Pratt Community College is continuing to build a relationship with Wichita Area Technical College as the two work together to start Information Networking Technology courses mid-spring.
“The partnership is a natural progression resulting from our existing partnership in nursing and is another good example of how a community college and technical college can improve access to a program without much additional cost or resources to either place,” said Joe Varrientos, Vice President of Instruction.
Students will start by taking 15 hours of course work on WATC’s campus and getting a certificate of completion in IT Essentials. Once the students have successfully completed the certificate they will enroll in PCC’s INT classes in either Wichita or Pratt.
“The big advantage to having the certificate is that students are then employable,” Varrientos said. “Completing the associate’s degree after that will allow them to have better opportunities to find a job with more difficult skills.”
The program includes Computer and Network Hardware (Servers and Routers), Computer and Network Operating Systems and Protocols and Windows and Unix/Linux Operating Systems. Students can also expect to learn mobile computing systems, Cloud computing, web page design, programing and business ethics.
The courses will be offered on WATC’s Grove Campus. Juniors and seniors in high school can take these classes and get tuition and general fees waived but the program is open to everyone.
