New college is about to open in Tri-Cities. This is exciting so go check it out | Opinion
A new Tri-City college campus is just about ready to open its doors and change people’s lives.
The new Heritage University location in Kennewick has the classroom space. Now all it needs is students.
I’ve no doubt that once word spreads, it won’t be long before those classrooms are filled.
Last spring, Heritage officials announced they were going to convert part of the former Tri-City Herald building in downtown Kennewick to a satellite campus.
The plan was to have it ready in time to admit its first group of freshman for the 2023 academic year, which begins Aug. 21.
The construction is finished and the signage is up, so now it’s time to check out the new school.
Future Eagle Day is Monday, July 31, from 4-6 p.m. at 333 W Canal Drive in Kennewick. Food will be provided, so if you want to attend, please email Martin Valadez and let him know you plan to be there.
He is the director of Heritage University’s regional site in the Tri-Cities, and his email is valadez_m@heritage.edu.
The event will give Tri-Citians a chance to check out the college’s programs and get assistance with admission and financial aid.
Heritage University is a private institution and a commuter school based in Toppenish, Wash., in the Yakima Valley. It was founded in the 1980s with the mission to reach out to underserved populations.
Valadez emphasized that the university’s intention is not to compete with Columbia Basin College and Washington State University Tri-Cities, but to complement and collaborate with them.
Valadez has been working in a space provided by Columbia Basin College, where Heritage University offers evening programs for transfer students.
He said the Heritage University programs at CBC will continue while the freshman cohort gets going at the Kennewick location. Programs offered at the Kennewick site include education, social work, criminal justice, psychology, accounting and business administration.
The Tri-Cities is growing quickly and yet statistics show a large number of Tri-City high school graduates are not seeking a college degree right away.
According to the Washington state Education Research & Data Center, 53% of students who graduated from the Kennewick School District were not enrolled in college courses in the first year after graduation. In Pasco, it is 65% and in Richland, 49%. The dashboard with this information was updated in February 2023.
So for recent high school graduates who didn’t make plans last year and are now thinking they’d like to go to college, the opening of the new Heritage University location in Kennewick provides a great opportunity.
The majority of Heritage students receive a significant amount of financial aid so the cost of tuition is either covered completely or greatly reduced, according to university officials.
Last spring, Heritage University President Andrew Sund noted the 20-year partnership Heritage University has had with CBC. He also said that providing more choices for students is always better in higher education.
“Our goal is to increase the total number of students who graduate from college. Together we can increase the total college-going student population to benefit the entire community,” he said.
The former Herald building once was used to provide important information to the Tri-Cities, and now it will still be used as place to impart knowledge.
There’s something poetic about that.
I remember when that two-story building was full and bustling. It will be great if Heritage University brings that same energy back to one of the most beautiful structures in the Tri-Cities.
Bringing more people to that part of Kennewick should also be a boost to the downtown area. The potential of helping students and helping the community at the same time is exciting all around.
Cecilia Rexus is the editorial writer for the Tri-City Herald.
