Wichita Area Technical College (WATC) is a technical college located in Wichita, Kansas

Wichita, Kansas

Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...

. The school is coordinated by the [Kansas Board of Regents] and governed by the Sedgwick County Technical Training Authority Board (SCTTA). The college has been in operation since 1965 and currently offers associates degrees, diploma

Diploma

A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...

s and certificate

Academic certificate

An academic certificate is a document that certifies that a person has received specific education or has passed a test or series of tests.In many countries, certificate is a qualification attained in secondary education. For instance, students in the Republic of Ireland sit the Junior Certificate...

s in over 70 different programs. The college is located at three different campus

Campus

A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...

es throughout the metropolitan area

Metropolitan area

The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

of Wichita.

Programs include general education courses, associate of applied science (AAS) degrees, technical certificates and certificates of completion. Programs of study include aviation, business, health science, manufacturing, skilled trades and transportation.

Wichita Area Technical College also provides customized training for business and industry in south-central Kansas. Customized business training includes programs in Six Sigma, eMarketing, business training and leadership training. Industry training includes aviation, manufacturing, transportation, environmental health and safety, private security, and workforce readiness.

History

Year	Event
1995	Senate bill 257 was passed and signed by the governor authorizing the transition of Wichita Area Vocational-Technical School to Wichita Area Technical College (WATC) and gave the college the authority to grant college credit and award the associate of applied science degree.
1999	State supervisory jurisdiction over WATC was changed from the Kansas State Board of Education to the Kansas Board of Regents with the passage of Senate bill 345.
2000	An ad hoc task force, appointed by the Wichita Public Schools Superintendent, developed and presented Keys to Success, a list of the desired characteristics of a world-class technical college. WATC received Candidacy status with the Council on Occupational Education. Camille Kluge was appointed president of the college.
2001	WATC received full accreditation from the Council on Occupational Education.
2002	The Kansas Board of Regents established a policy enabling all degree-granting institutions in Kansas to achieve accreditation from HLC-NCA. WATC began the research and planning necessary to accomplish this new requirement.
2003	The Kansas Legislature passed Senate bill 7, allowing all degree-granting institutions to be governed by a board independent from a K-12 school board and to develop a plan for transition.
2004	The WATC transition plan was approved by the local Wichita Public Schools Unified School District 259 (USD 259) Board of Education (BOE) and the Kansas Board of Regents. WATC transitioned to an independent entity governed by a new nine-member Board of Trustees on July 1, 2004. WATC suffered a loss of $3.5 million in funding from USD 259 resulting in a reduction-in-force of 59 positions and 12 programs. Sedgwick County Board of County Commissioners approved a resolution creating a Sedgwick County Technical Education and Training Authority. The Preliminary Information Form seeking HLC-NCA accreditation was prepared and submitted to HLCNCA.
2005	WATC Board of Trustees expanded to 11 members.
2006	WATC received candidacy status with HLC-NCA. Camille Kluge resigned. Jim Means was appointed interim president. Plans for a new campus were announced by the Sedgwick County Board of County Commissioners. WATC was named the managing partner for the new facility.
2007	The Sedgwick County Technical Education and Training Authority became the governing board for WATC. Peter Gustaf was appointed president. Twenty-nine full-time equivalents were eliminated to redirect funds for instructional priorities.
2010	The National Center for Aviation Training opens at Jabara Airport.

Governance

The Kansas Board of Regents governs six universities and coordinates and supervises Kansas’ 19 community colleges, five technical colleges, and five technical schools. Within Kansas
Board of Regents’ purview is the establishment of policies related to all institutions and the approval of all programs and course offerings. Courses may be submitted for approval on an as-needed basis, and program approvals may be submitted monthly. Institutions that wish to deliver approved programs or courses within the service area governed by the Kansas Wichita Area Technical College

Assessment

Formal assessment began in 1999 as a way to measure the effectiveness of technical education. Instructors developed course competencies to provide a structure for assessing
the skills, knowledge, and abilities graduates need to be successful in their programs and the workforce. The assessment plan was built upon this competency system. Department instructors, along with program advisory committees, made changes to the competencies that align them with current job-market needs. This process continues today, and in 2005,
instructors, student, and employer surveys were added as a way to assess program outcomes.

Following the 2006 HLC-NCA visit, WATC embarked on a revised process of assessment. This process allows instructors to use a variety of measures that focus specifically on student
learning outcomes.