The Heart of Ohio Tech Prep Consortium

Overview of College Tech Prep

What Is College Tech Prep?

Education for winners. College Tech Prep is education for the Twenty-First Century. It combines both school reform and workforce development. The winners are the students and their future employers.

Tech Prep’s mission. College Tech Prep programs prepare more young adults for the evolving technology workforce. This workforce makes up 65% of today’s jobs, and the percentage increases every year. Technology-based jobs require more than a high school diploma, but less than a 4-year bachelor’s degree.

Tech Prep’s “product.” College Tech Prep graduates are well prepared for the high-tech work world. Students who complete their Tech Prep program are smart, flexible workers who can—

1. apply strong technical skills,
2. analyze and solve problems,
3. communicate effectively,
4. update themselves constantly, and
5. work well both in teams and alone.

College Tech Prep links high school and college. Tech Prep’s curriculum takes students through a seamless 4-year program of strong academic and technology skill preparation. The first 2 years of the program take place in grades 11-12 in high school. Students complete College Tech Prep with a 2-year college degree in a targeted technology area.

College Tech Prep is a better way to learn. Students do well in College Tech Prep because it combines many of the best approaches to teaching and learning, including hands-on experiences, integrated academics, and project-based learning. The learning experiences are rigorous, but students can succeed with them because the lessons focus on how the content is used in the real world.

Who are Tech Prep’s clients? College Tech Prep has two groups of consumers. Its immediate clients are high school students in the academic middle – students who are capable of college participation but often do not prepare for this option. But Tech Prep is really for any students who can benefit from this powerful approach to education.

College Tech Prep’s other major customers are employers. The students in our high schools are the largest segment of the emerging workforce. A vital part of Tech Prep’s work is to prepare more of them to enter and succeed in the technology jobs of today and tomorrow.

Our local, state, and national economies will depend more and more on a strong, highly skilled, homegrown workforce. That’s why it is so critical for College Tech Prep programs to develop strong relationships with business, industry, and labor.

The Federal Tech Prep Initiative

The federal goal. In the first 10 years of this century, the United States will need millions of new technology workers to sustain and grow our economy.   The federal government views Tech Prep as a major educational pipeline for these technology careers.

Federal funding. The U.S. government supports Tech Prep through the Carl D Perkins Career and Technology Education Act. This funding first became available to Ohio in 1991. States must submit a Tech Prep plan to the U.S. Department of Education. Approved plans receive federal funding. [Note: As of this writing, the Perkins Act is up for reauthorization; it is uncertain at this time whether Tech Prep will continue to be a specific line item within the future legislation. ...August 2005]

States and consortia. Each state that receives federal Tech Prep funding must use the money to support Tech Prep consortia – partnerships among high schools, 2-year college campuses, and business, industry, and labor. The work of a Tech Prep consortium is to develop and deliver high-quality Tech Prep programs in its service area.

College Tech Prep in Ohio

Ohio’s College Tech Prep model. Most Ohio students begin Tech Prep officially in grade 11, and conclude with an advanced-skills 2-year college associate degree. All programs are competency-based.

Ohio calls its model "College Tech Prep" to emphasize the college-prep nature of the high school programs, the seamless connection to college programs, and the importance of completing the college part of the program.

Tech Prep college students learn the advanced skills that Ohio employers are hungry for. Two-year college graduates are well prepared to enter the technology workforce, and can also transfer into a related 4-year bachelor’s degree program.

For more information about College Tech Prep in Ohio, visit the State Tech Prep website at www.techprepohio.org

State funding. Ohio’s current Governor, Ted Strickland, has taken a personal interest in College Tech Prep. With Governor Strickland's help, Ohio Tech Prep efforts are now supported with substantial state funding, in addition to the federal Perkins funds.

Governance in Ohio. The Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Board of Regents jointly administer Ohio College Tech Prep initiatives. These partners approved the first Tech Prep consortia in Ohio in early 1992.

As of Fall 2005, there are 23 consortia, making College Tech Prep programs accessible to virtually all high school students in Ohio. Tech Prep had over 18,000 students enrolled in 2003-2004 (most recent data available). .

Competency-based programs. Ohio's College Tech Prep programs are competency-based. All programs follow state-approved blueprints of technical and academic competencies that must be taught in the high school and 2-year college programs. These Pathway Documents (formerly called Technology Competency Profiles or (TCPs) are developed and kept current by teams of business people and educators from across the state.

The number and range of state-approved Tech Prep Pathways increases every year. In Fall 2005, the Heart of Ohio Consortium offers career preparation programs using the following Ohio-approved Tech Prep Pathways

Agricultural Business (Agriculture//Horticulture)

Automotive Technologies

Business Management

Finance & Risk Management

Construction Technologies

Engineering Technologies

Health Technologies

Information Technologies

Law Enforcement

For more information about Ohio's Tech Prep Pathway Documents, visit the State of Ohio’s Tech Prep Curriculum Services website at www.techprepohio.org