Bellevue College is an open-access, community-based, public (state-assisted) institution of higher education located in Bellevue, Washington, a city on the Eastside of Lake Washington, near Seattle. With an annual enrollment of 37,000 students, Bellevue College (BC) is the largest of the 34 institutions that make up the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system, and the third largest institution of higher education overall in the state (behind the University of Washington and Washington State University). The institution offers transfer associate degree programs that cover the first two years of a college education, a multitude of professional-technical degrees and certificates, a large continuing education program, and a variety of pre-college programs.