Career and Technical Education :: Page 17

Yavapai Community College in Northern Arizona

Archive for Career and Technical Education – Page 17

College underestimates CTEC renovation cost by $1 million

By R. Oliphant

Wednesday, February 17th, 2016

Just released Audited Financial Report discloses underestimate

Reproduced below is what the College said on its web site about the grand reopening of CTEC in October, 2015. According to the College announcement, the CTEC renovation cost was $5.2 million.

CTEC RENOVATION 3

However, in the June, 2014-15 Audited Financial Report, released to the Governing Board in February, 2016, the total cost associated with CTEC was $6,383,893. It appears from this data, which includes commitments already paid and commitments remaining to be paid, that the College underreported the total CTEC renovation cost to the public by more than $1 million dollars.

CTEC RENOVATION 2

Categories : Career and Technical Education

College increases Mountain Institute JTED relationship

By R. Oliphant

Monday, February 15th, 2016

Moving Mountain Institute JTED Administrative Offices to CTEC Campus

The College’s commitment to work with the Mountain Institute JTED on the West side of the County is strong and getting even stronger. Its commitment to work with the Valley Academy JTED (V’ACTE) on the East side of the County is poor and little progress is being made to significantly improve that relationship or invest in it.

MORE TOOLS AND TECHNOLIGY PROVIDE BY COLLEGE For example, the College announced at the February 9, 2016 Board meeting that it had agreed with the Mountain Institute to locate its administrative offices at the College’s Career and Technical Education Center at the Prescott airport. This will strengthen the Career and Technical Education training opportunities of high school students on the West side of the County, which is already very strong. It will do nothing for students on the East side of the County in the Verde Valley.

When asked about the College plans for V’ACTE (East County JTED), Clint Ewell provided a vague suggestion that something might be in next year’s budget and that discussions were occurring. Penelope Wills said defensively the last meeting with V’ACTE had been cancelled at the request of V’ACTE. You may view the brief discussion regarding V’ACTE by clicking here.

Categories : Career and Technical Education

Mountain Institute JTED relationship with CTEC pays off

By R. Oliphant

Saturday, January 2nd, 2016

MIJTED reports receiving more than 9,000 post-secondary credits from Yavapai College in last six years

It was reported in the Daily Courier on December 29 that the Mountain Institute JTED (Joint Technical Education District) has received more than 9,000 post-secondary credits at Yavapai College. Those college credits were awarded over the past six years. It also issued more than 1,600 third-party industry certifications.

There is nothing comparable to this in terms of numbers of College credits from Yavapai College for CTE training being awarded on the East side of the County.

West County Wins Again

The MIJTED states that its mission and vision is to provide the highest quality of career and technical education to students in western Yavapai County as well as get them trained, certified, and hired in the workforce. You may read the entire story by clicking here.

The largest benefit to MIJTED students is no doubt the construction of the Career and Technical Education Center (CTEC) by Yavapai Community College at the Prescott airport. So far, the College has invested around $20 million in taxpayer dollars and grants into that facility. East County residents were not involved in the decision to locate the campus at its present location when the decision was made in 2007.

Unfortunately, the CTEC facility is not available to high school students on the East side of the County. It is also challenging to access it by non high school students on the East side of the County. The facility was built essentially for Prescott and Prescott Valley residents using tax money from throughout the County. The lack of access by East County residents has not troubled the College, which does not run any transportation from the East side of the County to CTEC. It has likewise made no similar investment in CTE training for residents living in the East part of the County.

Categories : Career and Technical Education, Underserving the Verde Valley

College may seek foreign students to save aviation program

By R. Oliphant

Thursday, October 22nd, 2015

College may also have to buy or lease its own airplanes

If Congress has its way, Yavapai College, originally created to serve the needs of County residents, may soon own or lease its own fleet of airplanes and recruit wealthy foreign students to train in them. This is a far cry from the original purpose of the Community College. However, this is the reality of the Veterans Administration recent crack down on Yavapai College’s failure to meet student ratio guidelines of 15% non-veterans in its aviation program.

College slide used at Board Meeting

The consequence of the VA decision about the College means the loss of thousands of dollars in tuition to the College, which charges $662 per credit to veterans in the program rather than the $75 normal per credit tuition. It also means millions of dollars in lost revenue to Guidance Aviation, which can charge somewhere around $200,000 per veteran for some programs—all paid by the Federal Government. aviation picture of planes on tarmack

CTEC Dean John Morgan reported these possibilities to the Governing Board at the October 7 meeting. You may view Dean Morgan discussing this issue with the Governing Board by clicking here.

Categories : Career and Technical Education, CTEC

Career and Technical Education Center (CTEC) announces grand reopening

By R. Oliphant

Tuesday, September 29th, 2015

Saturday, October 10 CTEC is grand reopening for fast growing campus

The College has announced that on Saturday, October 10 there will be a grand re-opening of YC’s technical education campus at the Prescott airport. It has spent millions of dollars in property tax money coming from throughout the Verde Valley and the remainder of the County for new upgrades and renovations.

CTEC6 According to the College, Technical education “is one of our fastest growing offerings, prepares students for well-paying careers and helps boost the local economy. Facility renovations include new classrooms, computer labs, faculty offices, instruction areas and environmental enhancements.”

