Fort Hays State University and two technical colleges join ranks to address rural workforce shortages and population decline
By ANNA KAMINSKI
Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Three higher education institutions in central and western Kansas joined forces to address the region’s workforce shortages and education gaps.
Fort Hays State University, Northwest Kansas Technical College and North Central Kansas Technical College created a new affiliation as a way to propel students into the region’s workforce and empower their communities to persist through hard times.
The affiliation is different from a merger or a takeover, said Tisa Mason, president of Fort Hays State, on the Kansas Reflector podcast. The two tech colleges are now under the Fort Hays brand, complete with new logos and fresh merchandise, while remaining independently accredited institutions. They were renamed Fort Hays Tech Northwest and Fort Hays Tech North Central.
The joint venture is in its early stages, but school leaders are optimistic the education-to-profession pipeline they’re creating will have lasting impacts in their communities.
The three schools have a better chance at earning federal funding as a group to reinvest in students and their communities, Mason said.
As higher education has become more unaffordable for students, part of the affiliation initiative is focused on reducing barriers to education. That’s happening through creating new programs and bolstering existing ones to meet students where they are at.
Mason said they want to make registering for classes “as easy as Amazon.com.”
Nursing and the trades have been primary points of interest for students, especially as construction needs and health care worker shortages become more acute, said Jennifer Brown, the dean of instruction at the north-central tech college.
Students can start at either of the technical colleges and work their way toward earning a bachelor’s degree online at the university. The goal is a seamless transition, Brown said.
“They can stay in place, wherever that might be within north-central Kansas or western Kansas, and still earn that bachelor’s degree,” she said.
Brown is on some of the 14 implementation teams focused on making the new programs work. To her, a successful initiative will result in more students furthering credits toward degrees or added credentials and training, she said.
“I think sometimes it’s really hard to envision the future because we don’t even know yet,” Brown said. “One of the greatest things that I think is coming from this, from my perspective, is the relationship building that we have amongst all three institutions.”
Peter Laipson, who oversees the affiliation initiative as its director, said he hopes in the coming years students are able to move through their education and find lucrative work in western and north-central Kansas on the other side.
“I think, ultimately, that would be good for them. That would be good for the communities. That would mean that there’s a kind of robust business atmosphere,” Laipson said. “I think that would be the ultimate sign of success.