We are a public service center of The Evergreen State College.

Our work is focused on:

• Improving students' college readiness and completion rates through the design and use of learning communities
• Providing support for institutions' educational reform initiatives
• Assisting with faculty development at institutions across the state
• Organizing intensive curriculum planning retreats and consultations
• Supporting equity and diversity at two- and four-year institutions
• Developing tools and strategies for assessing student learning
• Expanding connections between schools and the community through projects such as "Curriculum for the Bioregion"

Washington Center is organized as a consortium, working in collaboration institions across the country. Our member institutions within Washington state include thirty-three community and technical colleges, six public four-year institutions, one tribal college, and eleven independent colleges.

We work within Washington state and throughout the country with faculty members, staff, and administrators to share good practices and carry out collaborative projects aimed at improving undergraduate teaching and student learning. Through workshops, institutes, campus visits, publications, and our website, the Washington Center promotes projects aimed at improving student achievement.

The Washington State Legislature established the Washington Center as a public service center, in a special 1987-89 biennium budget allocation, with a mandate to work with two- and four-year higher education institutions and other educators throughout the state to improve the quality of undergraduate education.

Emily Lardner and Gillies Malnarich have co-directed the Center since 2000. In addition to the co-directors, the Center has two professional support staff and several student workers.

More about the Center