Student Life & Services

Advising & Career Services

Admissions & Advising

College Services Building, Room 106
Email: advising@btc.edu Phone: 360.752.8345
Website: www.btc.edu/Advising

Advising and Career Services staff offer educational pathway planning and career development to BTC students through individualized support services and connecting students and alumni to industry leaders. Staff work with students to:
• Explore career pathways using vocational assessments, employment trends and more
• Build an educational plan to know which courses are needed to enter and satisfy graduation requirements
• Provide support with job and internship searching, including résumé and cover letters, interviewing, applications, etc.
• Identify action items and next steps to address challenges that may impact success in college
• Establish realistic and attainable academic and career goals
• Connect with potential funding sources to pay for college

TRIO Student Support Services

Campus Center Building, Room 220A

Email: trio@btc.edu  Phone: 360.752.8640

Website: www.btc.edu/trio

TRIO supports students in achieving their goals of adjusting to college life, succeeding in their classes, graduating with a degree or certificate, and starting their career or transferring to a four-year university. The TRIO program includes personalized success coaching, one-on-one or small group tutoring, a TRIO student lounge, the opportunity to apply for TRIO scholarships, cultural/educational events, and leadership opportunities. TRIO Student Support Services at BTC is a federally funded program and one of a national network of TRIO programs. See BTC’s website for more information about services and eligibility: www.btc.edu/TRIO

Counseling Services

College Services Building, Room106
Email: counseling@btc.edu Phone: 360.752.8345

Personal counseling is available free of charge to enrolled students. BTC Counseling is confidential, short-term, and solution-focused. Issues that could impact your academic success, well-being, or safety can be addressed. Many students benefit from working with the counselor on issues like adjusting to college life, balancing role expectations, stress management, depression, anxiety, loneliness, grief and loss, identity and personal development, relationship issues, navigating cultural differences, substance misuse, healthy communication and boundaries, crisis management, and suicidal thoughts. Referrals to campus and community resources and services may be provided, as needed.

Registration

College Services Building, Lobby
Email: registration@btc.edu Phone: 360.752.8350

Registration provides support to students to meet their educational and career goals. Our goal is to educate and empower students to successfully navigate the registration process to program completion. Services provided by Registration include: processing class registration and class changes (adds/drops/withdrawals), enrollment verifications, processing official transcript requests, maintaining student records, notifying students who do not meet satisfactory progress, degree audit assistance and verifying program course requirements at the time of completion.

Accessibility Resources: Access and Disability Services

College Services Building, Room 111
Email: ar@btc.edu Phone: 360.752.8367

Accessibility Resources (AR) exists to create an accessible college community, where students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to fully participate in all aspects of the educational environment. No student shall, on the basis of his or her disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any college program or activity. We cooperate through partnerships with students, faculty, staff, and outside agencies to promote student independence and to ensure recognition of their abilities, as well as their disability challenges. Additionally, AR maintains compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and State of Washington Laws of 1994, Chapter 105.

To receive academic adjustments, students are responsible for formally requesting accommodations in a timely manner, as well as providing documentation prepared by a certified medical doctor, psychologist, or psychiatrist with credentials to diagnose the student’s disability. To register with AR, fill out the application at www.btc.edu/ARApplication. For complete documentation guidelines, please visit our website at www.btc.edu/ar.

An Access Planning Meeting with the AR Director is required to access accommodations through BTC’s AR Office. Once an application has been received, a meeting will be scheduled. While documentation is only submitted once, accommodation renewals must be made each quarter of attendance, optimally four weeks prior to the quarter start date. Late requests may result in a delay of accommodation placement. Call 360.752.8367 for more information.

Diversity/Multicultural Support Services

Campus Center Building, Room 300
Email: diversity@btc.edu
Phone: Director of Multicultural and Student Support Services 360.752.8377

Diversity/Multicultural Support Services assists students with diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, abilities, genders, and languages of origin to access, pursue, and attain success in achieving their educational goals. Students seeking assistance should contact the Director of Multicultural and Student Support Services, or schedule an appointment by calling 360.752.8345.

