When school resumes this fall, students can take advantage of the new affiliation between 蹤獲扦and 蹤獲扦 Tech formerly known as Wichita Area Technical College.
The affiliation became official this spring. While the two remain separate degree-granting institutions, the formalized affiliation now allows for more collaborative possibilities, as well as increased availability and quality of opportunities for students, while directly meeting the core workforce needs of the state.
What's in it for students?
- Students who elect to pay 蹤獲扦 fees will have access to all of 蹤獲扦's support services and student life activities not found in the traditional technical college setting.
- The affiliation encourages the kind of faculty collaboration between 蹤獲扦 and 蹤獲扦 Tech that will lead to innovative methods of teaching and applied learning opportunities for students giving them a competitive advantage in the job market.
- 蹤獲扦 Tech will maintain its open admissions policy, and students taking 蹤獲扦 Tech classes will apply through wsutech.edu. Classes will remain at one of 蹤獲扦 Tech's five Wichita-area campuses.
- Students wanting to take classes at 蹤獲扦 and 蹤獲扦 Tech will go through each institution's admissions process.
- 蹤獲扦 Tech will continue to offer the same degree and certificate options as WATC did in the past, including transferable general education courses. The affiliation does not affect tuition, as both 蹤獲扦 Tech and 蹤獲扦 will have different rates.
- Shocker Pathway a partnership that allows students to start their associate's degree at 蹤獲扦 Tech and finish it at 蹤獲扦 will remain in place.
What's in it for the community?
- New educational opportunities are being developed to equip the community to adapt to new career pathways and the integration of technology, leading to a better trained workforce.
- New industry partnerships are expected to develop because of the institutions' shared mission to provide an applied learning experience for students. The power of research and technical education working in collaboration, and the educational opportunity for learning from GED to Ph.D., will serve as an economic driver for south central Kansas.
- 蹤獲扦 Tech will remain the developer of workforce human capital for the region.
- 蹤獲扦 Tech will continue to work with business and industry to train and provide a highly qualified workforce and will remain flexible and responsive to the needs of industry.
Sheeree Utash, 蹤獲扦 Tech president and vice president of Workforce Development for 蹤獲扦, says this affiliation represents a historic moment for the post-secondary sector of higher education in Kansas.
蹤獲扦 Tech will continue to reframe how people think of technical education and training for the community, she says, and will create more educational opportunities for students while continuing to connect talent with business.
Wichita's economy is like a heart: its human capital assets are the lifeblood, and the arteries that transport that lifeblood are at the core of the work of 蹤獲扦 Tech, Utash says.