Salina Tech becomes college

Last Update: 6/30 5:54 pm

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SALINA, Kansas – The Salina Technical School will officially become a college on Wednesday as it becomes independent from USD 305 and the school has been preparing for the transition.

The educational opportunities at Salina Tech are growing. No longer a school; the college has its own governing body, funding and attraction for employers.

“Part of our role is to be an economic partner with the chamber, the city, the county, K-State, whomever is in serving businesses,” said Greg Goode, president of Salina Technical College. “So we come in as a sales package and help attract new companies to Salina."

Goode has only been on the job for four months, but has already met with companies interested in moving to Salina. The workforce exists and it’s up to the technical college to train them.

"We're going to offer more evening classes and more weekend and summer school classes,” Goode said. “Traditionally, that's not something the college has done. The community will have a lot more educational choices at times that are convenient to them."

Salina Tech is also offering more general education classes and degree programs. That’s been a positive for Shaun Alvarez, who never thought he’d be a part of a community college when he first enrolled.

"It's not like, well you know I just have a certificate in a graphic design,” Alvarez said. “I have an associate’s degree and I've learned a lot of math, English, technical communication and I definitely have a lot better education, a lot better opportunity to get a job.”

And that job training will still be offered to Salina School District students.

“Our high school kids attend classes out there,” said Superintendent Rob Winter, with the Salina School District. “We want to not only continue that, but strengthen that, broaden it."

Now that the technical school is officially a college, it’s applied for an accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission, further validating the work they're doing.

If you’d like more information on the technical college and the courses offered, visit salinatech.com

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