Number of minority grads at tech colleges doubles in 5 years

MADISON – Wisconsin’s Technical Colleges are producing more minority graduates than ever before. According to the Wisconsin Technical College System, the number of minority graduates doubled over five years from 1,323 in 2001 to 2,655 in 2006.

"This is extremely positive as the colleges strive to provide a quality education to all Wisconsin’s residents and improve their economic opportunities." said Dan Clancy, president of the Wisconsin Technical College System. "As the number of minority graduates increases, we remove more barriers to employment and reduce wage disparities that occur between non-minorities and minorities."

In the last five years, the overall make up of graduates has become more diverse. In 2001, minorities comprised just over 8 percent of all graduates in the System. In 2006, minorities accounted for 11 percent of all System graduates.

The largest increases over the five years were with Latino graduates (132 percent increase), followed by Asian American graduates (113 percent increase), then African American graduates (85 percent increase), and finally Native American graduates (64 percent increase). Nearly 56 percent of all minority graduates are males.

"Our outreach to minority populations is paying off but we have to be careful we don’t put higher education out of reach," said Charlie Daniel, Wisconsin Technical College System education director for Minority and Retention Services. "Decision makers in this state need to understand how important it is to maintain the accessibility of the technical colleges to all Wisconsin residents," she said. "Individuals who have the desire to enhance or develop their skills need to have a wide open door to do so."

The largest annual numerical increases were experienced by colleges located in areas with more diverse populations. The top three are Milwaukee Area Technical College, which graduated 427 more minorities in 2006 than in 2001, followed by Gateway Technical College (Racine/Kenosha Area), which increased its annual number by 196. Madison Area Technical College graduated 162 more minorities in 2006 than it did in 2001.

A large portion of the minority graduate increases (about one third) were in the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Program. “Although we encourage the use of the Certified Nursing Program as a stepping stone for the health careers, we need to do more to move students into higher-paid associate degree programs,” said Jayson Chung, associate vice-president of student development and assessment.

The Wisconsin Technical College System has 16 technical college districts throughout Wisconsin, which offer more than 300 programs awarding two-year associate degrees, one and two-year technical diplomas and short-term technical diplomas. In addition, the system is the major provider of customized training and technical assistance to Wisconsin’s business and industry community. Nearly a half million individuals are educated by Wisconsin’s Technical Colleges each year. Find more about educational programs at www.witechcolleges.org.

Graph plotting changes in minority grads from the WI Technical colleges between 1997 and 2007.