West Kentucky Community and Technical College

Last updated
West Kentucky Community and Technical College
Type Public community college
Established2003
Parent institution
Kentucky Community and Technical College System
Academic affiliations
Space-grant
President Dr. Anton Reece
Location, ,
United States
Colors Navy and Gold
Website http://www.westkentucky.kctcs.edu
West KY Comm & Tech College.jpg

West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) is a public community college in Paducah, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) and was formed by the 2003 consolidation of Paducah Community College and West Kentucky Technical College. WKCTC is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

Contents

History

Paducah Community College was founded in 1932 as a private school called Paducah Junior College (PJC). PJC became a municipal college in 1936. In 1964, PJC moved to a new campus on Alben Barkley Drive in Paducah which serves as today's WKCTC campus. In 1967, PJC joined the University of Kentucky's Community College System, now the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), and became Paducah Community College. (PCC)

West Kentucky Technical College was founded in 1909 as West Kentucky Industrial College, a teacher training school for African American students. West Kentucky Industrial College became a state-supported junior college in 1918. The college changed its name twice more, eventually becoming West Kentucky State Vocational-Technical School. In 1979, the school moved from its home on H.C. Mathis Drive to a new campus adjacent to PCC.

In 1998, PCC and West Kentucky TECH (yet another name for the vocational-technical school) joined the newly formed KCTCS. At that time, West Kentucky TECH became West Kentucky Technical College. That same year, the University of Kentucky opened a branch campus of its College of Engineering at the PCC campus. PCC and West Kentucky Technical College consolidated in 2003 to become West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC).

In 2020, WKCTC was again named one of the top ten community colleges in the nation by the Aspen Institute and eligible to compete for a $1 million prize. It was the fifth time the college received this recognition. [1]

Student population

Fifty-seven percent of WKCTC's attendees are full-time students, while 43% attend the college on a part-time basis. Almost two-thirds of the student population is female. Dual credit students, composed of high school students earning college credit, compose 20% of the student body. Seventy-eight percent of students receive financial aid. [2]

In the 2022–2023 academic year WKCTC Fall enrollment increased by 9% from the previous year. Over 46% of WKCTC graduates are male. Only 14% of WKCTC graduates are from a minority race. [3]

On average, WKCTC graduates earn a salary of $24,085 three years after graduation. Median salaries three years after graduation are lowest for social and behavioral science majors at $14,106. However, median salaries three years after graduation are highest for STEM majors at $27,183. [4]

Full-time enrollment for the 2018–2019 academic year decreased by 2.1 percent from the 2017–2018 academic year.  WKCTC enrollment makes up 7% of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. [5]

Service area

The primary service area for WKCTC includes all eight counties in the Purchase area:

It also includes two counties that border on the Purchase area:

As a regional institution, the college also serves students from southern Illinois, Missouri and northwest Tennessee.

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paducah, Kentucky</span> City in Kentucky, United States

Paducah is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern United States at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Missouri, to the northwest and Nashville, Tennessee, to the southeast. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,137, up from 25,024 in 2010. Twenty blocks of the city's downtown have been designated as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Kentucky</span> Public university in Lexington, Kentucky, US

The University of Kentucky is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state's two land-grant universities. It is the institution with the highest enrollment in the state, with 32,710 students in the fall of 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pasadena City College</span> Community college in Pasadena, California

Pasadena City College (PCC) is a public community college in Pasadena, California.

Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC) is a public community college in Owensboro, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). Owensboro Community College and Owensboro Technical College consolidated to become OCTC. OCTC is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to offer technical as well as associate's degree programs.

Madison Area Technical College (MATC) or Madison College is a public technical and community college based in Madison, Wisconsin. It serves students in parts of 12 counties in south-central Wisconsin: Adams, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Juneau, Marquette, Richland, Rock, and Sauk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somerset Community College</span> Community college in Somerset, Kentucky, U.S.

Somerset Community College (SCC) is a public community college in Somerset, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). The college offers academic, general education, and technical curricula leading to certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees. Somerset Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferson Community and Technical College</span> Public community college in Louisville, Kentucky

Jefferson Community and Technical College (JCTC) is a public community college in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and the largest college in that system. JCTC was formed on July 1, 2005, by the consolidation of Jefferson Community College and Jefferson Technical College. Jefferson Community College was originally chartered in 1968 and Jefferson Technical College was chartered in 1953. JCTC is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henderson Community College</span> Community college in Henderson, Kentucky, U.S.

