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 Anton Reece
Location
Paducah
,
Kentucky
,
United States
Colors Blue █ and Gold █
Website www.westkentucky.kctcs.edu

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">University of Kentucky</span> Public university in Lexington, Kentucky, US

The University of Kentucky is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. 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, US

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.

<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 college in Louisville, Kentucky, US

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> Public college system in Nebraska, US

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

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

Long Beach City College (LBCC) is a public community college in Long Beach, California, United States. It was established in 1927 and is divided into two campuses, the Liberal Arts Campus in Lakewood Village and the Pacific Coast Campus in central Long Beach on Pacific Coast Highway. It is the only college in the Long Beach Community College District.

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

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">Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College</span> Community college in Bowling Green, Kentucky, U.S.

Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College (SKYCTC) is a public community college in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is an open-admissions college and a member of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. The college is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

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

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> Public college in Madisonville, Kentucky, US

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop State Community College</span> College in Mobile, Alabama, U.S.

Bishop State Community College (BSCC) is a public, historically black community college with campuses and facilities throughout Mobile and Washington Counties in Alabama. The college was founded in Mobile, Alabama, in 1927, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. It offers more than 50 associate degree and certificate programs.

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">Ryan Quarles</span> American politician

Ryan Francis Quarles is an academic administrator and American politician who was the Agriculture Commissioner of Kentucky from 2016 to 2024 and a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2011 to 2016. He has served as president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System since 2024.

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

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.