The college was founded in 1961 by a group of local citizens who wanted to be able to continue their education without having to travel to college centers in Bremerton or across Puget Sound. The first classes were held in a small building on the Port Angeles High School campus, but the number of students who enrolled in the college grew larger than the available facilities could accommodate. Construction of a permanent campus began in 1964, and a year later the first classes were held on the present site of Peninsula College in Southeast Port Angeles, with additional classes offered across the service district. Today, the main campus covers 75 acres of land and houses 15 buildings, including the first Longhouse built on a community college campus in the United States. Its focus is on meeting the higher education and workforce development needs of its service area.
Facilities
Port Angeles Campus
The main Port Angeles campus has computer labs, lecture halls, a student childcare center, gymnasium, fitness center, soccer field, and student union building, known as the Pirate Union Building or PUB. The PUB houses a theater, art gallery, food services, a bookstore, lounge area, and student government offices. Since 2001, more than three-quarters of the college's original structures have been remodeled or replaced. These include Maier Hall, completed in 2011; a Library/Media Center, completed in 2008; Keegan Hall, completed in 2007; and a Longhouse, completed in 2007. Maier Hall is the largest building on campus, at 62,950 square feet. The facility includes classrooms, a Basic Skills Center, faculty offices, and a learning lab area that includes computer, math, English, and foreign language labs. The 56,000-square-foot Keegan Hall Science and Technology Building contains a lecture hall, 13 labs, five classrooms, faculty offices, and two conference rooms in two separate wings—a Science Wing and a Technology Wing. The newest building on campus, the 41,650-square-foot Allied Health and Early Childhood Development Center, opened in March 2017. Along with teaching labs and spaces for health and early childhood education programs, this building also houses the on-campus childcare center. The Peninsula College Longhouse was the first longhouse in the nation built on a community college campus. A collaboration between the college and six local tribes: Hoh, Quileute, Makah, Port Gamble S’Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam, and Lower Elwha Klallam, the Longhouse serves as a cultural center on campus, hosting frequent campus, community and tribal events. The 26,680-square-foot library is a central teaching-learning resource with a smart classroom, individual and group study areas, conference rooms, print and nonprint collections, and research workstations. Its focus is on supporting the curriculum of Peninsula College alongside collecting and supporting the works of scholars associated with the College and the area.
Forks Campus
The Forks campus is located in Forks, Washington, 57 miles west of Port Angeles. The site includes classrooms, conference rooms and study areas, and serves the West End of the Olympic Peninsula.
East Jefferson County locations
Peninsula College has two locations in East Jefferson County—the main campus located in historic Fort Worden in Port Townsend, and a second site, the Jefferson Education Center, located in Port Hadlock. Basic Skills, English as a Second Language, GED classes, community education classes, and Professional Development and Business Training are offered. The Fort Worden location, recently renovated, received an honorable mention award at the AIA Washington Council Civic Design Awards Ceremony in 2017 based on its preservation of historic aspects while creating a modern learning environment.
Academics
Peninsula College offers a Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Management degree designed to enable applicants with AAS, AAS-T, AA, and AS degrees to combine their lower-division technical or transfer preparation with upper-division credits in business management, resulting in a four-year degree. The college also awards three associate degrees designed for transfer to baccalaureate institutions awarding the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degrees: Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, and Associate in Business Education. The Associate of Arts degree is one of the highest enrolled programs at Peninsula College. Additionally, the college awards the Associate in Applied Science and Associate in Applied Science–Transfer degrees in addition to professional and technical education programs.
Student demographics 2015-16
As an open-access institution, Peninsula College admits all persons, provided they are eighteen years of age or older; or are a high school graduate or equivalent; or have applied for admission under the provisions of a student enrollment options program such as Running Start, a successor program, or other local enrollment options program. During the 2015-2016 academic year, Peninsula College students had the following student profile:
FTE Student Count: 2205
Full-time: 60%
Part-time: 40%
Female: 61%
Male: 39%
Median Age: 26
Students of color: 24%
Students who work while attending classes: 35%
Students with children: 25%
Peninsula College also had 162 international students from 15 countries.
Athletics
Peninsula College competes in the Northwest Athletic Conference as the Pirates, fielding men's and women's teams for soccer and basketball. The teams have received the following conference championship titles:
2016: Women's Soccer
2015: Men's Soccer, Women's Basketball
2013: Women's and Men's Soccer
2012: Men's and Women's Soccer
2011: Men's Basketball
2010: Men's Soccer
Accreditation
Peninsula College is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities to award associate and applied baccalaureate degrees. Its next evaluation will be in Spring 2018. Peninsula College is approved by the Veterans Administration for attendance by veterans under Public Laws 550 and 894.
