Cascadia College president reports enrollment gains, equity progress and funding concerns to Woodinville council

Cascadia College President Murray delivered the college’s annual State of the College address to the Woodinville City Council on Dec. 9.

Murray said the college has seen strong enrollment momentum — citing growth figures across recent years and forecasting that January enrollment could be about 30% higher than the previous January. He said Cascadia ranks first among the state’s 34 community colleges in three measures tracked under the state’s guided‑pathways framework: retention, transfer to university and success moving students from precollegiate math into college‑level math. Murray attributed those outcomes to student supports including emergency grants (over $70,000 provided last year), a laptop‑loan program, a mentorship program and an expanded food pantry.

He also highlighted Cascadia’s new bachelor’s degree in computer science and on‑campus housing access through UW Bothell. Murray said the college intentionally invests in programs aimed at closing equity gaps and noted the college’s recent analysis shows no remaining equity gaps in retention, completion and transfer rates between students of color and white students.

Murray warned of financial risks: international students historically contributed roughly $2–3 million to the budget, but travel bans and visa delays reduced incoming students (he cited students from Turkmenistan and a loss of roughly 34 students who could not come), and the governor’s announced potential $1,000,000,000 reduction to state agency budgets creates uncertainty; Murray said final impacts would not be clear until the legislature acts in the supplemental budget in March.

Council members thanked Murray and asked follow‑up questions about outreach and running start offerings; Murray described a Redmond/Together Center classroom for adult basic education and ESL and said Cascadia serves about 1,000 running start students from 45 high schools.