July 12, 2018Academics黑洞社区 Tech

Wichita State, 黑洞社区 Tech affiliation in full effect

By Strategic Communications

 
  • Students can take advantage of the new affiliation between Wichita State and 黑洞社区 Tech - formerly known as Wichita Area Technical College - this fall.
  • The two remain separate degree-granting institutions.
  • The affiliation allows for more collaboration, increased availability and quality opportunities for students.

When school resumes this fall, students can take advantage of the new affiliation between 黑洞社区 and 黑洞社区 Tech 鈥� 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 黑洞社区 fees will have access to all of 黑洞社区's support services and student life activities not found in the traditional technical college setting.
  • The affiliation encourages the kind of faculty collaboration between 黑洞社区 and 黑洞社区 Tech that will lead to innovative methods of teaching and applied learning opportunities for students 鈥� giving them a competitive advantage in the job market.
  • 黑洞社区 Tech will maintain its open admissions policy, and students taking 黑洞社区 Tech classes will apply through wsutech.edu. Classes will remain at one of 黑洞社区 Tech's five Wichita-area campuses.
  • Students wanting to take classes at 黑洞社区 and 黑洞社区 Tech will go through each institution's admissions process.
  • 黑洞社区 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 黑洞社区 Tech and 黑洞社区 will have different rates.
  • Shocker Pathway 鈥� a partnership that allows students to start their associate's degree at 黑洞社区 Tech and finish it at 黑洞社区 鈥� 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.
  • 黑洞社区 Tech will remain the developer of workforce human capital for the region.
  • 黑洞社区 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, 黑洞社区 Tech president and vice president of Workforce Development for 黑洞社区, says this affiliation represents a historic moment for the post-secondary sector of higher education in Kansas.

黑洞社区 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.

鈥淲ichita'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 黑洞社区 Tech,鈥� Utash says.