History Part 2
SCC opened its classrooms in January of 1964. Many thought that the College would
not be able to recruit enough students in the middle of the academic year when most
colleges started their courses in the fall, but they were wrong. From the first day,
the College was over-enrolled, with more than 850 students. Classes were held at Shoreline
High School in the evenings and on weekends.
There was much work to be accomplished in the early days of the College. Recruiting and hiring trained faculty and staff, developing curriculum, and planning new buildings were just some of the key work challenges of the day.
Thanks to the Boeing family, Shoreline Community College acquired 80 acres of land
on which to build their first building. Old photos provide a glimpse of the 'wilderness'
in which the College broke ground for its first building - the library. Soon after,
the administration building and the student union building followed. Portable buildings
were installed to accommodate classes until capital funds could be released for the
construction of new buildings.
Today, 40 years after the first student enrolled at Shoreline Community College, the mission of the school remains much the same. Traditionally, less than 25% of the national population receives a baccalaureate degree, leaving 75% of our community with high school degrees or no degree at all.
The College, along with all 34 community colleges in the Washington state system, is focused on providing education to the community at large. It is not surprising that community colleges find themselves "stretched to their limits." Every community college continues to develop professional/technical training to move students straight into the workforce, and certificate programs (less than two years) that upgrade existing skills or provide an initial foundation for a specific career. Additionally, they develop adult basic education programs to prepare students to enter college, English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) for our ever-growing immigrant population, high school completion programs, and Continuing Education / Continuing Education for personal enrichment and more. The initial goal of providing two-year transfer education can not be forgotten.
Shoreline Community College is grateful to the community for its ongoing support and to the Washington State Legislature for focusing on the needs of citizens for higher education. Over time, the College will continue to look for the means to educate its students in a way that is effective and efficient and will look to its 50th anniversary as the next major milestone.