BBCC enrollment for fall down from 2024

MOSES LAKE – During Big Bend Community College’s regular Board of Trustees meeting Thursday, it was shown that overall enrollment for the school was down 13.2% from the 2024/2025 school year.  

“We can speculate that some members of our community are not pursuing education at this time,” said BBCC President Sara Thompson-Tweedy. 

The most significant area the school was down in was the Basic Education for Adults program, which had decreased 51.4% from last year, said Thompson-Tweedy in the president’s report. The BEdA program is where the school provides English language learning assistance, GEDs and high school diplomas. 

Thompson-Tweedy said this decline would follow one of their largest graduating classes in school history  

The report did show some increases in enrollment for programs such as Arts and Science and Workforce Education.  

Despite the decrease in enrollment for 2025, Thompson-Tweedy said there is still a lot that BBCC has accomplished that they can be proud of. This Fall they launched their Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Health in partnership with Wenatchee Valley Community College and expanded Workforce programs such as Agriculture. 

BBCC also held their Beyond Boundaries college and career showcase that day, which highlighted how the college is partnering with different organizations in the area. She said this helped provide current students with an opportunity to preview the opportunities that are available to them following their time at BBCC. 

Thompson-Tweedy said it was also announced that the NCW Tag Alliance is honoring BBCC alumni and current Washington State University student Cooper Cox for the work he did to build a peer-to-peer mentor support group for STEM students. Chemistry instructor Lindsey Gross has been nominated for the award for STEM educator of the year.  

“When we consider what are the metrics that community colleges go by to determine their health, Big Bend is a very healthy, stable, strong college,” she said.