Enrollment at Wisconsin technical colleges grows by more than 10 percent

Enrollment throughout the Wisconsin Technical School System grew by greater than 10 p.c through the 2021-22 tutorial yr. The rise follows a double-digit enrollment decline pushed by the COVID-19 pandemic and marks the most important positive factors for the system in no less than a decade. 

All the state’s 16 technical schools noticed enrollment positive factors through the 2021-22 college yr, in keeping with the newest WTCS Factbook.

Nicolet Space Technical School in Rhinelander noticed the most important improve of 21.9 p.c over the earlier tutorial yr. Western Technical School in La Crosse reported a 19 p.c improve and Northcentral Technical School in Wausau posted positive factors of 15.5 p.c year-over-year. 

The enrollment development marks a notable turnaround for Wisconsin Technical School System, or WTCS, which noticed a 13.2 p.c lower through the 2020-21 tutorial yr pushed by the pandemic. Throughout that span, a majority of faculties noticed double-digit declines and a few noticed enrollment fall by greater than 20 p.c. 

General, WTCS added 25,669 college students within the 2021-22 tutorial yr. 

WTCS President Morna Foy advised Wisconsin Public Radio the enrollment development is nice information for the state’s tech schools, however there’s nonetheless a methods to go earlier than numbers hit pre-pandemic ranges. 

“It is a actually good signal for our college students, for the state’s financial and well being state of affairs,” Foy stated. “And it is also a extremely form of affirmation that loads of modifications and issues that we’re doing within the system are having the meant impact.”

Foy stated schools have been working to adapt to altering scholar wants. Meaning constructing extra flexibility into class schedules to accommodate little one care wants for working mother and father and offering extra on-line choices for these with problem discovering transportation.  

Foy stated technical schools have additionally been engaged on “stacking credentials” by permitting college students to work on skilled credentials or certifications that construct earlier than beginning a brand new profession. One instance, she stated, is apprenticeships tied to tech school applications that permit college students to pursue a number of profession targets on the identical time. 

“They’re coming to a technical school for his or her associated classroom instruction,” Foy stated. “However that is sometimes possibly sooner or later per week or a half a day per week. After which they’re additionally taking programs that give them a one-year or two-year technical diploma.” 

Western Technical School President Roger Stanford stated a lot of their 19 p.c development in enrollment is coming from elevated contract coaching for workers. He stated firms like Ashley Furnishings or Gundersen Well being System who could not have the ability to discover sufficient school graduates are matched with instructors who educate new expertise to entry-level staff whereas they work. 

“It is why it is so fashionable proper now, as a result of they only cannot wait two years for any person proper now,” Stanford stated. 

The quantity of highschool college students looking for certifications or diplomas has additionally rebounded at Wisconsin technical schools. Enrollment in what WTCS calls “twin credit score” applications fell to 49,422 through the 2020-21 tutorial yr, the primary annual decline previously 9 years. The newest knowledge exhibits 57,219 highschool college students taking twin credit score programs, which is an all-time excessive. 

Because the begin of COVID-19, public two-year schools skilled a number of the most important enrollment declines. Information from the Nationwide Pupil Clearinghouse Analysis Heart confirmed a 9.4 p.c lower within the fall of 2020. That development continued this fall when the middle reported a projected 5.4 p.c drop in enrollment.