North Seattle College Profile
About North Seattle College
Established in 1970, North Seattle College provides learning opportunities for a diverse group of more than 10,000 students each year. The college offers a rich student life. Concerts, plays, fitness programs, an award-winning literary magazine, and a diverse student population add depth to students’ experiences. Conveniently located in a quiet residential neighborhood five miles north of downtown, the 62-acre campus includes environmentally sensitive wetlands that have inspired a collegewide commitment to sustainability. The campus is also easily accessible via the John Lewis Memorial Pedestrian Bridge from the Northgate Link Light Rail Station.
For students who intend to transfer to a four-year college or university, starting at North Seattle College offers real advantages—strong academic preparation and advising services, small classes, an innovative integrated studies program, broad eLearning options, and a variety of partnerships with four-year schools. While many graduates have continued their studies at universities such as Dartmouth, Penn State, and UC Berkeley, most North students transfer to the University of Washington. North consistently ranks highest among all community colleges in the number of students who are accepted to the University of Washington’s main campus, and our graduates do well, going on to earn the highest median wages of any Washington community or technical college.
North provides outstanding career training in more than 60 certificate and degree programs, including those in emerging fields such as nanotechnology, sustainable and conventional energy and control technology, and fraud accounting. Additionally, North helps students earn GEDs, learn English, enhance basic skills, and pursue new skills or personal interests.
North Seattle College also offers six bachelor's degree programs:
- Accounting (with International Accounting) Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS)
- Computer Science Bachelor of Science (BS)
- International Business BAS
- Information Technology Application Development BAS
- Early Childhood Education BAS
- Property Management BAS
The college’s programs are designed for working students, using a hybrid format of online learning combined with weekday evening classes. North is planning to offer additional bachelor's programs in the future.
Additional Information
- About North Seattle College
- Campus Attractions
- North Seattle College Celebrates 50 Years of Changing Lives Through Education (2020)
- News and Events
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Accreditation and State Board Membership
North Seattle College is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education.
North Seattle College is among 34 public community and technical colleges in Washington state that are members of the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC). The SBCTC is governed by a nine-member, governor-appointed board and is responsible for administering the Community and Technical College Act.
Our Mission, Vision, and Values
Our Mission
As an open-access learning institution, Seattle Colleges prepares each student for success in life and work, fostering a diverse, engaged, and dynamic community.
Our Vision
Seattle Colleges is recognized as an exemplary learning institution that transforms lives, promotes equity, and enriches the community.
Our Values
- Accessibility for all learners and partners
- Collaboration through open communication and commitment to working together
- Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity for all individuals, particularly the underserved in our community
- Fiscal Sustainability for long-term viability and excellence in service and operations
- Growth and Engagement of faculty and staff through professional development
- Innovation in instruction, student services, operations, and organizational culture
- Integrity by adhering to the highest standards of ethics and public stewardship
Our Leadership
The president serves as the top executive and leader of North Seattle College.
North Seattle College is part of Seattle Colleges, a multi-college district that also includes Seattle Central College and South Seattle College. The three college presidents report to the chancellor, who serves as the chief executive officer for Seattle Colleges. The three college presidents are part of the chancellor’s executive cabinet.
Seattle Colleges is governed by a five-member board of trustees appointed by the Washington state governor and approved by the state Senate. Trustees serve sequential five-year terms and are responsible for hiring the chancellor, who reports to the board.
Together our chancellor, our college presidents, and their teams work with our board of trustees to guide Seattle Colleges toward excellence.
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Our Strategic Plan
Seattle Colleges’ strategic planning process is cyclical, with planning, implementation, and review built into each comprehensive strategic plan. The board of trustees—in consultation with the district community, including faculty, staff, students, administrative leadership, and external partners—initiates and approves each plan.
The most recent planning phase took place in 2016-2017 and culminated in the multiyear Seattle Colleges Strategic Plan for 2017-23, which provided broad, forward-looking direction with a strong, intentional focus on fostering student success.
