Programs
500+
programs
Salary
$53431
median salary for associate degree graduates
What really sets technical colleges apart from community colleges, universities and private colleges is the career-ready education and everything that means.
It means focused and practical career education.
It means two years (full-time) of classes or less, compared to four years or more for a bachelor's degree.
Most of all, it means hands-on, real-world education where the learning applies directly to the work offered within a career.
It means beginning a job with the confidence that you're prepared do the work successfully.
Career-ready education means the latest technology is brought into the classroom - or incorporated online - for relevant and practical, in-demand learning. It means relying on clinical training in health care, technology, manufacturing and more fields to learn on-the-job and develop valuable skills. It means blurring the lines between classroom and workplace, so you can conduct and respond to real-life simulations even before you're hired.
Hands-on learning is what sets apart our nursing students, who achieve some of the highest Board scores in the state. It's how respiratory therapists know what to expect when intubating a patient. It's how welders practice simulations even before they step into a welding lab. It's how dental students operate in real campus clinics to learn technical skills and patient relations. Hands-on learning engages the student on a level that rivals actual work with the added benefits of safety and supervision. It ensures students are skilled in the area and have passion for the work.
The career-ready education relies on instructors who have done the work; they have built homes or driven excavators, or welded metal extrusions or performed as a surgical technologist or respiratory therapist or network technician. They are seasoned experts in their field and they know what employers need from the best, most reliable employees. They have the satisfaction of seeing students develop into practitioners and eventually journey workers.
Wisconsin's technical colleges are fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). Degree and diploma programs are accredited or certified by appropriate industry and professional standards organizations.
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Walter James is a graduate of Southwest Wisconsin Technical College's Supply Chain Management Associate’s degree program. This program is delivered completely online allowing students from all across the United States to take Southwest Tech classes.
Jacob Allender graduated from Waterford High School -- after graduating from Gateway Technical College with a welding diploma.