WESTERN TECHNICAL COLLEGE CUTTING PROGRAMS
Thursday, January 20th, 2011 -- 10:53 AM
Western Technical College in LaCrosse is scaling back on a number of its programs, leaving people wondering about the long-term effects those cuts will have.After hearing testimonies from staff and students, the Western Technical College District Board decided Tuesday night to cut and suspend multiple programs. One of those is the Disability Support Specialist program. It trains students on working with people with disabilities and is the only one offered at a Wisconsin techincal college. One of the reasons the board decided to cut the program was because workers can get on-site training at many facilities.
The mechanical design, interior design and two other programs are suspended, meaning new students will not be accepted anymore. Western Technical College president Lee Rasch says the lack of jobs in the area and low wages contributed to the Board's decisions. All decisions made by technical college district boards still must be approved by the state board.
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