Columbia Basin College: Your College for Life




Your College for Life is a motto we like to use at Columbia Basin College because it expresses the many aspects of our learning-centered mission. Your goal may be to get an associates degree in order to transfer to a four-year college or university. Perhaps you are interested in one of our many two-year professional and technical degrees designed to help you master the competencies and skills required for a career in health sciences, or information technology, or the automotive industry. Or maybe your needs include studying for the General Education Development (GED) certificate, or you need some specialized training that fits with your need for lifelong learning, or . . . . CBC is indeed your college for life.

The key to your success is to set your goals as soon as possible and to work with our counseling faculty and staff to map out your path. Whether you’re interested in an AA, AS, AS-T, AAS-T, or a certificate, CBC can help you reach your goals.

We offer several different degrees at CBC. The Associate in Arts & Sciences (AA) and the Associate in Science-Transfer (AS-T) degrees are designed for students interested in transferring to a four-year college or university after completing required course work at CBC. These degrees are highly coordinated with our closest transfer partner, Washington State University at Tri-Cities.

If you are interested in completing a two-year degree to prepare for employment in a professional-technical area, we offer an Associate in Applied Sciences (AAS) degree in many areas ranging from Accounting to Marketing to Welding. These programs have actually doubled in size over the past decade as more students realize that the contemporary workplace requires more than high school but less than a four-year degree to get a career started. In addition, we also have several Associate in Applied Science-Transfer degrees (AAS-T), which are workforce degrees with a core of general education courses commonly accepted in transfer.

Columbia Basin College is celebrating its 50th year of service to the Mid-Columbia region, and we are already busy with ensuring the greatness of the next 50 years. The Washington Institute for Science Education (WISE) project, for example, will add approximately 140,000-square-feet of new instructional space in three buildings.

The Math and Science Center of Excellence on the Pasco campus will increase our potential capacity by a thousand students in rigorous math and science education. The Moore Observatory has already contributed to the international astronomy community with our photographed documentation of the occultation of a distant asteroid—the only recorded observation of this event in the world. Finally, our Health Sciences Center at our Richland Campus will synergistically interact with all area health care providers to fill the region’s needs for first-class professionals in numerous allied health fields. We are also laying the plans for a state-of-the-art replacement of our current Vocational Building to pave the way for 21st century professional and technical education in applied science fields, a replacement for our Performing Arts complex, and a new building for our Social Sciences Division.

It is the people inside these buildings—our first-class instructional faculty with you in small classes—that really make Columbia Basin College your college for life. But ultimately, it comes down to you because it is your presence as a student that gives life to your college.

If I may assist you in any way on your educational journey, please stop by my office in the west end of the Administration Building. I look forward to hearing from you!

Richard Cummins, Vice President for Instruction
509-547-0511, ext. 2207, Direct phone: 509-542-4807