Students living in the Everett area will now have the opportunity to obtain bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Western as the university begins to expand its reach outside Bellingham.

Many students, as well as people from the Everett community, will benefit from this program because it will give them a chance to get a better education from universities located normally too far from their job or homes, Everett Community College sophomore Alberto Ramirez said.

“I have a family and a job that I cannot move away from right now,” Ramirez said. “This program gives me the opportunity to finish school in my local area.”

Distance is an issue for people who have jobs they depend on or families to take care of, said Christine Kerlin, executive director of University Center of North Puget Sound.

With these types of programs they have the opportunity to attend school closer to home and save money, she said.
Other universities offering majors in Everett include Washington State University, University of Washington, Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University and the Evergreen State College.

Western has been offering a bachelor's degree in elementary education for 18 years in Everett and hopes to further cement itself in the Everett community.

Western is offering a master’s degree in secondary education in Everett this summer from the Woodring College.
The degree will allow students to teach high school math, science, social studies and English, Kerlin said.

Western will also offer a bachelor of science in environmental science and a bachelor of arts in planning and environmental policy.

The new degree program does not use money that would normally go to Western, but is funded by money set aside by the state legislature specifically for degrees outside of Western’s main campus, Dean of Woodring College Stephanie Salzman said.    

“We don’t want people to think that with the bad economy we are taking money away from Western to put into another area,” Salzman said.

In 2006 the state legislature agreed to provide funding for 250 enrollment slots for students in Everett. This allowed four-year universities to offer degree programs in the area. The state pays $6,300 a student and students’ tuition covers the rest of the cost, Kerlin said.

The program also includes a building called the Higher Education Center of North Puget Sound, which is coordinated by Everett Community College. The building will be used by Western and the other universities to offer classes to students, Salzman said.

As many people are getting laid off due to the bad economy in the Everett area, some people have to go back to school in order to get a different job that is more dependable, Salzman said.

These people have already established lives in the area and moving to go back to school would be difficult, she said.

 “The only drawback would be that we get more students than we can take,” Salzman said.

Although students won’t have the same experiences they would usually have in a campus environment, the education they will receive is the same as if they were in a Western classroom, Kerlin said.

The Higher Education Center of North Puget Sound was started in 1997 to expand higher education in Snohomish, Skagit and Island counties, Kerlin said.

“I have a few friends that have already taken advantage of the program,” said Ramirez. “A program like this is a great convenience to students who have to stay close to home.”

Enrollment is expected to rise as more and more students are taking notice of the program since it will allow them to stay close to home and attain a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

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