“Back to School” at MATC Starts Next
Week with More Accelerated Offerings, Additional Classes to Reduce
Wait Lists, New Bilingual Programs and Expanded ESL Instruction
Next week thousands of Madison Area Technical College (MATC) students
officially will end their summers as the new school year begins and they
head toward the college’s five campuses, located in Madison, Fort
Atkinson, Portage, Reedsburg, and Watertown, to start fall classes on
August 28. MATC begins the 2006-07 academic year with 14 new programs
of study, many designed in certificate, accelerated and bilingual formats,
and ranging in subject from the biosciences to business and office skills
to automotive painting and machining.
More class sections are being offered
in construction, arts and sciences and advanced English-As-A-Second Language
(ESL) to meet demand and reduce wait lists. In addition, access to on-site
professional counselors and disability resource staff is being expanded
to increase coverage at the college’s regional campuses.
In a presentation
this week to all faculty and staff, MATC President Bettsey Barhorst shared
the college’s new “Real world smart” marketing theme
and the need for the college to rapidly and continuously develop more
flexible learning options and services to meet a variety of student needs. “Whether
our students choose a career path or liberal arts college transfer, we
must educate them for success in the ‘real world’,” she
states.
“Our population is changing. As baby boomers age, they
are living and working longer, often making career changes later in life.
They need flexible, affordable lifelong learning designed to meet their
needs.”
She also notes that the MATC District, like our state
and country, is becoming much more diverse due to new immigrants. “New
immigrants, many with limited English skills, are an important part of
our population helping our state meet a huge need for skilled workers.
But many new immigrants need access to ESL and continuing instruction
so they can learn in-demand skills taught in college-level occupational
and career programs.”
To help meet ‘real world’ educational
needs for busy adult learners who must balance work, family and classes,
MATC has added 14 new programs, most of which are short-term certificates
that consist of related courses that lead to specific skills and knowledge,
often tied directly to current employer needs. Many MATC certificates
are designed for individuals who want to upgrade or advance skills quickly
in their profession and often require prior work experience or coursework
in the subject area for admission.
New certificates offered this semester
include: Renewable Energy Technology, Language Interpreter for Health
Services, Biotechnology Intensive Post-baccalaureate, Automotive Custom
Painting, CNC (Machining) Specialist, Essential Office Skills, Basic
Medical Reception Skills, Project Management, and Paralegal Post-baccalaureate.
In addition, the college’s accelerated Fastrack Marketing associate
degree program, which started at the MATC-Fort Atkinson Campus, has been
expanded to Madison. The Fastrack program allows students with real world
work experience to earn a degree in half the time of traditional degree
programs.
New bilingual certificates in Spanish and English offered this
fall include: Foundations of Early Childhood Education, Supervisory Management,
and Small Business. MATC also continues to offer three other bilingual
certificates: MS Office Basic and Advanced, and Clerical/Receptionist
Assistant.
Career programs with some of the strongest enrollments this
year include those that prepare individuals to become health care, paralegal,
and commercial art professionals, as well as small business owners. In
addition, the Liberal Arts Transfer Program, which prepares students
to transfer to four-year degree programs, remains very popular. Students
also are expressing strong interest in the new transfer contract being
developed between MATC and the UW-Madison, which guarantees MATC Liberal
Arts Transfer students who meet established grade point average, advising
and other requirements admission to the UW—Madison in their junior
year.
MATC is one of the largest of the Wisconsin Technical College System’s
16 colleges. It provides “real world smart” education through
a comprehensive curriculum of technical, liberal arts and science, adult
basic education and life enrichment studies and activities, as well as
customized employee training. MATC offers associate degrees, vocational
diplomas and certificates, and non-degree courses in more than 140 programs
of study. The college serves all or parts of 12 counties located in south-central
Wisconsin and offers instruction through five campuses and numerous community
locations throughout the district.
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Last
Modified:
August 24, 2006
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