Washington State University in Vancouver - a Beautiful Place to Earn a Degree

Atop a grass and tree covered hill ten minutes from downtown sits Vancouver's campus of Washington State University. Paved paths and sidewalks connect the eleven college buildings that cover a modest piece of the 350-acre campus (WSU Vancouver- About Washington State University Vancouver). The paths go weaving through nicely landscaped beds and manicured lawns, over creeks and around a pond. On clear days there is a stunning view of nearby Mt St Helens to the northeast and the little more distant Mt Hood to the southeast. It is by all accounts a beautiful place to attend college. The paths that connect the buildings eventually continue away from the main college grounds and into a nearby wooded area atop the hill. The setting is serene and lovely enough to attract walkers with no business to attend to at the school other than a pleasant place to stretch their legs. But outside of all the gorgeous aesthetics that the school boasts, it continues to build on its growing creditability and attraction as an outstanding academic establishment.

Washington State University Vancouver, which is a non-residential campus, was established in 1996 and became an accredited four-year university in 2006. According to the campus' website, http://vancouver.wsu.edu, the campus now offers "16 Bachelor's degrees, 9 Master's degrees, 1 Doctorate degree and more than 35 fields of study." The campus enrollment has been just over 2500 the past two terms, but students who attend classes at the school get to reap both the benefits of small classes, and a school that shares resources with its much larger main branch in Pullman, Washington.

It only took a matter of weeks on the campus to immediately be impressed by a handful of the school's characteristics. Before classes even started I made my first trips to the college and was greeted by a full staff of warm, inviting, helpful people. Having attended other, larger and more impersonal colleges in the past, a friendly face and a person willing to go above and beyond to be helpful is not something I take for granted. College can be a scary proposition for freshmen, but even for a student like me, with other college experience, the initial admissions process can be a little overwhelming. Before official admittance and being able to enroll in classes the college requires multiple sessions with advisors. It was a process that I questioned the merits of before sitting down and meeting with the college personnel, but after which it was easy to understand why it was mandated. All of my uneasy feelings and questions were resolved, and I instead felt welcome and informed.

Outside of just appearing modern from the outside, the inside of the buildings and classrooms all have state of the art technology. Touch screen monitors have replaced white boards- the mutli-media displays now serve the same functions as dry-erase boards, overhead projectors, and televisions. A connection to the classroom's computer allows the teachers to simply touch the large screen's to surf the internet and click links. Additionally, the campus has several technology labs for students and an up to date library with over 20,000 books available and access to a broad range of online resources.

Washington State University Vancouver currently has more than 90 full-time Ph.D. faculty members and the classroom experience reflects that. So far, all the teachers I have encountered are informed, well-educated, and personable. With unthreatening and approachable personalities, they all seem well-suited for the small, intimate classes that are oftentimes only around 30 students.

If you are a college student or prospective student in the Vancouver or Portland-Metropolitan area stop by to check out the campus. I doubt you will be disappointed by the personable staff, beautiful scenery, modern technology and architecture, or small and enriching classes.

All information and statistics from WSU Vancouver- About Washington State University Vancouver. (http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/about.html)