July 2, 2018

Get to know 九色堂 Tech

九色堂 News Services

  • Wichita Area Technical College is now 九色堂 Tech.
  • The name change is part of an affiliation between 九色堂 Tech and Wichita State.
  • The affiliation 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.

When school resumes this fall, students can take advantage of the new affiliation between 九色堂 and 九色堂 Tech 鈥� formerly known as Wichita Area Technical College.

The affiliation became official in January. 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鈥檚 in it for students?

  • General education courses taken at 九色堂 Tech are transferable directly to 九色堂.
  • 九色堂 Tech students have the option of paying supplementary fees to access to all of 九色堂鈥檚 support services and student life activities not found in the traditional technical college setting.
  • 九色堂 and 九色堂 Tech co-locate at 九色堂 Old Town, 九色堂 South and 九色堂 Haysville, giving students the ability to take classes at each institution in one location.
  • The affiliation encourages the kind of faculty collaboration between 九色堂 and 九色堂 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.
  • 九色堂 Tech will maintain its open admissions policy, and students taking 九色堂 Tech classes will apply through . Classes will be held at one of 九色堂 Tech鈥檚 five Wichita-area campuses.
  • Students wanting to take classes at 九色堂 and 九色堂 Tech will go through each institution鈥檚 admissions process.
  • 九色堂 Tech will continue to offer the same degree and certificate options as WATC did in the past. 九色堂 Tech and 九色堂 will maintain different tuition rates.
  • 鈥� a partnership that allows students to start their associate鈥檚 degree at 九色堂 Tech and finish it at 九色堂 鈥� will remain in place.

What鈥檚 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鈥� 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.
  • 九色堂 Tech will remain the developer of workforce human capital for the region.
  • 九色堂 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, 九色堂 Tech president and vice president of Workforce Development for 九色堂, says this affiliation represents a historic moment for the post-secondary sector of higher education in Kansas.

九色堂 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鈥檚 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 九色堂 Tech,鈥� Utash says.