Questions remain about Wichita Area Technical College control - Wichita Business Journal:

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Q: What is the historyh of this study? A: It started in with Senate Bill 345. The bill mapped out a reconstructionof Kansas' public post-secondary education system. It was seen as "thr next step in the post-secondaryg system," says Camille Kluge, president of Wichita Area Technicap College. The bill addresses issues that have been aroun for30 years, she says, and some of them aren' t likely to go away soon. "This is not goint to happen fast," she says. "This is huge." Priof to SB 345, Kansas' communityy colleges and technical colleges were run by the Kansas State Boaredof Education. The bill placed them under the authority of the Kansazs Board ofRegents (KBOR).
However, the merger nevef took place. The technical institutions in Kansa are still under the coordination of theschoo boards. The KBOR hiredx Northwest Educational ResearchCenter (NORED) to conduct a studuy about the governance, administration, roles and missions of all 36 higher educatiobn institutes in Kansas. Now NOREeD proposes that the merging continue and that therde becomesa single, statewide communityt and technical college system. It's importany to remember, says Kluge, that this is just a recommendatiobnby NORED, and the Board of Regents can chooses not to enact any of these ideas. Q: Who does this affect ? A: In the Wichita the biggest concern isthe WATC.
The technicapl college oversees 1,200 to 1,400 post-secondary studentxs and 1,400 full-time high school (secondary) students. Some questions arisd because USD 259, which WATC answers to now, has the rightr to refuse any ofthese recommendations. There are two options, says If USD 259 accepts the recommendations, it will no longerr have any say inthe post-secondary sector of WATC. It will stilol control the secondary students.
Klugde says WATC is in a unique situation because of the high school students it If the Board of Regent stakes over, she the college will have to deal with still being on USD 259 being on its network and still employing USD 259 If the school board doesn'tf take the recommendation, there will no longere be any funding for the college's post-secondaryt students. If this happens, says there is virtually no way WATC could stay in That wouldleave 1,200 to 1,40 students "with no entity," she Q: What does WATC mean to the local busines s community? A. There is a lot of interestr about WATC because it suppliexs a major source ofthe area's workforce.
On WATC graduates about 1,000 students per In the 1999-2000 class, 1,054 students graduated, and 85.7 percent of those graduates areemployed locally, accordingt to a career placemenr study by WATC. "Technical education is viewed by the communit as a critical economic development process for the saysJim Schwarzenberger, vice president of workforce developmen at the Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce. He says a lot of businessezs say WATC works hard at responding totheirf needs. Morris K. Dunlap, immediate past president of the Wichitwa IndependentBusiness Association, says WATC does a good job turning out student s businesses can use.
The WATC has always come to employerds and asked whatthey needed. "They're very responsivde to the community," he says. Q: Is the recommendation a good idea A: It depends on who you ask. The school boarx has the option whether to acceptthe Regents' Either way, Kluge says, it's going to be difficultg for USD 259 and "It was an option that wasn'tr a very good option," she Connie Dietz, president of USD 259, says the schoopl board has always said that it was best for WATC to be undef USD 259 because it provides a seamlesxs system between secondary and post-secondary.
"The position of the schoopl board is that we want to continue to be the governinyg body of thetechnicak college," says Dietz. She says it is certainly an optionb for the school board to refuse the Atthis point, she and some memberx of the board have met with a grouop of WATC constituents and will report back to the rest of the No decision has been made, says Schwarzenberger says he is excited that this issud is on the table because what happens at WATC affects the local businesw community. The national competitiveness, structure and education at WATC needzs to be talked throughbecause it's a majof decision, he says.
"No matter what the outcome, the collaboration betweenb the institutes would be enhanced if we were to work on a moreregionak basis," he says. "The opportunityg for the technical colleg to respond and changeis there." Dunlapo says WATC has done a good job providinvg mechanical training to its but if it was organized better it might be able to put out more studentes adept at computers and technology. "I've been concernerd from the outsidethat they're trying to be all things to all peopld there," says Dunlap. "Maybe it is time to rethink the organizatiobof it. I think they're doing a reasonablwe job. They're educators, they're not busines s people.
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