The state’s technical colleges are looking to grow and maintain access for everyone. Looking to the next half decade and beyond, the state Board of Technical Education asked that exact question this week.
Whether you’re a technical school or a state highway network, infrastructure is needed to support growth.
The board tangled with this balancing act this week in their meeting. Board executive director Nick Wendell said there are needs in the state’s technical education system.
“In order to grow in some cases there needs to be enhanced facility capacity in order to support existing academic programs that are already at capacity," Wendell said. "In some cases, it would take investment in additional equipment, so in order to grow capacity we have to invest in physical space or equipment to do that. In some cases, it’s growing capacity by introducing new programs.”
Growth is reflected in the goals shared by the board. Those targets include producing over 3,000 credit completers yearly, create a five year or shorter payback window for applied science programs, and increase the in-state placement rate to 75% for graduates.
It’s reflected in comments from the schools’ presidents too. Many of whom, including Western Dakota Tech’s Ann Bolman, reported additional needs.
“In other words, you can’t just take any program, put it offsite, and have it be a fantastic venture because the workforce demand may not be there where the place bound folks are," Bolman said. "There’s all different variations of consideration there with facilities and equipment, and it is definitely ongoing conversations for us.”
The meetings report, which can be found here, projects growth for each of the state’s technical schools between 2024 and 2030.