Creating and nurturing a diverse campus is a central goal in Bellingham Technical College’s mission of delivering superior professional technical education for today’s needs and tomorrow’s opportunities. Engaging with and learning to honor a range of perspectives and backgrounds is of paramount importance to the college, and in keeping with the spirit that is BTC. BTC continuously strives to create an egalitarian environment in which students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to participate in the life of the campus, free from harassment and discrimination. Ranging in age from 16 to 60+, our student body is composed of more than 20 ethnic backgrounds, as well as single parents, veterans, adults seeking new careers, immigrants, GED holders, English language learners, and first-time college students. Regardless of motivation, all seek an education and share a common goal of enriching their own lives and that of their communities. BTC encourages diversity on our campus by welcoming, respecting, and supporting people of every ethnicity, nationality, culture, gender, age, sexual orientation, religious belief, physical ability, and socioeconomic background.

Veterans Support Services

Campus Center Building, Room 300
Email: veterans@btc.edu
Phone: Director of Multicultural and Student Support Services 360.752.8377

Bellingham Technical College is honored to have veterans as part of our community and is committed to ensuring that all veterans, active duty personnel, reservists, and their families have access to the educational benefits and resources entitled to them. Below is a selection of services that we offer to our veteran community.

Early Registration for Veteran Students

As a veteran enrolled in a BTC educational program, you get to register first for next quarter classes. Watch for your registration access time in myBTC portal and register right after your assigned time.

Residency Status Review

If you are a veteran with non-resident status whose separation date is within the last three years, we would like to review your residency status. The VA School Certifying Official at BTC is able to assist student veterans and dependents with residency questions and paperwork.

Advising/Educational Plan

Our Admissions and Advising office has staff available who are acquainted with veterans’ concerns regarding course scheduling. Email: advising@btc.edu

Benefits, Resources, Residency and more

See BTC’s website at www.btc.edu/veterans for details.

Student Veterans of America, BTC chapter

The BTC Veterans Club, a chapter of Student Veterans of America (SVA), consists of a board of elected student executives and staff advisors, and convenes weekly for lunchtime meetings open to the general campus community. The purpose of this club is to foster peer support within the veteran community on campus, give veterans a place to meet one another, and act as a platform for discussing and advocating for veterans’ academic needs. This club is recognized nationally by the SVA, as well as internally by the Associated Students of Bellingham Technical College (ASBTC).

Club meetings
Wednesday from 11am – 12pm
in Building B, Room B-12
All enrolled veterans are welcome.

Graduation Honor Cords

BTC veteran graduates are given Veteran Honor Cords for the Commencement Ceremony. Pick up your Veteran Honor Cord during Commencement check-in.

Associated Student Government

Campus Center, Room 300
Email: asbtc@btc.edu Phone: 360.752.8357

The Associated Students of Bellingham Technical College (ASBTC) comprises all enrolled BTC students. Through the ASBTC, students have a voice to assure that student issues and concerns are heard. ASBTC’s mission is to enhance the academic and personal lives of students by providing diverse and cultural opportunities with meaningful learning experiences that complement classroom education and enrich student life.

Students who participate in student government help establish campus policies and procedures, allocate the services and activities fees, serve on college and student committees, and evaluate student programs and services to meet the changing needs and interests of the students.

Interested in participating in student governance? Contact ASBTC now!

ASBTC Goals:

• Provide a means of self-governance for BTC students.
• Promote the educational, cultural and social welfare of BTC students.
• Guarantee an equal opportunity for student participation and representation.
• Foster cooperation among students, faculty, administration, and the community.

ASBTC also provides student clubs. Come to the Student Center (Campus Center, Room 300) to learn about all the clubs that are available.

ASBTC is fully supported by BTC faculty, staff, administration, and trustees. Joining is a great way to get involved with issues that affect all students and to develop skills in leadership, cooperative governance, and community building.

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society

Bellingham Technical College is pleased to offer membership in Phi Theta Kappa to students who exhibit academic excellence in associate degree programs. Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society of two-year colleges, aims to recognize and encourage scholarship among associate degree students. BTC’s Beta Lambda Beta chapter of Phi Theta Kappa was chartered in 2002.

