High Way

Nowhere else in the state of Washington does a community of 5,000 have both a community college and a major four-year university. Community Colleges of Spokane and Washington State University support the development of the region's workforce by enabling area residents to earn a variety of vocational and academic degrees without leaving town.

The Community Colleges of Spokane-Colville Center is a part of the Institute for Extended Learning. Classes leading to associate degrees, adult basic education courses, GED preparation and testing, professional/technical certificates and degrees are held at various sites throughout the area.

A wide range of academic and business classes are transmitted live from the Colville Center to smaller community colleges nearby. This audio-visual teleconference system allows students and instructors to spontaneously interact. A new, innovative, high-demand technology program will provide classes leading to web development and network engineering certificates and degrees. The WSU Northeast Washington Learning Center provides support for the award-winning WSU-Distance Degree Program, a degree-completion program. Students who earn their Associate of Arts degree at the Colville Center or meet general education requirements, can enroll at WSU and complete their bachelor's degree in six different areas: General Business Administration, Business Administration emphasizing management of information systems, Social Science, Human Development, Agriculture and Nursing.

WSU Cooperative Extension, Stevens County, offers materials, workshops, and support for lifelong learning in many areas, including 4-H youth development, food safety, composting, master gardener training, community and economic development, and woodland management. All the Cooperative Extension programs are designed and supported by Washington State University.