Western Washington University College Portrait

Test(s) Required for Admission: SAT or ACT recommended

50% of admitted students have test scores within the ranges listed, 25% have scores above, and 25% have scores below.

Typical Undergraduate Costs for 2011-12 without Financial Aid (Full-Time, In-State Students)

Total Typical Cost of Attendance: $20,791.00

The cost to attend Western Washington University varies based on the individual circumstances of students and may be reduced through grants and scholarships.

How much would I pay?

Financial Aid: How much help is there to pay?

Scholarships & Grants

• 35% of 2011-12 full-time undergraduates received need-based grants or scholarships; the average award for the year was $7,932.00. Scholarships and grants are financial aid that does not need to be repaid and is sometimes referred to as gift aid.

Annual Need-Based Loans

• 39% of 2011-12 full-time undergraduates received need-based work-study and/or loans (not including parent loans); the average loan for the year was $4,784.00. Loans need to be repaid. Typically, repayment starts once you are no longer enrolled full-time. Please refer to page 12 of the Funding Education Beyond High School guide on the US Department of Education's Federal Student Aid website for more information about Financial Need.

Percent of 2010 Full-time Beginning Students Receiving Each Type of Financial Aid

NOTE: Students may receive aid from more than one source.

92% of new freshmen live in campus-based housing or residence halls.
29% of all undergraduates live on campus

Safety at Western is everyone’s responsibility. From our residence hall staff to our commissioned police officers, Western puts the safety and well-being of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors first. The University Police Department has primary responsibility for law enforcement on campus. They operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year to provide a safe, secure, and accessible educational environment. Blue emergency phones located throughout campus are a direct contact to campus police. Access to campus residence halls is restricted. During the academic year, a student security patrol – known as Greencoats – assists campus police by securing campus buildings and providing safety escorts on campus. Western has a comprehensive emergency response plan that is regularly reviewed and updated, and an emergency notification system that provides health and safety emergency information via e-mail, the web, and cell phone text messaging.

The Carnegie Classification's were created "to reference the great diversity of colleges and universities in the United States, and ... enable [people] to identify groups of roughly comparable institutions." For information on the Carnegie Classifications system, please visit their website: http://classifications.carnegiefoundation.org/

Basic Type

Master's Colleges and Universities (larger programs)

Size and Setting

Large four-year, primarily residential

Enrollment Profile

Very high undergraduate

Undergraduate Profile

Full-time four-year, selective, higher transfer-in

Undergraduate Instructional Program

Arts & sciences plus professions, some graduate coexistence

Graduate Instructional Program

Postbaccalaureate comprehensive

NOTE: Institutional classifications based on the Carnegie 2005 edition.

Students who are actively involved in their own learning and development are more likely to be successful in college. Colleges and universities offer students a wide variety of opportunities both inside and outside the classroom to become engaged with new ideas, people, and experiences. Institutions measure the effectiveness of these opportunities in a variety of ways to better understand what types of activities and programs students find the most helpful.

Institutions participating in the VSA program measure student involvement on campus using one of four national surveys. Results from the one survey are reported for a common set of questions selected as part of VSA. Following are the selected results from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The questions have been grouped together in categories that are known to contribute to student learning and development. The results reported below are based on the responses of seniors who participated in the survey.

Group Learning Experiences

• 98% percent of seniors worked with classmates on assignments outside of class.
• 59% of seniors tutored or taught other students
• 23% of seniors spent at least 6 hours per week participating in co-curricular activities such as student organizations and intramural sports

Active Learning Experiences

• 92% of seniors spent at least 6 hours per week preparing for class
• 20% of seniors worked on a research project with a faculty member
• 43% of seniors participated in an internship, practicum, or field experience
• 55% of seniors participated in community service or volunteer work
• 15% of seniors participated in study abroad
• 94% of seniors made at least one class presentation last year

Institutional Commitment to Student Learning and Success

• 96% of seniors believe this institution provides support for student success
• 66% of seniors rated the quality of academic advising at this institution as good or excellent
• 65% of seniors reported that this institution provided help in coping with work, family and other non-academic responsibilities
• 93% of seniors reported working harder than they thought they could to meet an instructor's standards or expectations

Student Interaction with Campus Faculty and Staff

• 51% of seniors believed that the campus staff were helpful, considerate, or flexible
• 84% of seniors believed that faculty are available, helpful, or sympathetic
• 98% of seniors reported that faculty members provided prompt feedback on their academic performance
• 72% of seniors discussed readings or ideas with faculty members outside of class

Experiences with Diverse Groups of People and Ideas

• 70% of seniors reported that they often tried to understand someone else's point of view
• 87% of seniors reported their experience at this institution contributed to their understanding people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds
• 56% of seniors often had serious conversations with students of a different race or ethnicity

Student Satisfaction

• 88% of seniors would attend this institution if they started over again
• 91% of seniors rated their entire educational experience as good or excellent
• 85% of seniors reported that other students were friendly or supportive

A 93% four-year success and progress rate means that 93% of students starting in Fall 2005 either graduated or are still enrolled at a higher education institution four years later.

Counts for the Fall 2005 entering class shown in the graph above.

• 2,381 First-Time, Full-Time Students
• 1,044 Full-Time Transfer Students

First-time students in Fall 2010 that returned for their second year: 84%

All colleges and universities use multiple approaches to measure student learning. Many of these are specific to particular disciplines, many are coordinated with accrediting agencies, and many are based on outcomes after students have graduated.

Faculty-driven department and program assessment plans form the foundation of student learning assessment at Western Washington University. Departments and programs establish student learning outcomes (SLOs) derived from their mission and the University’s strategic plan. These SLOs allow each program to measure and analyze student performance relative to programmatic goals, and to make data-informed programmatic improvements. Student learning assessment at Western is continuous in that it is structured as a cycle or iterative feedback process of ongoing program improvement. Support for student learning assessment is provided by each college, the Office of Survey Research, the Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment, and the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education. Further information on student learning assessment at Western can be found at http://www.wwu.edu/depts/vpue/assessment/.

Colleges and universities participating in the College Portrait measure the typical improvement in students' abilities to think, reason, and write using one of three tests. This is part of a pilot project to better understand and compare what students learn between their freshman and senior years at different colleges and universities.

Data not available yet.