Henderson Community College (HCC) is a community college in Henderson, Kentucky. It is one of 16 two-year, open-admissions colleges of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). It was established in 1960 under the leadership of the late Dr. Louis C. Alderman Jr., the first Director of the Northwest Extension of the University of Kentucky. The college became a charter member of the University of Kentucky's Community College System in 1964, changing its name to Henderson Community College. HCC became a member of KCTCS in 1998. HCC is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and most recently received reaffirmation for their accreditation through 2032.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluegrass Community and Technical College</span> Public community college in Lexington, KY

Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC) is a public community college in Lexington, Kentucky. It is one of sixteen two-year, open admission colleges of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). It was formed from the consolidation of two separate institutions: Lexington Community College and Central Kentucky Technical College. Lexington Community College was the last remaining college in the University of Kentucky Community College System until a vote by the trustees transferred governance to KCTCS in 2004. Prior to 1984, the college was named Lexington Technical Institute. Central Kentucky Technical College was part of the Workforce Development Cabinet of the Kentucky State Government until the creation of KCTCS in 1997. KCTCS was formed in 1997 by the state legislature through House Bill 1 which combined the technical colleges of the Workforce Development Cabinet and the community colleges previously with the University of Kentucky. BCTC is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky Community and Technical College System</span> Kentuckys system of community colleges

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) is the system of public community and technical colleges in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is headquartered in Versailles, Kentucky, and has 16 colleges with over 70 campuses. Programs offered include associate degrees; pre-baccalaureate education to transfer to a public 4-year institution; adult education, continuing and developmental education; customized training for business and industry; and distance learning. KCTCS was founded as part of the Postsecondary Improvement Act of 1997, signed by former Kentucky Governor Paul E. Patton, to create a new institution to replace the University of Kentucky's Community College System and the Kentucky Department of Education's network of technical schools. The Kentucky Fire Commission, a separate state entity responsible for training emergency responders, also became part of KCTCS at that time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southeast Community College</span> Community college system in southeast Nebraska, U.S.

Southeast Community College (SCC) is a public community college system in the southeast portion of Nebraska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashland Community and Technical College</span>

Ashland Community and Technical College (ACTC) is a public community college in Ashland, Kentucky. It is an open-admissions college and part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. It was founded in 1938 to allow students the opportunity to obtain associate degrees, certificates and diplomas as well as provide vocational and technical training. The courses offered range from Cosmetology, Culinary Arts, business, education, health-related courses, information technology and a range of industrial technology degrees among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabethtown Community and Technical College</span> Community college in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, U.S.

Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (ECTC) is a public community college in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madisonville Community College</span> Community college in Madisonville, Kentucky, U.S.

Madisonville Community College (MCC) is a public community college in Madisonville, Kentucky. It is one of 16 two-year, open-admissions colleges of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). MCC was originally established as a member of the University of Kentucky's Community College System in 1968. In 2001, the college consolidated with Madisonville Technical College, itself originally established in 1937 as the Madisonville Area Trade School. MCC offers associate degree programs, as well as technical diplomas and certificates, with the overall purpose of making postsecondary educational opportunities available to Kentucky's citizens and workforce. MCC is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). In 2011, it was ranked among the nation's top 10% of community colleges by the Aspen Institute.

Education in Kentucky includes elementary school, middle school, high school, and post-secondary institutions. Most Kentucky schools and colleges are accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is a system of interrelated surveys conducted annually by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a part of the Institute for Education Sciences within the United States Department of Education. IPEDS consists of twelve interrelated survey components that are collected over three collection periods each year as described in the Data Collection and Dissemination Cycle. The completion of all IPEDS surveys is mandatory for all institutions that participate in, or are applicants for participation in, any federal financial assistance program authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.

Richard A. Bean is the past chair of the KCTCS Kentucky Community and Technical College System's Board of Regents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pensacola State College</span> Public college in Pensacola, Florida, United States

Pensacola State College (PSC), formerly Pensacola Junior College, is a public college in Pensacola, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Kentucky University-Owensboro</span> Public university in Owensboro, Kentucky

Western Kentucky University-Owensboro is a regional campus of Western Kentucky University offering public, post-secondary education. It offers 23 undergraduate degrees, partnering with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System in a +2 program wherein students can transfer to WKU in Owensboro to complete an undergraduate degree after earning their associate degree. WKU in Owensboro is located at 4821 New Hartford Road, across the street from the Owensboro Community and Technical College main campus and minutes south of the Ohio River. WKU in Owensboro offers benefits of a public university while maintaining personal student/staff relationships and a sense of community.

References

  1. "WKCTC in Aspen Award's 10 Finalists for 5th Time". West Kentucky Star. June 9, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  2. "College at a Glance | WKCTC". westkentucky.kctcs.edu. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  3. "Degrees Data - Ky. Council on Postsecondary Education". cpe.ky.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  4. "Postsecondary Feedback Report". kystats.ky.gov. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  5. "Full-Time Equivalent Enrollment by Institution and Kentucky Community and Technical College System" (PDF).

37°03′19″N88°39′28″W / 37.05518°N 88.65787°W / 37.05518; -88.65787