Tooele County high school students will soon be able to get college-level technical education at little or no cost because of a new agreement between the Tooele County School District and Tooele Technical College.
The school district and Tooele Tech announced a new partnership that will allow students who are on a waiting list for Career and Technical Education classes the opportunity to enroll in CTE classes at Tooele Tech.
Scott Rogers, Tooele County School District superintendent, told high school counselors in April 2017 that the agreement would be implemented in the fall of 2018.
“Seek innovative ways to work collaboratively to enhance learning methods and opportunities for students who could benefit from our new partnership,” Rogers told the counselors.
The two education institutions are now ready to roll out the plan.
“This new relationship will allow us to work closer together as partners, and with Utah State University as well, to maximize the available resources our county has for technical education, while we minimize duplication of efforts,” said Tooele Tech President Paul Hacking. “I am extremely grateful for the leadership of the school district which is focused on doing what is right for the ‘one’ student who might best benefit from the programs available at Tooele Tech.”
The local board of directors for Tooele Tech announced that, along with high school students not being charged tuition, the college will no longer charge monthly fees for its programs that are not associated with items high school students will own.
Students who have full schedules are also able to attend Tooele Tech after school or during the summer.
Training from Tooele Tech can lead to lucrative careers in industries such as healthcare, information technologies, software development, manufacturing, transportation and service industries, according to Hacking.
Tooele Tech provides real life experience through interactive labs that replicate the workplace. Each of the classes that high school students take at Tooele Tech will be part of a longer technical training program which ends in a certificate of proficiency set up by industry. Students have the opportunity to complete a technical certificate and dive into the workforce or combine their certificate with a degree, according to Ellen Lange-Christenson, Tooele Tech vice president of student services and marketing.
“In Tooele County, education can be threefold with career and technical education classes offered at the school district, technical certificates at Tooele Tech and degrees at USU-Tooele,” said Rogers. “All three institutions work together to provide the best education possible for Tooele County residents.”