Butler Community College says WSU Tech program could hurt both schools

A turf war over vocational training in downtown Wichita could be decided by the Kansas Board of Regents this week.

Wichita State University and its affiliate vocational school, WSU Tech, are seeking approval to start a hospitality service program that could eventually move downtown.

Butler Community College — which already offers a hospitality program in Wichita — is pushing back against the move after WSU blocked its move into downtown two years ago.

The WSU Tech program would offer many of the same classes that Butler’s hospitality program already offers, from sanitation and safety to hospitality math, providing training in customer service, food and beverage operations, hospitality finance and human resources management.

It would offer a 65-credit-hour associates degree of applied science and three technical certificates in Food and Beverage Management, Events Management and Lodging Management.

The two schools have publicly said they are working to collaborate and settle the dispute, but regent documents show they still disagree.

Butler formally objected to the WSU Tech proposal in a letter to the Kansas Board of Regents. The community college argued that Wichita’s economy won’t support a second program, which would turn out more graduates than there are job openings.

“Potential enrollment in this community would not support two programs,” it says.

“Wichita State’s own economic research unit expects the hospitality industry to shed at least 14,000 jobs as a result of the pandemic-induced economic downturn,” the letter says.

“The key purpose of workforce development programs is to train a high quality workforce that meets the need of local employers and compellingly contributes to particularly growing sectors of the regional economy.

“At this time, and for the near future, the Wichita regional economy simply cannot support a duplicative hospitality themed training program because the macroeconomic fundamentals indicate an inability to provide meaningful career opportunities for many of the potential alums of such a program,” it says.

If approved, Butler’s hospitality and culinary future in Wichita would be uncertain and would hinge on an agreement with WSU.

The Kansas Board of Regents agenda packet stipulates that approval of the program would allow Butler to continue offering culinary training in Sedgwick County “for the time being” as the two schools “pursue a long term partnership” for a comprehensive program that includes hospitality, event management and culinary arts.

Kelly Snedden, spokesperson for Butler, said in a statement that a “strong partnership with WSU and WSU Tech is critical” to the success of both programs.

“With the impact of COVID-19 on nearly every industry across the state including the Wichita region’s restaurant and hotel industry, the institutions have an opportunity to create a center of excellence for the industry in this region through a collaborative partnership without duplication of programs by building on what Butler has already established over the years,” Snedden said.

Butler Community College has offered a hospitality program at Boston Recreation Center in Wichita since 2012. Because its main campus is in Butler County, it has to have the approval of Wichita State to operate in Sedgwick County.

Two years ago, Butler tried to move downtown but was shut out of a development deal at the old brick fire station on South Topeka. Wichita State blocked the move, claiming WSU and its affiliated vocational school, WSU Tech, had plans to start its own program downtown.

The dispute has turned into an all-out turf war after Wichita State absorbed what was formerly Wichita Area Technical College and rebranded it as WSU Tech. The technical school and Butler have traditionally competed for Wichita-area students seeking an associate’s degree or certificate and both offer lower tuition than Wichita State proper.

WSU Tech spokesperson Andy McFayden declined to comment on Butler’s concerns.

“We’re seeking approval of a program that wouldn’t begin immediately,” McFayden said. “We would be looking at something around January of 2021, potentially. There hasn’t been much planning or anything done around that. Obviously, all the COVID stuff going on and we’ve had the shut downs. And so we’re focusing on fall enrollment right now. But we’re just seeking approval right now.”

The regents agenda report on the program says it would open first at the WSU South campus at the former Wichita Mall and would later move into the Henry’s building that’s part of Sudha Tokala’s downtown education complex. McFayden said he can’t comment on the specifics of those plans.

“If it’s approved, it’s not going to launch until potentially January 2021. That’s really the only information that we have to move forward. ... You can’t get a whole lot of momentum behind it if it’s not approved.”

Scott Redler, co-founder of Freddy’s Frozen Custard, has ties to Butler and WSU as a board member of the Butler Foundation and the Wichita State Innovation Alliance. He said he hopes the two schools can work it out.

“They share a common goal,” Redler said. “To have a strong, collaborative partner program that benefits south central Kansas. That’s always been the goal of both parties, and figuring out the details is going to be the thing that takes the most energy.”

If the two schools can work out an agreement, both programs will benefit, he said.

“Butler has a long-established culinary program, which has really done amazing things with, quite honestly, minimal resources. They’ve done some incredible work and won some awards over the years for the right reasons. They really are a progressive culinary program, and tying everything together with WSU Tech to have a strong community-based hospitality training center will help enhance our whole region.”