The College will also celebrate the opening of the new Rural Center for Entrepreneurship incubator, which is housed at CTEC rather than the Verde Valley.

Unfortunately, only high school students from the West side of the County attend CTEC. It is also too far for many in the Verde Valley and too dangerous a drive at times over snow covered and sometimes fog shrouded Mingus Mountain.

Categories : Career and Technical Education

Correction to November story: East County students did attend CTEC Career Day

By R. Oliphant

Thursday, December 18th, 2014

Data shows that students from Mingus and Camp Verde High Schools attended Career Day

Correction This Blog ran a story in November based on a newspaper article stating that only students from the West side of the Valley attended a career day on November 21, 2014 at the Career and Technical Education Center at the Prescott airport. The Blog has been informed that this was inaccurate.

Data from the Community College indicates that 40 students from Mingus Union High School and 30 students from Camp Verde High School attended the event. No students from Sedona Red Rock attended the event.

Here are the attendance figures as provided by the College:
Number of students who attended (and schools represented)
• Aspire = 6
• AAEC = 30
• Bagdad HS = 40
• Bradshaw Mountain HS = 50
• Camp Verde HS = 30
• Chino Valley HS = 40
• Mingus Union HS = 40
• Mingus Mountain Acd. = 10
• Prescott HS = 60
• Seligman HS = 13

The Blog encourages its readers to send corrections from reliable sources whenever it publishes information that appears to be in error. It appreciates receiving the above information from the Community College.

Categories : Career and Technical Education, CTEC

V’ACTE and Governing Board to meet

By R. Oliphant

Saturday, November 8th, 2014

Historic meeting of V’ACTE and Community College Governing Board set for Monday

An historic meeting of the District Valley Academy for Career and Technical Education and the Community College Governing Board will occur on Monday, November 10 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the V’ACTE office, 830 S. Main Street, Cottonwood. The public is invited to attend.

V’ACTE is responsible for Career and Technical Education (CTE) training in the Verde Valley and was established in 2000. Discussion will no doubt involve how V’ACTE students can receive the same CTE training opportunities as students and residents on the West side of the County now enjoy. For example, high school students on the West side of the County attend numerous classes at the Community College Career and Technical Education campus (CTEC) located at the Prescott Airport. The College has invested about $15 million dollars in that campus and it has excellent, advanced terchnical education facilities and courses. However, high school students on the East side of the County are unable to attend those courses for a variety of reasons. The need in the Verde Valley for such training is critical.

Categories : Career and Technical Education, Vocational Education, Vocational training

New Career and Technology courses in the Verde Valley

By R. Oliphant

Sunday, November 2nd, 2014

Community College looking at starting new Career and Technology offerings in the Verde Valley

Verde campus Executive Dean James Perey says he has been meeting with Camp Verde and Mingus High school officials to assess facilities for use in College evening Career and Technical Education classes. He is seeking to use their facilities or “leverage some resources” to get new Career and Technology programs or classes going. He says he intends to provide classes that have not been offered “in quite some time.”

Perey told the College Governing Board that seven or eight years ago some welding classes were offered at Mingus High School but they were “hit and miss” in terms of attendance. He wants to return to offering some of those classes during “nonuse times.”

Categories : Career and Technical Education, New Courses

Booklet examines Career and Technology in Yavapai County

By R. Oliphant

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014

What is the future for Career and Technology training opportunity in the Verde Valley?

COVER FUTURE OF CTE TRAINING IN THE VERDE VALLEY A 23 page fact-based booklet reviewing the future of Career and Technology Education (CTE) opportunities in the Verde Valley has been published.

The booklet provides background information about CTE training on the East and West sides of the County and shows the enormous difference currently existing in learning opportunities. It can be read in PDF format by clicking here.CTE BOOKLET

Categories : Booklets, Career and Technical Education, Editorials/Essays

Lack of training opportunity discriminates against Verde Valley high school students

By R. Oliphant

Wednesday, October 8th, 2014

Outstanding new Electrical Utility Technology Program not available to high school students in Eastern Yavapai County; open to high school students on the West side of the County

If you want to see educational opportunity discrimination against the East side of Yavapai County at work, take a look at the new Electrical Utility Technology program based on the West side of the County at CTEC on the Prescott airport.

CTEC6 As you know, if you are a regular reader of this Blog, Yavapai Community College offers Career and Technical Education training at CTEC, a state-of-the-art facility. It houses courses designed to confer certificates and AAS degrees in 12 different job-training areas. One of the newest tech ed offerings is the lineworkers program.

Unfortunately, all of the CTEC programs, including the lineworker program, completely leave out high school students on the East side of the County while providing learning opportunities for high school students in the Prescott/Prescott Valley area. While both sides of the Mountain appear to point the finger of blame at each other, the real losers are high school students in Sedona and the Verde Valley who are victims of the County Community College bureaucracy, which has refused to effectively deal with the problem.

The fact that only high school students in the Prescott/Prescott Valley area have the opportunity to enroll in CTEC courses is, of course, completely unfair to the East side of the County. However, no one is doing much about it. It is a condition that has existed for years without anyone coming forward for the children of the County. Read More→

Categories : Career and Technical Education, Underserving the Verde Valley, Vocational Education, Vocational training