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| Q. What is Tech Prep? |
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Tech Prep is an educational reform initiative
that involves partnerships between high schools and colleges
that offer two-year and technical programs of study. Tech Prep
encourages students to plan, prepare and pursue a certificate
or associate degree after high school graduation.
Tech Prep links high school and postsecondary programs of study
by creating an opportunity for students to earn Tech Prep college
credit for classes they take in high school. Tech Prep Articulation
Agreements approved by faculty from participating high schools
and colleges provide students with an opportunity to earn Tech
Prep college credits.
Graduates from high schools participating in the Tech Prep program
are eligible for Tech Prep credit if they earn a B or better
grade, meet the Tech Prep Articulation criteria in the approved
or “articulated” high school class(es) and enroll
at a Tech Prep partner postsecondary institution within two
years of high school graduation. |
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| Q. Who is Involved in Tech Prep? |
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Tech Prep is a national education movement, supported
with federal funds. High schools and colleges in all states
operate Tech Prep programs, but programs vary from region to
region. In Montana there are five Tech Prep regions with all
five colleges of technology, the three community colleges, several
tribal colleges and some four-year colleges that offer two-year
programs of study actively involved in the articulation process.
Over 90% of Montana’s high schools are involved with Tech
Prep programs to create Tech Prep college credits, encourage
thoughtful career and educational planning, and encourage studies
that will lead to satisfying, high-skill, high-demand careers. |
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| Q. Who is Involved in Tech Prep in South
Central Montana? |
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South Central Montana Tech Prep is a consortium
of four active college partners and 31 high schools in south
central Montana counties. The college Tech Prep partners are
MSU Billings College of Technology, MSU Billings College of
Education, Northwest College and Sheridan College. These colleges
and the 31 high school members of the South Central Montana
Tech Prep Consortium are listed on the Members page. |
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| Q. What does Tech Prep do for students? |
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Tech Prep helps students clarify paths of study
beginning in high school and continuing through a variety of
college certificate and two-year degree programs. It encourages
high schools to provide strong career development and guidance
programs, so students can make good decisions about future education
and work plans. |
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| Q. What are Tech Prep college credits? |
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One of Tech Prep’s greatest benefits for students is
Tech Prep college credits. Tech Prep college credits work like
an essential scholarship, because high school students earn
the college credits for work they’re already doing in
high school classes. Tech Prep college credits help students
and parents save time and money once they get into their postsecondary
program of study. |
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| Q. What is the Value of Tech Prep college
credits? |
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Tech Prep college credits are like an “essential scholarship”
in terms of financial savings. Because students don’t
have to take the Tech Prep class in college, they will save
on the costs of tuition, fees, books and supplies that they
would otherwise spend for that class. The value of a college
credit varies from campus to campus, but it is safe to figure
that one 3-credit (typical one-semester) college class is worth
at least $360. The typical Tech Prep college student carries
in an average of 6 credits with an “essential scholarship”
value of $720.Because the financial savings, a very meaningful
and even more appreciated benefit of Tech Prep college credits
for many students is the time they save in their college schedule.
Because Tech Prep college students already have the credit pending
for those courses, they have more time and flexibility in their
college semester schedule to enroll in other classes of interest,
to take higher level courses sooner, or to take lighter course
loads so they have more time for study or part-time employment. |
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| Q. Who is eligible for Tech Prep college
credits? |
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Tech Prep college credits are available to qualifying students
who graduate from a Tech Prep school, earn a B or better in
an articulated class, meet any other stated conditions, and
enter a Tech Prep partner college within two years of high school
graduation. The Tech Prep college credits mean that students
do not have to take the parallel college course when they enroll
at the college. Instead they will receive the appropriate college
credit on their transcript after successfully completing their
next twelve college credits on or through the college campus. |
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| Q. What is articulation? |
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Teachers from Tech Prep high schools and faculty from Tech
Prep partner colleges meet to examine the contents and competencies
of their respective classes and to agree on conditions that
must be met for students to earn Tech Prep college credit for
their high school classwork. The college faculty must agree
that the high school class is parallel or similar enough to
the college course that it can be approved as a Tech Prep class.
This process of examining and comparing the expectations for
classes at both levels is called “articulation.” |
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| Q. Where can I find out what Tech Prep
classes are available at my high school? |
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Information about classes articulated for Tech Prep college
credit is available from your high school counselor or Tech
Prep classroom teacher. Every participating high school has
copies of the signed Tech Prep Articulation Agreements showing
which high school classes have been approved, which college
courses they replace and how many college credits they carry.
Clicking on the Articulations tab on the home page at this
site will also lead you to information about what courses
carry Tech Prep college credit at the various Consortium high
schools. Select the High School in which you are interested,
and you will see the most current year’s articulated
classes as well as links to the articulated class lists from
previous years that are still valid. |
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| Q. Where will my Tech Prep college credits
be honored? |
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Tech Prep college credits will be awarded to eligible students
from South Central Montana Tech Prep Consortium high schools
at any of the South Central Montana Tech Prep Consortium partner
colleges for the courses that are listed on the high school’s
formal Tech Prep Articulation Agreement. The South Central Montana
Tech Prep Consortium partner colleges are MSU Billings College
of Technology, MSU Billings College of Education, Northwest
College and Sheridan College.Tech Prep college credits for classes
that appear on the formal Tech Prep Articulation agreement are
certain for students who meet all of the eligibility criteria.
Signatures on those agreements verify the promise of the partner
colleges to follow through and award Tech Prep college credits
to students who qualify and who submit the required documentation. |
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| Q. What is reciprocity? Where else could
I use my Tech Prep credits? |
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Although it cannot be promised, it is possible and perhaps
even probable that two-year colleges from other Montana Tech
Prep regions may also award Tech Prep college credits to students
who elect to attend there instead of going to a partner college
that is part of the South Central Montana Tech Prep Consortium.
