Bellevue Community College, serving approximately 35,000 students annually, has been designated by the Redmond Company as being the second Microsoft IT Showcase School in the United States. Being the third largest institution of higher education in the Washington state, BCC is intimately involved with Microsoft in preparing students for the digital age. The IT Showcase School program places emphasis on the strong history of collaboration between Microsoft and the BCC.

"The future economic health of our region and the nation depends on preparing students for the growing opportunities provided by advances in technology," said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. "That's why we support Bellevue Community College's trailblazing efforts in technology education. We want to help other colleges learn from BCC's success, so that even more students can benefit."

Sharing best practices, innovating the curriculum, inter school collaboration and building a technical infrastructure to support future development and innovation are the main goals of the Microsoft IT Showcase School program.

"We are honored to be chosen by Microsoft as its second national IT Showcase School and its only community college. BCC has, for many years, developed innovative programs that educate students to be adaptable to changing environments and emerging technologies," said Jean Floten, president of BCC. "A great deal of our success in IT education is due to the support Microsoft has provided community and technical colleges nationally as part of its intense commitment to the advancement of education. Its additional support now will help us all continue to turn out the students our employers need to stay competitive."