Lake Area Technical College (Lake Area Tech) is a

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community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

Watertown, South Dakota Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Codington County, South Dakota, United States. Watertown is home to the Redlin Art Center which houses many of the original art works produced by Terry Redlin, one of America's most popular wildlife ...

. The campus covers 40 acres and serves an area of 18,000 square miles. Founded in 1965, Lake Area Tech was the first technical school to be established in South Dakota, followed by schools in

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and

Rapid City Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

. Lake Area Tech is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

Campus

Due to the increasing number of students, the school completed a four-phase campus expansion project in 2013. The project included a new Diesel, Energy, and Welding facility, a new Automotive and Health Science Facility, a centralized Student Center, and a new Agriculture facility. To continue to manage the increase in student population, Lake Area Tech completed a flex space 'The Lab' in 2018 and has constructed a new facility on campus that houses all of the healthcare programs. The new Prairie Lakes Healthcare Center of Learning opened Fall 2020.

Academics

Lake Area Tech has 30 programs of study, including 15

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s, and serves more than 2,600 full-time, part-time, and online students. Some of the school's longstanding programs include Agriculture, Welding, Cosmetology, Diesel, Aviation, and Nursing. The school has a 17:1 student/faculty ratio and a 99% graduate placement rate. Lake Area Tech's programs rely on advisory boards of industry leaders and professionals, who also supply training equipment and internships. For example, Diesel, Auto, HPEM, and Agriculture students have access to a truck chassis dynamometer for hands-on training. Lake Area Tech also has a cadaver lab. Examples of LATC business partners include Butler CAT Corporation, Prairie Lakes Health Care System, Titan Machinery, Agtegra Cooperative, CHS, Building Products Inc, Missouri River Energy, Ottertail Power, Watertown Municipal Utilities, Valley Queen Cheese, Horton Manufacturing, First Bank and Trust, and the Watertown Community Foundation.

Awards

In March 2017, Lake Area Tech was named the winner of the 2017 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, following three previous Finalist-With-Distinction honors in 2011, 2013, and 2015. The prize was awarded by the Aspen Institute in March 2017.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Buildings and structures in Watertown, South Dakota Education in Codington County, South Dakota Community colleges in South Dakota 1965 establishments in the United States Two-year colleges in the United States