North Seattle College

North Seattle College (NSC, widely known as just North Seattle) is a two-year public college in Seattle, Washington. It is one of the three colleges comprising the Seattle College District, and considered to be one of the best colleges out of the 32 member colleges of the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system.^[1] The college has strong and extensive science, engineering, and technology programs.

Founded in 1970, NSC is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, and offers extensive academic programs, as well as more than 40 career training, continuing education, and college preparation programs. The Seattle Community Colleges District Board of Trustees voted unanimously in March 2014 to change the name of the District to Seattle Colleges and to change the name of the college to North Seattle College.^[2]

Location

The North Seattle College main campus occupies 62 acres, including 11 acres (45,000 m²) of environmentally sensitive wetlands, in the Licton Springs/North College Park neighborhood of the upscale Northgate district of Seattle.^[3] The campus is five miles (8 km) north of the Seattle city center. The college is easily accessed from Interstate 5, and several King County Metro bus routes.

Wetlands

The North Seattle College Wetlands sit at the South Fork of Thornton Creek and are important ecological lands for the Thornton Creek watershed as they work as a sponge to hold surge flows of water as well as filtering out pollutants. The wetlands serve as a critical habitat for many species including the Pacific Tree Frog and Long-toed salamander, as well as several species of avian and plant life.^[4]

Bellybutton Hedgehog Mushroom (Hydnum Umbilicatum), North Seattle College

Currently, there is a system of crude trails that get you to and through most of the wetlands habitat. The main trail is a loop that walks around the northern part of campus. There are spurs that branch off of this main loop trail. An interpretive trail is in progress and a map is available with points of interest for those wishing to explore the wetlands further.^[5]

Harefoot Mushroom (Coprinopsis lagopus), North Seattle College

A wide variety of native and non-native plant species can be observed throughout the main campus and surrounding wetlands habitat. There are many mushrooms growing in and around the wetlands. Some notable species include Redlead Roundhead (Stropharia aurantiaca), Harefoot Mushroom (Coprinopsis lagopus), Fiber Caps (Inocybe mixtilis), Shaggy Parasol (Chlorophyllum olvieri), and Bellybutton Hedgehog (Hydnum umbilicatum).

Nootka Rose (Rosa Nutkana), North Seattle College

Wetlands shrub life includes Snowberry Shrubs (Symphoricarpos albus), Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus discolor), Burning Bush (Eunonymus alatus), and Nootka Rose (Rosa Nutkana). Campus and wetlands are also home to many plants such as Sumac (Rhus Species), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum), and Common Horsetail (Equisetum arvense).

Programs

NSC programs include academic degrees, college prep and transfer, cross-disciplinary, continuing and senior adult education;^[6] business, early childhood education, electronics and engineering, information technology, health and medical, nanotechnology, and real estate professions. NSC is also home to the Watch Technology Institute, the only two-year program in the art of Swiss watchmaking and technology in the Western United States.^[7] NSC also provides Running Start, where high school Juniors and Seniors can take college classes to earn both high school credits as well as college credits.

Library

The library at North Seattle College was founded in 1970. As of 2014 it contains 103,000 books and subscribes to 594 periodicals.^[8]

Miscellaneous

As a higher learning institution, North Seattle College admits all persons, provided they are 18 years of age or older. If under 18, prospective students must have graduated from high school, or submit proof of GED completion if they are 16 or 17 years old. High school students without a diploma can take classes in the Running Start program.

Among degree-seeking students in the 2011-12 academic year:

53.2 percent female; 46.8 percent male. Median age – 21.7; average age – 25. 55 percent enroll full-time; 45 percent enroll part-time. Area of study: Academic transfer – 55.8 percent; Professional-technical (including students pursuing bachelor's degrees) – 44.2 percent

Race/ethnicity:

Asian/Pacific Islander – 29.3 percent

African American – 4.6 percent

Native American – 2.1 percent

Multi-racial – 3.1 percent

White – 60.9 percent

Other – N/A

NSC enrolls almost 1,000 international students annually from more than 50 countries.

North Seattle has a local chapter of the national Phi Theta Kappa honors society.

The School's mascot is the North Star.

See also

• Thornton Creek
• Licton Springs

References

• http://facweb.northseattle.edu/plortz/wetlands/index.html
• http://facweb.northseattle.edu/plortz/wetlands/wetlandstrails.htm

Bibliography

• "About the Seattle City Clerk's On-line Information Services". Information Services. Seattle City Clerk's Office. 2006-04-30. Retrieved 2006-05-21. 
  See heading, "Note about limitations of these data".
• "The College At-a-Glance". "About NSCC". North Seattle College. n.d. Archived from the original on 2005-12-26. Retrieved 2006-04-21. 
• "Northgate". Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Map Atlas. n.d., map .jpg 2002-06-17. Retrieved 2006-04-21. 
• "North College Park". Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Map Atlas. n.d., map .jpg c. 2002-06-17. Retrieved 2006-04-21. 
  "NN-1030S", "NN-1040S".jpg dated 17 June 2002.
• "Professional/Technical Programs". NSCC Home > Programs of Study > Professional/Technical Programs. North Seattle College. n.d. Archived from the original on 2006-04-12. Retrieved 2006-04-21. 

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to North Seattle Community College.

• "About North", North Seattle College

Coordinates: 47°41′57″N 122°20′00″W / 47.69917°N 122.33333°W / 47.69917; -122.33333