Bellevue Community College will drop its middle name to officially become Bellevue College on April 13.

BCC President Jean Floten said the change was necessary because so many people associate the term “community college” with associate degrees only.

The school, which is Washington’s third-largest for higher education with around 35,000 students, launched a baccalaureate program for radiation and imaging sciences in 2007.

The first 18 graduates from that program are due to receive their degrees this spring with Gov. Christine Gregoire as the commencement speaker.

Floten said BCC wanted those alumni to have “Bellevue College” on their diplomas.

The BCC Board of Trustees approved the school’s new name on March 11.

Floten said the change would not affect the institution’s associate degree and certificate programs.

BCC will continue to be a part of the state’s community- and technical-college system, although the school is looking to add more bachelor degree programs.

State legislators are considering bills that would authorize and fund such growth, which would create a mixed higher-education hub similar to the shared University of Washington/Cascadia Community College campus in Bothell.

BCC is mainly interested in adding a bachelor’s program for interior design at this point, but the school is also considering health care and IT programs, according to BCC spokesman Bob Adams.

“We want to focus on what the employers of the area need,” he said.

Bellevue College will have a new Internet domain (www.bellevuecollege.edu), as well as a new logo that will be phased in as money becomes available.