Invitation to membership is extended by the chapter to students who have completed at least 24 credits of coursework leading to an associate degree, in which they have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. Students pay a membership fee and are given access to online services and activities provided by Phi Theta Kappa.

Phi Theta Kappa provides opportunities for the development of leadership and service through chapter involvement and community service projects. Phi Theta Kappa meets bi-weekly on campus. All members are encouraged to participate and get involved, but participation is not a requirement of membership.

eLearning

The eLearning Department supports online teaching and learning at Bellingham Technical College. eLearning administers and supports Canvas, BTC’s online Learning Management System, as well as other instructional technologies, including lecture capture and virtual meeting software.

Library

Campus Center Building, 3rd Floor
Email: library@btc.edu Phone: 360.752.8383

The Bellingham Technical College Library supports student research and learning. Library books, journals, eBooks and digital resources support the college curriculum. The BTC Library’s digital resources include eBooks and academic databases that offer access to full-text journals and newspapers. Access to the BTC Library’s catalog and digital resources is available at www.btc.edu/library.

Library staff provide individual assistance and instruction from the Information Desk and through the Book-A-Librarian service in-person or online. If you need information that is not available at BTC, we can help you borrow material from other libraries through interlibrary loan.

The BTC Library supports the Information Commons, the campus’s open computer lab, where networked computers are equipped with general and program-specific software. A computer station with accessibility support software is available, and wi-fi is provided for students using their own devices. The Information and Digital Literacy classroom (CC317) may be used for Library, eLearning and other instructional workshops and classes.

Students may check out laptops, iPads, graphing calculators, digital cameras, digital recorders, flash drives and other equipment at the Library Information Desk. To support quiet and group study, there are eight group student rooms in addition to table and casual lounge furniture.

Round-the-clock chat reference service is available at www.btc.edu/library/AskLibrarian. Library staff are always available to help students with research, information and technology questions.

Lost and Found

The Lost and Found is located at the Information Desk in BTC Library, located on the third floor of Campus Center.

Campus Store

Campus Center Building main floor
Phone: 360.752.8342

The BTC Campus Store is located on the ground floor of the Campus Center building. There you can find required texts, materials, and supplies to purchase for degree/certificate programs and courses.

Bring your printed class schedule and the staff will help find your required items. Text lists can be found at www.btc-store.com. Printed copies of the lists are also available to use inside the store. You may purchase a copy of any list for 10 cents per copy. The Campus Store also carries office supplies, software, flash drives, calculators, book bags, BTC apparel, emblem gifts, coffee, soda, pastries, candy, and other snacks. Services include outgoing fax service, outgoing package shipping, stamp sales, bus pass sales, and special orders.

Students funded through an independent funding agency (DVR, Labor and Industries, etc.) or Workforce Investment Act (WIA) must work with counselors from their agency prior to purchasing books and supplies. Students receiving financial aid checks from BTC must pay for books and supplies at the time of purchase. The Campus Store does not cash financial aid or other two-party checks. The store accepts cash, VISA, MasterCard, and most debit cards.

Food Services

Campus Center Building main floor
Phone: 360.752.8471

Food service is available in the Common Grounds Coffee Shop in the Campus Center building. Common Grounds Coffee Shop (in the south foyer of the Campus Center) serves breakfast and lunch items, espresso, coffee, and fresh baked goods, and operates Monday through Friday.

The Food Services Department also provides catering for meetings and college events.

Conference and meeting rooms are available. For booking information, please call the Conference and Events Services at 360.752.8303.

The Culinary Arts program operates the Café Culinairé restaurant in the Campus Center building and the Culinairé Express window in the Cafeteria (G Building). Both are open to the public at selected times throughout the year. Please visit www.btc.edu/CafeCulinaire for more information.

Vending machines are located in the Campus Center building, Building C, Building G, Building J, Building U, Haskell Center, Des McArdle Center, and Morse Center. The Campus Store, located in the Campus Center building, also sells a variety of snacks and beverages.

Insurance

The college does not provide students with medical or accident insurance. We encourage students who lack personal accident insurance to purchase it if they are enrolled in any degree/certificate program that involves working with machinery. Some programs require student insurance before beginning clinical internships.

