For Immediate Release:
February 24, 2004
.
Higher education officials gathered with Senator Jim Maddox
at the Capitol to explain a new pilot program for a Bachelor's
Degree of Applied Technology. From L-R, Steve Kreidler (UCO
VP of Admin. & Finance), Paul Sechrist (OCCC Provost),
Paul Risser (Chancellor of Higher Ed),Sen. Maddox, Robert
Webb (UCO President) and Bob Todd (OCCC President).
Pilot Program to Help More Oklahomans Earn Bachelor’s
Degree
Officials
from higher education, technology center schools, the private
sector and the legislature unveiled a new pilot program
they said would enable Oklahoma workers in technical professions
to earn a bachelor’s degree.
State Senator Jim
Maddox, D-Lawton, said that since 1988, career tech
centers and Oklahoma colleges have had a cooperative agreement
under which students could earn an Associates of Applied
Science degree.
In 2002, Senator Maddox began a study to look at further
cooperative agreements between higher education, career
techs and businesses. That study resulted in a pilot program
through the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) that will
enable those students to complete a Bachelor’s of
Applied Technology degree.
“A lot of Oklahoma businesses would prefer to promote
from within but many could not because those higher paying
jobs required a bachelor’s degree. This agreement
will make it easier for those in the technical professions
to earn that degree and help keep Oklahomans in those higher
paying jobs. It’s a win-win proposition for workers,
higher education, career tech centers and for Oklahoma businesses,”
said Maddox.
Maddox said earning a bachelor’s degree usually results
in higher earnings for an individual. According to the U.S.
Census Bureau, the median income for a high school graduate
25 years or older in 2002 was $25,081. For an individual
with an associate’s degree it was $31, 358. That figure
jumped to $41,361 for those with a bachelor’s degree.
The pilot program, recently approved by the Regents for
Higher Education, will initially involve UCO, Rose State
College, Oklahoma City Community College as well as Francis
Tuttle, Metro Tech and Moore-Norman technology center schools.
“This agreement shows how, working together, our institutions
of higher education, career techs and businesses can find
a solution that benefits those entities, as well as Oklahomans
who want to provide a better life for their families,”
said Senate President Pro Tempore Cal
Hobson.
Dr. W. Roger Webb, President of UCO, said the three schools
have had a long history of producing quality results for
students in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
“This innovative degree process, developed as a team,
will reduce college costs to Oklahoma by eliminating the
need to take duplicate courses, will meet the specific needs
described to us by knowledge-based businesses, and will
increase the number of Oklahomans holding a bachelor’s
degree. We are proud to be part of this effort and look
forward to enrolling the hundreds of new students seeking
to improve their lives through higher education,”
said Dr. Webb.
“This will provide employees in technical professions
an opportunity to gain advanced skills and knowledge and
earn a bachelor’s degree. Having a more highly educated
workforce is essential to economic growth. This program
provides one more avenue to ensure a positive future for
Oklahoma,” said Dr. Bob Todd, President of Oklahoma
City Community College.
“This is very exciting—something we’ve
been promoting for a while. This degree meets a specific
need in the workforce. We applaud the efforts of UCO to
recognize and respond to that need,” said Dr. Jim
Cook, President of Rose State College.
Individuals with an Associate’s of Applied Science
degree working in professions such as allied health, information
technology, graphics communications as well as other technical
areas would be among those who could now earn a Bachelor’s
of Applied Technology degree through UCO.
Dr. Tom Thomas, Associate Superintendent of Great Plains
Technology Center in Lawton, said the Associate’s
Degree in Applied Science has been very beneficial to area
workers and businesses alike. Thomas said he looked forward
to seeing the model spread from the initial pilot site to
institutions throughout the state.
“On behalf of our corporate training clients, I am
very pleased that the Regents have approved a model degree
program to allow technically-trained employees a direct
path from the training they receive at technology centers
to higher education institutions. As our corporate partners
strive to promote their technical personnel into management
positions, this model should prove to be very valuable to
them,” said Thomas.
Students can begin work on the new Bachelor’s of Applied
Technology degree at UCO beginning in the 2004 fall semester.
For
more information contact:
Senate
Communications Division- (405) 521-5774
