Making Education Go a Step Further

By April Marciszewski, Tulsa World, Okla.

Aug. 1–Taking a cue from Tulsa Community College’s new Tulsa Achieves scholarship, Tulsa Technology Center is offering free tuition to new high school graduates.

The first wave of baby boomers — highly skilled for technical jobs — is about to leave the work force, and businesses need new employees trained to fill those jobs, said Tulsa Tech Associate Superintendent Ron Russell.

The Tulsa business community particularly needs employees in aviation, machining, welding and health care — all areas Tulsa Tech is training students to join, Russell said.

Tulsa Tech is starting the Pathways Scholarship this fall to meet businesses’ needs as soon as possible and to allow 2007 high school graduates to get a free technical education, Russell and Superintendent Gene Callahan said. The tech center intends for the scholarship to continue forever.

Last fall, 283 students who were 2006 high school graduates and who were 17 or 18 years old enrolled in programs at Tulsa Tech, said Tony Heaberlin, public relations coordinator. Officials said they did not know

how much the new scholarship might increase enrollment.

The tech center is paying for the scholarship out of its taxpayer-supported budget.

Tulsa Tech’s tuition is $2.50 an hour.

The scholarship will pay for each student to complete one program, whether it is the shortest (several at 525 hours) or the longest (aviation maintenance technology, at 2,121 hours). Most programs last one to two years. Students must continuously enroll in classes, taking at least three hours a day, until they finish their programs. They cannot switch from one program to another.

Unlike with TCC’s Tulsa Achieves scholarship, students will not be able to merely sign up for the Pathways Scholarship. They must apply and be admitted to programs at Tulsa Tech.

Students must have graduated from a public, private, parochial, charter or home school — students with general equivalency diplomas do not qualify — in Tulsa Tech’s school district. A district map is online at www.tulsaworld.com/ttcmap, and more specific boundaries will be posted soon at www.tulsaworld.com/tulsatech under "Services" and then under "Financial Aid."

Tulsa Tech has about 300 openings in its classes that start Aug. 15.

Some Tulsa Tech programs that start this month already are filled, but most programs start two or three times a year, Russell said. Pathways Scholarship students may start a program any time during the year after they graduate from high school.

Tulsa Tech does not plan to expand any programs merely because of high student demand, Callahan said. It bases class sizes on the needs of businesses. It might consider expanding a program such as welding, which is needed in the community, if many students were interested, he said. If programs are full, students could be put on waiting lists.

Students can earn college credit at Tulsa Community College, Rogers State University and Oklahoma State University-Okmulgee for many Tulsa Tech programs. The number of Tulsa Tech students who have earned college credit has risen from almost 300 in the 2001-02 school year to more than 700 last school year.

Tulsa Tech education also prepares students for licensure and certification exams, which give them credentials to work.

Even though many students already have enrolled in colleges or made other plans for their lives, Callahan said, "I suspect there are a lot of students . . . who are just now beginning to think seriously about what their career is going to be."

Tulsa Tech has not recruited new high school graduates in the past, he said. Last school year, it sent career advisers to nine Tulsa-area schools to recruit students to attend Tech during high school. Almost a third more students from those schools were accepted into Tulsa Tech programs for 2007-08 than the year before. This year, those advisers will be able to promote the Pathways Scholarship.

Russell said Tulsa Tech is "trying to create a good opportunity for our students so they can feed into the economy and lead good productive lives."

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April Marciszewski 581-8475 april.marciszewski@tulsaworld.com

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Tulsa Technology Pathways Scholarship

–Applications available starting Tuesday: www.tulsaworld.com/tulsatech; financial assistance office, Career Services Center, 3420 S. Memorial Drive, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 828-5156 or 828-5215

–Applications are due by Aug. 28 for programs that start Aug. 15, but students are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Spaces in programs are limited. Openings are listed at www.tulsaworld.com/tulsatech .

–Students who have never attended Tulsa Tech and those who want to finish a program they started in high school qualify for the scholarship; 2007 high school graduates already enrolled at Tech for this fall must fill out a scholarship application to receive free tuition, and their enrollment fee will be refunded.

–The scholarship pays for tuition but not any required tools, books, uniforms, insurance, certification or licensure exams or other costs.

–Students must maintain a C or better, regularly attend class and have no serious discipline issues.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Tulsa World, Okla.

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