Bellingham Technical College students may purchase voluntary student accident and health insurance. Insurance information is available online on BTC’s Student Resources page at www.btc.edu/resources.

Parking

Visitor parking is located in front of the College Services building, the CS lot, at the east end of the campus off Nome Street and the west end of campus in the Y building lot. The C building lot, on Lindbergh and Gilligan Way is reserved for Dental patients and Café Culinairé customers. Registered students, faculty and staff are not visitors and are subject to parking violation tickets, immobilization, and/or towing. Visitors are required to sign in at the Visitors sign-in counters for each lot. Sign-in locations are in the foyers of the College Services building for the CS lot, the A building lobby for the Y lot and in the Dental Clinic in C building and Café Culiniairé for the C lot. Visitor parking is limited to 2 hours.

General free parking in designated spots only is accessed via West Illinois Street in the three (3) parking lots located north of the campus buildings. Designated spots are those parking spaces indicated by a white line on both sides of the vehicle when parked. Parking lots off Nome Street or Lindbergh Avenue are restricted parking for permit, carpool, and handicap parking as designated.

Motorcycle parking is available in four (4) areas around campus and is marked as such.

Maps indicating the appropriate place to park for general, visitor, ADA, and motorcycle parking are available at the Information desk in the College Services lobby as well as in the Library on the third floor of the Campus Center.

Failure to adhere to parking rules as designated on parking lot signage will result in the following:

• Parking violation ticket
• Fines
• Holds on registration, transcripts, degrees or certificates
• Immobilization, and/or towing

ADA parking is available in the MC, DMC, CS, H, Y and West parking lots. Parking in ADA-designated spaces requires an approved ADA parking permit. You can obtain the ADA parking permit by accessing a required form at www.dol.wa.gov/forms/420073.pdf. A portion of this form will need to be filled out by your physician. Once completed take the form to any licensing office to receive your ADA permit over the counter.

Information on carpool parking spaces can be obtained by calling the Cashier in the College Services building at 360.752.8311.
The following situations are subject to vehicle immobilization and/ or towing; fees are associated with the release of the immobilization device and with towing at the owner’s expense:

• Any vehicle that receives three (3) parking violations will be subject to immobilization and/or towing when the third violation or subsequent violations are issued; this is regardless of whether prior fines are paid in full. (Towing companies charge by the hour and by the day for impounded vehicles.)
• Any vehicle parked in a fire lane or in handicap parking without a handicap parking permit are subject to towing and a parking citation by the Bellingham Police Department
• Vehicles left overnight or through the weekend on college property are subject to towing

The Parking Hotline number for immobilized or towed vehicles is 360.752.8798.

The college assumes no liability for vehicles parked in the campus parking lots.

Disputes on violations may be forwarded to the Vice President of Administrative Services or the Vice President of Student Services for disciplinary action.

Tutoring Services

Building H, Room 9 (Math) and Room 15 (Writing & English)
Email: tutoring@btc.edu Phone: 360.752.8499

Bellingham Technical College provides free drop-in tutoring to students enrolled in tuition and fee-bearing courses all year when classes are in session. Tutors are recruited in all subjects where tutoring assistance is requested. To request tutoring assistance, contact the Tutoring Center to complete a Request Form. The current drop-in tutoring schedule is available at www.btc.edu/tutoring. If students request tutoring in an area not currently offered on the schedule, staff will do their best to locate a tutor in that subject.

Program Services for the Public

Some of the college’s degree/certificate programs provide services or repairs for staff, students, and the general public, if the work needed applies to the training of students in the program without negatively impacting community private enterprise. Services may include automotive, auto collision, dental and cosmetology.

The BTC Dental Clinic is open to the public and welcomes new patients from September through June. Dental care is provided by a licensed dentist from the community, and dental assisting and dental hygienist students under the direction of certified faculty members. The clinic provides low-cost dental care on a cash-only basis. For an appointment, contact the clinic at 360.752.8349.

BTC’s Cosmetology Salon is open to the public for services that include haircuts, color, highlights, styling, waxing and more. The salon is located in Railroad Center at 1411 Railroad Avenue in downtown Bellingham. Appointments can be scheduled during the quarter at 360.752.8789.