Note to editors: July 2003 marks the five-year anniversary of the union of community colleges and technical colleges in KCTCS. In recognition of the occasion, please publish this article on your editorial or op-ed pages. To receive a photo of President McCall, please email brendan.lehane@kctcs.edu
Changing lives in the Commonwealth
A five-year update on the progress of KCTCS
By Dr. Michael B. McCall
President, Kentucky Community and Technical College System
The Kentucky Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997 represented an ambitious agenda to provide businesses and industries with the competitive edge they need to succeed in the global economy and to assist citizens in attaining a standard of living that exceeds the national average.
A major step toward achieving those goals was taken when the General Assembly created the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). Combining the state’s public two-year colleges into a comprehensive, flexible and responsive system, KCTCS is a catalyst for economic development and enhanced educational attainment.
Although the General Assembly approved higher education reform in 1997, the community colleges and technical colleges technically remained separate until July 1998. This article summarizes the five-year progress of KCTCS toward fulfilling the mandates of the Kentucky Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997.
By all measures, KCTCS is exceeding expectations and changing the lives of Kentuckians. KCTCS has achieved remarkable growth over five years, increasing enrollment about 50 percent to more than 67,000 students in credit programs by fall 2002. Distance learning has helped to fuel the expansion -- nearly 10,000 KCTCS students took such courses in fall 2002. Also, enrollment of secondary students in college courses is growing rapidly, approaching 9,000 students.
Here is how KCTCS is further responding to the goals established in the Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997:
Creating a comprehensive system
KCTCS colleges are improving service to students, employers and communities by consolidating neighboring community and technical colleges and pursuing single accreditation of consolidated colleges under the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
Through the process of consolidation and single accreditation, KCTCS is providing comprehensive community and technical college education in each of its 16 districts.
KCTCS is expanding physical access to postsecondary education in Kentucky. The 1998 and 2000 legislative sessions authorized 32 new construction projects. When those expansions are complete, KCTCS will serve the Commonwealth through 62 locations.
Providing liberal arts education
Among the thousands of program options available on KCTCS campuses, the single most popular area of study is liberal arts/baccalaureate transfer, which allows a student to earn an associate in arts degree or associate in science degree at a KCTCS college and transfer those credits to any public university in Kentucky. In the 2001-02 academic year, 22 percent of all KCTCS credit-seeking students enrolled in these programs.
The KCTCS focus on liberal arts is reinforced through the Global Studies program, which features the British Experience in Learning and Living (BELL). This partnership with Georgetown College offers students and faculty the opportunity to study at some of England’s finest higher education institutions.
The seamless nature of KCTCS creates linkages with high schools as well. Through advanced placement and dual credit opportunities, high school students can get a head start on their college education by earning credits early at KCTCS colleges.
KCTCS colleges delivered some 3,600 courses in the 2001-02 academic year to more than 44,000 individuals and 1,500 businesses through economic development programs.