Yakima Valley College (YVC) 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 ''Öffentlichk ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninc ...

. It was founded as Yakima Valley Community College in 1928 with Elizabeth Prior serving as the institution's first president. The college offers five

Bachelor of Applied Science The Bachelor of Applied Science, often abbreviated as B.AS., BAS, BSAS, BASc, B.A.Sc., or BAppSc, is an undergraduate degree. There are also ''Bachelor of Arts and Science'' and ''Bachelor of Administration Science'' undergraduate degrees, also a ...

degree programs, 55 associate degree programs, and more than 100 certificates of achievement. YVC's service district covers more than , encompassing Yakima, Kittitas and Klickitat counties. The main campus is located at S. 16th Ave. and Nob Hill Boulevard in Yakima. There also is a campus in Grandview, and learning centers in

Toppenish Toppenish () is a city in Yakima County, Washington. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 8,854. It is located within the Yakama Indian Reservation, established in 1855. Toppenish calls itself the city of Murals, as it has more than 7 ...

, Sunnyside and

Ellensburg Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82. The population was 18,666 at the 2020 census. and was ...

History

Yakima Valley College was founded in 1928 as Yakima Valley Junior College when the Yakima School District decided to create a junior college. The school became the third junior college in Washington state when it opened on September 17, 1928. The college's first classes were taught at Yakima's Columbia School building and had its first graduating class in 1930. In 1937, the college obtained land donated by the family of Yakima businessman A.E. Larson. The first building on the college's new campus was dedicated in 1949 and named after its first president, Elizabeth Prior. Prior Hall featured classrooms, administrative offices, a small bookstore and hall for assemblies along with music practice rooms.

Academics

YVC offers programs in lower division arts and sciences, professional and technical education, adult basic education, English Language Acquisition and continuing education. Offerings include five bachelor of applied science degrees, 55 associate degrees and 100+ certificates of achievement. The college also offers Running Start, a program that enables eligible high school juniors and seniors in Washington state the opportunity to enroll in YVC classes and receive both high school and college credit with no tuition cost.

Campus

Yakima Valley College has two campuses: the Yakima Campus at S. 16th Ave. and Nob Hill Boulevard in Yakima and the Grandview Campus at 500 W. Main Street in Grandview. The Yakima Campus consists of 26 buildings as well as baseball, softball and soccer fields. The Grandview Campus consists of four buildings including the joint City of Grandview/YVC Library. In January 2021, Yakima Valley College opened West Campus — a $22.7 million project that includes learning spaces for the college's allied health programs, Larson Gallery, a tasting room for the college's teaching winery (Yakima Valley Vintners) and a conference center.

Athletics

Yakima 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 Yaks, fielding men's teams for baseball, women's teams for soccer, softball and volleyball and men's and women's teams for basketball. The men's basketball team won the 2022 NWAC Championship.

References

External links

* {{authority control Community colleges in Washington (state) Educational institutions established in 1928 Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Education in Yakima County, Washington Buildings and structures in Yakima, Washington 1928 establishments in Washington (state)