In these cases, the enrolling college would have to offer
a course parallel to the one that would carry Tech Prep college
credit at the South Central Montana partner college. MSU Billings
College of Technology has indicated a willingness to evaluate
the Tech Prep eligibility of students who are from Tech Prep
high schools outside of the South Central Tech Prep region.
Extending Tech Prep college credits to students from high
schools outside of the college’s regional Consortium
is at the discretion of the college, and cannot be guaranteed. |
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| Q. Can I claim Tech Prep credits at a
four-year college? |
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Because the Tech Prep program was created to encourage more
students to pursue two-year and technical education after high
school, Tech Prep college credits cannot be used by students
enrolling directly into a four-year college or university, unless
that college also offers two-year programs of study as is the
case with MSU Billings College of Education, one of the South
Central Montana Tech Prep Consortium college partners.
In Montana, there is no state-level or system-wide policy that
directs how Tech Prep credits that appear on a two-year transcript
will be treated by a four-year college that accepts a Tech Prep
two-year student as a transfer into a four-year program of study.
It is clear that the federal legislation intends for there to
be a seamless transition, but individual college policies will
determine how this is handled. How the four-year receiving college
will deal with Tech Prep credits is currently at the discretion
of that particular college. |
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| Q. What are career clusters? |
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Career clusters are concentrations of occupations/careers
that are grouped together because of their similarities regarding
interests, abilities, activities, and skills sets that are involved.
Clusters are used to help manage and organize the vast expanse
of occupational, labor market, and educational data that is
available. Each cluster includes a variety of occupations requiring
different levels of education and training, so students can
explore careers and educational options based on their interests
and preferences and then examine the various options available
for postsecondary education, training, or apprenticeship.
Selecting a career cluster gives a student a place to begin
exploring the world of work and provides an area of focus so
that choosing and planning are manageable efforts and students
realize the value of having a career focus as they make decisions
and plans for after high school. By looking at clusters, instead
of specific occupations students maintain some flexibility and
keep from becoming too narrowly focused too early. The intent
of using career clusters to organize information and exploration
is not for students to decide on a specific occupation for the
rest of their lives or to make a permanent commitment. The intent
is to help them identify an area of activity and study that
will help them open up options for their future without becoming
overwhelmed. By selecting and exploring a career cluster, students
can prepare for the future, regardless of their interests, talents,
and desired level of education. Identifying a preferred career
cluster can help them in selecting school courses, choosing
extra-curricular and community service activities, scouting
part-time jobs and volunteer experiences, and begin planning
an appropriate postsecondary plan of study. All clusters offer
meaningful career development, options, and outcomes.
It is important for students to explore career clusters and
possibilities while they are still in high school and are still
able to change direction and adjust course selections for free.
Waiting until they are employed or enrolled in college to do
this may mean they will pay dearly (through tuition or the costs
of job change) for the career exploration and decision-making
that needs to be done. |
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| Q. Why is Tech Prep needed? |
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Labor Market surveys indicate that only about 20% of jobs
in the foreseeable future will require professional degrees
(baccalaureate or higher). An estimated 65% of jobs will require
skilled workers with some formal training or education beyond
high school, but not necessarily a bachelor’s degree.
The fastest growing segment of the job market will be those
jobs requiring some education or training beyond the high
school level. And we know that as many as half of all students
who begin their postsecondary education in pursuit of a bachelor’s
degree will leave college before earning that degree. That
means that the four-year college degree is the answer, and
certainly not the only answer for the majority of students.
Our students need and deserve to be well-prepared and advised
to pursue a variety of other paths to success.
Also, the technical training that will be necessary for tomorrow’s
jobs is not the same as the “shop” class or “vocational
training” of past decades. The technical worker of the
future will also have to have a sound foundation in core academics
and will need a good basis in math and science as well as
communication and specific skills. So postsecondary education
and training at various levels besides the baccalaureate will
be increasingly important, and students will have to be prepared
to take advantage of those options. Tech Prep reinforces the
need for solid academic preparation accompanied by meaningful
courses that help students see how what they’re learning
can be applied in the “real world.” |
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| Q. Who benefits from Tech Prep? |
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Students gain the academic and technical skills which prepare
them for employment and continuing education. Tech Prep students
who enroll in two-year and technical postsecondary programs
and their parents benefit by saving time and money because
of Tech Prep college credits.
High Schools benefit by providing programs in which students
can see the relevance of their high school classes to their
future plans and endeavors. High school personnel witness
higher morale, better attitudes and attendance, and improved
student performance when students have clear goals and see
the connection between what they’re doing now and where
they want to be in the future.
Participating colleges benefit by welcoming better prepared,
more focused students, so the colleges can spend less time
and fewer resources on remedial courses and can work with
fewer students who are undecided about their majors or preferred
program of study.
Employers and the economy in general benefit by obtaining
better-educated and more highly skilled workers. Employers
also gain an opportunity to provide input and to influence
the content of the curriculum in programs of study related
to their fields of endeavor.
The taxpayer gains because schools and colleges are able
to eliminate unnecessary program and course duplication, so
they use tax dollars more effectively and efficiently.
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| Q. Where can I get more information about
Tech Prep? |
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Contact your local high school counselor or Tech Prep contact
or the registrar or admissions office at the college of interest.
Each participating high school and college has a brief (12-minute)
informative video about Montana Tech Prep as well as information
about which classes have been approved for Tech Prep college
credit at their institution. You can also send
an email to the Tech Prep Director for the South Central
Montana Tech Prep Consortium or call the Director at 406-247-3015. |
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