Cascadia College president reports enrollment gains, equity progress and student supports

Dr. Eric Murray, president of Cascadia College, told the Kenmore City Council on Oct. 13 that the college has seen multi-year enrollment gains, robust student supports and notable progress on equity and inclusion.

"The punchline is things are good, and they have been for a few years now," Murray said during the State of the College presentation. He reported enrollment increases over recent years and said this fall's enrollment was up 12 percent. Murray cited several student supports: emergency grants (staff said more than $50,000 in emergency grants were distributed), a laptop checkout program, a mentoring program called Cascadia Scholars and an expanded food pantry (the Kodiak Cave) that now serves three times as many students as before.

Murray highlighted academic programs and outcomes: Cascadia offers a bachelor's degree in computer science in collaboration with the University of Washington Bothell and has a two-quarter enrollment option intended to boost retention. "Our state measures community college success on 8 metrics related to this program. And Cascadia ranks number 1 in 3 of the 8 measures," Murray said, including retention and transfer metrics. He added that Cascadia outperforms peer colleges in sending community-college students on to the University of Washington.

On equity, Murray said the college identified a multi-year disparity in outcomes between historically underrepresented students and white students and launched targeted programs seven years ago. "As of this summer, there is no difference between the success of our historically underrepresented and our white students," he said.

Council members thanked Murray and asked substantive questions. Council member Sassen asked about student safety in the context of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); Murray said the college has trained staff on how to respond to enforcement requests, distinguishes court-ordered requests from informal inquiries, and has not seen ICE on campus. He said state policy and college practice support undocumented students and the college works to "stay off the radar."

Murray also asked for continued partnership with the city as Cascadia pursues a capital request for a student-services building ("Cascadia College 5"). He said legislative review of that project was scheduled and staff were optimistic it might be funded in the supplemental budget.

The council expressed appreciation for Cascadia's role in the community and invited further engagement between the city and the college.