West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

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 sec ...

in Paducah, Kentucky. It is part of the

Kentucky Community and Technical College System The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) comprises 16 community and technical colleges in Kentucky with over 70 campuses. Programs offered include associate degrees, pre-baccalaureate education to transfer to a public 4-year in ...

(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).

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 African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

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 The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

opened a branch campus of its

College of Engineering Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education (bachelor's and/or master's degree), and any advanced education and specializations that ...

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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

Service area

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

Ballard County Ballard County is a county located in the extreme west portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,728. Its county seat is Wickliffe. The county was created by the Kentucky State Legislature in 1842 and ...

Calloway County Calloway County is a county located in the southwest part of the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,103. Its county seat is Murray. The county was founded in November 1822 and named for Colonel Richard ...

* Carlisle County *

Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat: *Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton *Fulton County, Georgia *F ...

Graves County Graves County is a county located on the southwest border of the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,649. Its county seat is Mayfield. The county was formed in 1824 and was named for Major Benjamin Fr ...

* Hickman County * Marshall County *

McCracken County McCracken County is a county located in the far western portion of U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,875. The county seat and only municipality is Paducah. McCracken County was the 78th county formed in the st ...

It also includes two counties that border on the Purchase area: * Livingston County * Lyon County As a regional institution, the college also serves students from southern Illinois, Missouri and northwest Tennessee.

Notable alumni

* Julian Carroll, first Kentucky Governor from far western Kentucky and Kentucky Senator * Daniel Hurt, media personality and host of talk show River City Presents with Daniel Hurt * Bob Leeper, Kentucky Senator (1991–2015) *

Jeff McWaters Jeffrey Linde "Jeff" McWaters (born September 6, 1956) is an American businessman and former member of the Senate of Virginia as a Republican. He represented the 8th district, which includes a portion of Virginia Beach. He was first elected in ...

, former member of the Senate of Virginia and founder and former CEO of

Amerigroup Amerigroup is an American health insurance and managed health care provider. Amerigroup covers 7.7 million seniors, people with disabilities, low-income families and other state and federally sponsored beneficiaries, and federal employees in 26 st ...

* Steven Rudy, Kentucky politician and agribusiness owner * Roy Skinner, college basketball coach who helped break the racial barrier by recruiting Perry Wallace, the first African American athlete to play varsity basketball for a team in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 37.05518, N, 88.65787, W, source:placeopedia, display=title Buildings and structures in Paducah, Kentucky Kentucky Community and Technical College System Educational institutions established in 2003 Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Education in McCracken County, Kentucky 2003 establishments in Kentucky