Welcome to Green River College
Green River College's main campus was founded in Auburn's Lea Hill neighborhood in 1965.
Green River College is an open-access, public college where students from all over the world come together to learn, grow and enrich their lives. Green River's main campus stretches over 180 acres of beautifully forested land. Branch campuses, located in downtown Auburn, Kent and Enumclaw, bring the college's unique educational experiences to local communities.
At Green River, students can choose from a wide variety of transfer degrees, bachelor of applied science degrees, career and technical education, pre-college and basic skills courses and continuing and community education classes. High-quality faculty and motivated staff advise, counsel and support students in their chosen educational careers, creating an encouraging atmosphere that fosters achievement.
The combination of strong academics, solid student services, a diverse and lively campus community and state-of-the-art facilities allow Green River to provide students an exceptional education with lessons that will stay with them throughout their lives.
Our History
The roots of Green River College stretch back to 1945, when the Auburn School District started a program of adult evening education, which soon became the largest in Washington state. The popularity of the program convinced citizens from the surrounding communities that the Green River Valley needed its own community college. Local committees began working to secure state approval to start a community college in 1959. In 1963, the determination of local citizens paid off when the Washington State Board of Education approved the community college.
Green River's professional and technical program began in September 1964 at a location near the Auburn Boeing plant. A year later, Green River opened its doors at its present location on Lea Hill, east of Auburn. This favorable location is easy to reach from local communities and is a 40-minute drive from either Seattle or Tacoma. With increasing demand for higher education, Green River has opened satellite campuses in Kent, Enumclaw, and the downtown Auburn Center.
Green River's service area is defined as District 10 by the 1967 Washington State Legislature; the college is governed by a five-member board of trustees. Financial support comes from state appropriations and student tuition.