Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) is a system of 16 public technical colleges administered by the state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. The system offers more than 500 programs, awarding two-year associate degrees, one- and two-year technical diplomas, and short-term technical diplomas and certificates. It also provides training and technical assistance to Wisconsin's business and industry community. Over 370,000 individuals accessed the technical colleges for education and training in the 2010-11 school year.

History

The

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republica ...

passed laws in 1911 requiring cities with a population of 5,000 people or more to set up trade schools and school boards to administer them. The schools had four purposes: to provide continuing education of boys and girls 14-16 who had quit high school, trade school, adult evening education, and related instruction for apprentices. Wisconsin became the first state to establish a system of state support for vocational, technical, and adult education schools. In 1911 the Wisconsin apprenticeship Law was passed; employers were required to release apprentices to the trade schools if one was available and to pay regular hourly wages for time spent at school.Chapter 601.1 Laws of Wisconsin, 1911 Both of these bills resulted from the work of Charles McCarthy, the first director of the present-day state Legislative Reference Bureau. The Smith-Hughes Act, passed by the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

in 1917, was modeled after Wisconsin's initiative. In 1961, the school boards were authorized to offer

associate's degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of Tertiary education, post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelo ...

for two-year technical courses. In 1965, the state legislature required a system of vocational, technical, and adult education districts to cover the entire state by 1970. Following this, enrollments in the WTCS doubled from 1967 to 1982. There were significant increases in the number of associate degree programs in the 1970s. Schools were also required to improve cooperation and coordination with the University of Wisconsin System. In 1993, the state board was designated as the Technical College System Board, and the colleges became referred to as "Technical Colleges".

List of member colleges

* Blackhawk Technical College *

Chippewa Valley Technical College Chippewa Valley Technical College is one of the 16 technical and community colleges in the Wisconsin Technical College System, centered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It serves an 11-county area, with its largest campus in Eau Claire (actually home to t ...

Fox Valley Technical College Fox Valley Technical College (Fox Valley Tech or FVTC) is a Public college, public community college, technical college in Grand Chute, Wisconsin. It is a member of the Wisconsin Technical College System and serves people in the Appleton, Wiscon ...

Gateway Technical College Gateway Technical College is a public technical college in southeastern Wisconsin. It is one of the largest members of the state-run Wisconsin Technical College System, serving Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth counties. With over 20,000 students, ...

Lakeshore Technical College Lakeshore Technical College (LTC) is a public community college in Cleveland, Wisconsin. It is a member of the 16 schools in the Wisconsin Technical College System. The school offers associate degree and technical diploma programs, as well as othe ...

Madison Area Technical College Madison Area Technical College (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, J ...

Mid-State Technical College Mid-State Technical College (Mid-State) is a technical college in central Wisconsin with major campuses in the Adams, Marshfield, Stevens Point, and Wisconsin Rapids communities. It is a member of the 16 schools in the Wisconsin Technical Coll ...

Milwaukee Area Technical College Milwaukee Area Technical College (or MATC) is a public two-year vocational-technical college based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. MATC offers day, evening, and weekend classes at campuses in downtown Milwaukee, Oak Creek, West Allis, and Mequon. ...

Moraine Park Technical College Moraine Park Technical College (Moraine Park Tech or MPTC) is a Public technical college in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. It was established in 1912 and is part of the Wisconsin Technical College System. It has campuses in Fond du Lac, Beaver Dam, an ...

Nicolet Area Technical College Nicolet College is a public 2-year technical school, technical college whose main campus is in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. It has outreach centers in Carter, Forest County, Wisconsin, Carter, Crandon, Wisconsin, Crandon, Eagle River, Wisconsin, Eag ...

Northcentral Technical College Northcentral Technical College (NTC) is a public community college in Wausau, Wisconsin. It is a member of the Wisconsin Technical College System. The district of the college includes all of, or portions of, Marathon, Lincoln, Taylor, Price ...

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) is a public technical college with multiple locations in Wisconsin. The college serves nine Wisconsin counties with three campuses in Green Bay, Marinette, and Sturgeon Bay and five regional learn ...

Northwood Technical College Northwood Technical College (formerly known as Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College or WITC) is a public technical college with campuses in Ashland, New Richmond, Rice Lake and Superior, Wisconsin. There are also outreach centers in Balsam ...

(formerly Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College) *

Southwest Wisconsin Technical College Southwest Wisconsin Technical College (also Southwest Tech) is a technical college in Fennimore, Wisconsin. The college's district includes the area covered by 30 school districts, including all of Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Lafayette and Richlan ...

Waukesha County Technical College Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) is a public community college in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. The college has campuses in Waukesha and Pewaukee. It is a member of the Wisconsin Technical College System. Accreditation WCTC is accredited ...

Western Technical College Western Technical College (Western) is a public technical college in La Crosse, Wisconsin. A member of the Wisconsin Technical College System, the Western Technical College District serves 11 counties and enrolls over 5,000 students. The college ...

(formerly Western Wisconsin Technical College)

References

External links

Wisconsin Technical College System official website
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History

List of member colleges

See also

References

Further reading

External links