campus

Big Bend Community College's main campus is centrally located in the Columbia Basin of

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. The campus includes 25 buildings to facilitate more than 43 academic program areas.

Accreditation

Big Bend Community College is accredited by the

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) is an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the United States Department of Education since 1952 as an institutional accreditor for colleges and universities. ...

. Its transfer credits are normally accepted by other accredited colleges.

Athletics

Big Bend Community 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

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

s, fielding men's teams for baseball, basketball, and wrestling. Women's teams for softball, basketball, volleyball, and wrestling.

Notable people

Nilsa Cruz-Perez Nilsa Cruz-Perez (born January 21, 1961) is an American Democratic Party politician who was sworn into office to represent the 5th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate on December 15, 2014, to fill the vacant seat of Donald Norcross. ...

, member of the New Jersey Senate *

Tom Dent Thomas Emmett Dent (born January 11, 1950) is an American politician who serves as a member of the Washington House of Representatives representing the 13th Legislative District. He was elected in 2014 to the House seat vacated by Judy Warnick ...

, member of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

Margie Gannon Margaret "Margie" Gannon is an American politician who served as a member of the Idaho House of Representatives for the 5A district from February 2018 to December 2018. Early life and education Gannon was born in Kellogg, Idaho. She earned an ...

, member of the

Idaho House of Representatives The Idaho House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Idaho State Legislature. It consists of 70 representatives elected to two-year terms. The state is divided into 35 districts, each of which elects two representatives to separate se ...

References

External links

* Community colleges in Washington (state) Educational institutions established in 1962 Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Education in Grant County, Washington Buildings and structures in Grant County, Washington Moses Lake, Washington 1962 establishments in Washington (state) {{Washington-university-stub