Columbia Basin College has hundreds more students on its campus this fall. 

As of Sept. 24, the college recorded an unofficial tally of 8,234 students on its Pasco and Richland campuses. That’s 465 students, or 6%, more than at the same point in the fall 2024 term. 

“It’s great to see the campus filled with students,” said CBC President Rebekah Woods in a statement. “This year we added a new Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. Continuing to expand our program and degree offerings to meet industry needs is the key to continuing CBC’s strong enrollment numbers.” 

The college has not yet calculated its official first count of students, CBC officials told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, as the deadline for students to drop classes is not until Sept. 26 and apprenticeship statistics are not finalized. 

More students at desks, in labs and walking around campus isn’t the only growth the college is seeing. The average course load per student is also on the rise, said Elizabeth Burtner, the college’s vice president of communications and external relations. The full-time equivalent measure of student enrollment is up 8.7% to 6,577 students. 

The recent headcount continues CBC’s trend of growing enrollment since the 2021-22 academic year. The 2024-25 academic year saw its highest overall enrollment in 15 years at the college with 12,283 students.