BTC has been providing skills-focused education to thousands of local and regional students since 1957. BTC is located in beautiful Bellingham, Washington, about 90 miles north of Seattle, and 60 miles south of Vancouver, BC.
The first Industrial School is planned and built by the Bellingham School District. It evolved into a manual-training section of Whatcom High School.
Courses in automotive mechanics and machine shop were offered at Fairhaven High School.
With World War II looming, evening classes are established. Over 4,000 people received industry training during the war.
Realizing that vocational programming was not serving the community’s needs, planners began work on what will become the present BTC.
Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute is established on the current 32-acre site, a former truck farm. BVTI is operated by the Bellingham School District.
Bellingham Vocational Technical Institute is renamed Bellingham Technical College. State legislative action designates BTC as a member of the Washington State Community and Technical College system.
BTC becomes a member institution of Achieving the Dream, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping students—particularly low-income and students of color—stay in school and earn a college certificate or degree.
BTC’s campus currently encompasses 32 acres (including the Marine Drive Annex).
64 Full-Time Tenure/Tenure Track Faculty (50) and Regular Part-Time Faculty (14) Fall 2020
73 Adjunct Part-Time Faculty Fall 2020
116 Employees Fall 2020
Accredited By: Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities
66% Workforce; 25% Academic; 5% Basic Skills; 4% Pre-College - Program Mix State Supported 2019-20
38 Associate of Applied Science (AAS) and AAS-Transfer (AAS-T) Degree Programs 2019-20
3 Direct Transfer Degrees (DTA/MRP) Programs 2019-20
50 Certificate Programs 2019-20
2 Bachelors of Science Degree Programs 2019-20
324 Business and Industry Representatives Serving on BTC’s Program Advisory Committees 2019-20
1,946 Full-time Equivalent Students (FTES) 2019-20 (summer + fall + winter + spring divided by 3)
2,106 Full-time Equivalent Students (FTES) Fall 2019
4,474 Annual Unduplicated Student Headcount 2019-20
2,902 Quarterly Student Headcount Fall 2019
2,622 Quarterly Student Headcount Average Fall, Winter, Spring 2019-20
91 Quarterly Running Start Student Headcount Average Fall, Winter, Spring 2019-20
Full-time: 46% Part-time: 54% Student Full-/Part-Time Distribution 2019-20
30 Mean Student Age 2019-20
26 Median Student Age 2019-20
<20: 18% 20-29: 41% 30-39: 22% 40+: 17% No Data: 1% Student Age Distribution 2019-20
Students of Color: 31% White: 52% Did Not Report: 17% Student Race Distribution 2019-20
Female: 57% Male: 43% Did Not Report: 1% Student Gender Distribution 2019-20
8% Percent of Students with Disabilities 2019-20
148 Veteran Students 2019-20
40% First-Generation College Students 2019-20
28% Degree Seeking Students: 45% Percent of Students Receiving Need-Based Financial Aid 2019-20
37% Degree Seeking Students: 59% Students Receiving Any Financial Aid 2019-20
10% Percent of Students who Work 2019-20
7% Percent of Students with Children 2019-20
3% Percent of Students who Hold Bachelor's Degree or Higher 2019-20
533 Annual Graduates 2019-20
639 Annual Awards 2019-20
81% Average Placement Rate of BTC Grads 9 Months After Graduation (employed in 2018-19)
$3.0 million Total Total Financial Aid Loans Disbursed in 2019-20
$9.7 million Total Financial Aid Grants Disbursed in 2019-20
$12.7 Million Total Financial Aid Awards Disbursed in 2019-20
5,237 Total Individual Financial Aid Awards Granted 2019-20
282 Total Number of Student Scholarships Awarded in 2019-20
103 Named Annual Scholarships Distributed in 2019-20
47 Endowed Scholarships Distributed in 2019-20
$380,000 Total Scholarship Monies Awarded in 2019-20
$14.4 Million Total State Operating Appropriation (excluding financial aid) Received in 2019-20
$8.3 Million Total Tuition and Fee Revenue (excluding services and activities/building fees) Received in 2019-20
$4.7 Million Total Federal, State & Local Grants and Contracts Revenue (excluding financial aid) Received in 2019-20
$1.8 Million Total Enterprise Revenue Received in 2019-20
$29.2 Million Total College Revenue (excluding student aid & capital pass-thru funds) Received in 2019-20
Expenditure Mix 2018-19: