WATC-Wichita State merger takes another step forward

The agreement to merge Wichita Area Technical College into Wichita State University went to the Kansas Board of Regents this week.

The regents had their first reading on Wednesday in Topeka and will consider approving the draft agreement at its January meeting.

Boards of both institutions have pushed for the merger so local students would have a seamless range of offerings in many technical fields from certificates that take months to complete to master’s degrees that take years. It means credits would transfer and more students would have the opportunity to get higher degrees.

“We want students to be able to move easily between the offerings of the two institutions and Kansans to know they can count on WSU to provide innovators, entrepreneurs, creators, skilled workers and future leaders for the 21st century economy,” WSU president John Bardo said in a statement.

In the merger:

▪ WATC would become the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology.

▪ WATC employees would become WSU employees.

▪ The new campus would retain WATC’s open admissions policy and tuition.

▪ Students enrolled in WATC’s applied sciences and technology programs would be eligible to use WSU’s housing and facilities.

▪ WATC’s board of trustees would become an advisory committee on workforce education and training to the WSU president.

If approved by the Legislature and Kansas Board of Regents, the merger would go to the Higher Learning Commission, which accredits WSU and WATC.

If the commission approves, the new Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology could become part of WSU in 2018. The combination would move forward only if existing WATC funding sources, such as federal and state funding for technical education, are maintained.

This story was originally published December 16, 2016 at 6:35 AM with the headline "WATC-Wichita State merger takes another step forward."