Current Status
Public Transportation
Population Trends
Housing
Public Funding for Higher Education
Public Transportation
The Light Rail expansion north from Seattle to Everett provides a number of potential opportunities along with a host of unknowns. The planned route provides additional access to downtown Everett from the south metro as well as Paine Field. Beyond the approved project bringing the Light Rail to the Everett Transit Center, a current feasibility study is exploring the possibility of extending the line to north Everett, near the college.
Increased public transportation access implies changes regarding campus enrollment, parking needs, and marketing.
- Enrollment: The expanded Light Rail increases access to Everett Community College from the south, but conversely expands access from the north to other areas in the south. Campuses near the Light Rail are likely to be attractive to potential students due to accessibility. EvCC could see shifts in enrollment patterns, both gaining students from the south, and losing students to the south. Predicting the outcome is a challenge, but preparing for multiple outcomes would be wise.
- Parking needs: The current challenges of parking could be somewhat alleviated with an additional public transportation option for the campus community. Existing long range plans should account for the possibility of a Light Rail station near campus and infuse flexible options for this option.
- Marketing: Increased access to EvCC from the south could provide the rationale to market and promote the programs unique to the college throughout the region. In conjunction with increased advertising and outreach, the college would need to prepare for increased enrollment in these programs.
Population Trends
The Pacific Northwest’s population has been growing rapidly for a handful of years, and projections indicate the growth to continue into the foreseeable future. In addition to the overall growth, the population is aging. These dual factors have implications regarding enrollment and demand for specific programs.
Enrollment: A larger population generally suggests a larger student body. EvCC should have plans that account for continued growth and expansion.
Specific Programs: An aging population embodies at least two known factors. The baby boomer generation is nearing retirement, which will result in an occupational void. Economists predict the pending need for skilled laborers and specialized manufacturers. In addition to replacement workers for the vacated positions, increased demand for medical and tertiary services is expected. Older populations receive more primary, secondary, and supportive care. Industries that provide these services will need additional skilled employees to fill the newly created positions.
Another prospect involves the role of adult children caring for their parents. Some economic forecasts suggest an increased rate of in-home care for the elderly. With limited space in retirement homes and economic limits for fulltime professional care, adult children may seek out occupations that either let them work from home or positions with flexible hours, such as yoga instruction, event planners, and contract-based projects. College programs that provide certification and training in these and similar programs may experience increased demand.
Housing
Predicting the ebbs and flows of the housing market is nearly impossible, but current trends are expected to continue for the immediate future, suggesting housing costs increasing faster than the rate of inflation or cost of living adjustments and salary increases. Affordability of housing has prompted population growth north of Seattle throughout Snohomish County, including Everett and Marysville. If this continues, EvCC could experience an even larger demand for programs such as Running Start and College in the High School.
The City of Everett also has proposed plans to increase the density of housing downtown, in response to and in conjunction with the extended Light Rail, which may ignite an even larger population boom in the vicinity. Again, EvCC should position itself to be responsive to surges in enrollment and have the capacity to expand quickly if the population demands.
Public Funding for Higher Education
State and national politics are just as unpredictable as housing and transportation plans. That said, EvCC should be aware of current conversations that could drastically shift the existing processes, procedures, and funding structures of higher education. The recent shift from a split state legislature to singular control of the State House, Senate, and the Executive branch could result in more legislation being passed, including a new funding model for higher education in Washington. Additionally, there could be a renewed interest in programs that provide free college to some students for some or all of a two-year experience. EvCC could proactively advocate for a plan of this type, as well as seek to develop an internally funded system in order to establish a framework that could be used more broadly if state funding becomes available.