July 12, 2018AcademicsΎΕΙ«ΜΓ Tech

Wichita State, ΎΕΙ«ΜΓ Tech affiliation in full effect

By Strategic Communications

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

ΎΕΙ«ΜΓ 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.

β€œWichita'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 ΎΕΙ«ΜΓ Tech,” Utash says.