Big Bend Community College (BBCC) is a public

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

Moses Lake, Washington Moses Lake is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,146 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Moses Lake is the most populous city in Grant County. The city anchors the Moses Lake Micropolitan area, w ...

. It was established in 1961 and moved to its campus at the former Larson Air Force Base in 1966.

History

Big Bend Community College was authorized by the Washington State Board of Education in 1961. On September 12, 1962, BBCC held its first regular classes at night in Moses Lake High School; the opening of a permanent facility was delayed by a steelworkers' strike. The college opened classes in a new facility located a short distance southeast of the city of Moses Lake in late 1963. In 1966, BBCC acquired a tract of land on the former Larson Air Force Base from the federal government at no cost. It was designated as the college's north campus with some classes remaining at the existing south campus. The north campus absorbed all classes and 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 and Adams counties and the

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

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 United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George 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 along with the Canadian province ...

(NWAC) as the

Viking Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

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

Notable people

* Nilsa Cruz-Perez, member of the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

* Tom Dent, 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, member of the

Idaho House of Representatives The Idaho House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Idaho 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 seats. ...

References

External links

* Community colleges in Washington (state) Universities and colleges established in 1962 Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Education in Grant County, Washington Moses Lake, Washington 1962 establishments in Washington (state) Two-year colleges in the United States {{Washington-university-stub