Jen Sell, Marketing and Recruitment Department and Interim Campus Manager and Dan Lytle, Menomonie Campus Manager and the Business Development Manager for St. Croix, Pierce, and Dunn counties, shared details on how Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) delivers innovative and applied education that supports the workforce needs of the region, improves the lives of students, and adds value to our communities.
Click Read More below for details about CVTC and its mission.
Chippewa Valley Technical College, established in 1912, is one of the 16 technical and community colleges in the Wisconsin Technical College System, centered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It serves an eleven-county area with the largest campus located in Eau Claire (home to three separate campuses: Clairemont, Gateway, and West) with major regional centers in Chippewa Falls, Menomonie, Neillsville, and River Falls.
CVTC helps economic development across the district in partnership with the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center in River Falls, the Pierce County Economic Development Corporation, Dunn County Economic Development Corporation, Greater Menomonie Development Corporation and the Regional Business Fund.
The school offers associate degree and technical diploma programs, as well as other certifications and adult continuing education programs. Half of their programs are health related.
CVTC has 119 Associate and Technical Degree programs, 38 Certificates, 13 Apprenticeships, High School Academies, Workforce Solutions and Continuing Education and Adult Education and College Prep. High School Academies enroll 40,000 high school students to earn college credit while in high school.
Adult Education consists of English Language Learning, keyboarding, Microsoft programs, and GED among others. Associate and Technical programs center on healthcare, business, welding, and childcare.
In 2021, 19,237 students were served. 53% of the students were between 45 and 54 years old, 15% are between 25 and 29 years old.
Sixty percent of voters favored a referendum to allow CVTC to expand. On July 15, 2020, CVTC expanded by purchasing the Moody property on the corner of Cascade and highway 35.
92% of graduates are employed after 6 months. 88% are employed in Wisconsin.
CVTC is the only Technical college in Wisconsin with three state universities in its district, University of Wisconsin – River Falls, Stout, and Eau Claire. CVTC is considered a partner, not a competitor.
The average starting salary of associate degree graduates is $48,175 which is among the highest within the UW system and equals the salaries for students in the universities.
For more data on CVTC check out their fact book at: https://issuu.com/chippewavalleytechnicalcollege/docs/fact_book_2021?fr=sZjg4NjI2Mjc5MTM
[Kudos to Cheryl for providing this summary of CVTC]
Jen Sell has been with CVTC since 2018 in the Marketing and Recruitment Department, and she now serves as Interim Campus Manager of the CVTC-River Falls Campus. She is a UWRF graduate who has lived in the River Falls community since 2008.
Dan Lytle is the CVTC Menomonie Campus Manager as well as the Business Development Manager for St. Croix, Pierce, and Dunn counties. Dan works with companies across the three counties to develop innovative and customized training solutions for their workers through CVTC's Workforce Solutions and Continuing Education department. He also works to help economic development efforts across his district and serves on the Board of Directors for the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center in River Falls, the Pierce County Economic Development Corporation, Dunn County Economic Development Corporation, Greater Menomonie Development Corporation and the Regional Business Fund. Dan joined the college in 2014 and is a graduate of UW-Stout.