An updated districtwide Strategic Plan will be developed during the 2023-2024 academic year. This updated plan will reflect a common purpose, beliefs, commitments, and priorities. It will also establish a set of major goals to be achieved over time across the district and at each college. The foundation for this planning is facilitated at the district level and is formulated through extensive involvement from Central, North, and South.
Accompanying the districtwide Strategic Plan will be a set of Action Plans—one for each college. Each Action Plan recognizes the unique characteristics of each of the colleges and includes a range of high-level strategies that will be operationalized in a manner appropriate for each college. Individual college Action Plans, in turn, are devised and implemented to reinforce the overarching goals outlined in the districtwide Strategic Plan. These plans are locally crafted at the divisional and departmental levels. Embedded within the Strategic Plan and Action Plans are strategies designed to steer and bolster districtwide goals and objectives.
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Our Student Demographics
Like our city and surrounding region, our student body is dynamic and among the most diverse in the Pacific Northwest.
North Seattle College
- 11,394 total students
- 32% male, 55% female, <1% nonbinary, 13% not reported
- 6% of students are parents
- 36% identify as students of color
- 23% full-time students
- 77% part-time students
- Median age is 34
North Seattle College
- 10,731 total students
- 33% male, 53% female, <1% nonbinary, 17% not reported
- 5% of students are parents
- 37% identify as students of color
- 23% full-time students
- 77% part-time students
- Median age is 31
Source: the data above is provided by the Seattle Colleges Office of Institutional Effectiveness. For more information, see our data dashboard.
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Our People
Seattle Colleges has more than 2,000 employees districtwide.
- Full-time faculty employees: 271
- Part-time faculty employees: approximately 500 per quarter
- Classified staff employees: 420
- Professional staff employees: 208
- Exempt nonrepresented employees: 155
- Part-time temporary hourly employees: 555
More than 70 percent of our employees are represented by one of three unions:
- American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Seattle Local 1789, AFL-CIO
- American Federation of Teachers Seattle Professional Staff (AFT-SPS) Local 6550, AFL-CIO
- Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE), AFSCME Council 28, AFL-CIO
- Source: the data above is from April 2023 and is provided by the Seattle Colleges Office of Human Resources.
Our Programs
Seattle Colleges' 130-plus programs are organized around eight areas of study.
- Arts, Design, and Graphics
- Business and Accounting
- Culinary, Hospitality, and Wine
- Education and Human Services
- Health and Medical
- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
- Skilled Trades and Technical Training
- Social Sciences, Humanities, and Language
We offer:
- Bachelor's degrees
- Associate of Applied Science, Arts, Business, Science, and Fine Arts transfer degrees
- Career and Technical Education
- Certificates
- General Education Degree preparation
- ESL/Basic and Transitional Studies
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Our Neighborhood and City
North Seattle College is located in the largely residential Northgate area of Seattle and is conveniently located near the two major north-south highways, Interstate 5 and Highway 99, just a short drive to downtown and the University of Washington, and a short walk to and the city’s popular Greenlake Park. The campus is connected by the John Lewis Memorial Pedestrian/Bicycle Bridge to the newly developed Northgate Link Light Rail station, Northgate mall, the Kraken Practice Facility, and Thornton Place. The campus includes environmentally sensitive wetlands, which have inspired a college-wide commitment to sustainability.
Seattle is an urban, cosmopolitan hub surrounded by water, forests, and mountains. As a major port and Washington state's largest city, Seattle is a center of not only commerce and tourism, but also technology, healthcare, education, and the arts. Its diverse population and eclectic neighborhoods create a rich cultural diversity that is reflected in its businesses, restaurants, events, and music.
We acknowledge that we occupy the traditional ancestral lands of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the Duwamish, Muckleshoot, Tulalip, Snoqualmie and Suquamish—a people that are still here, continuing to honor and bring to light their ancient heritage.
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