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Texas State Technical College Turns 50

Carlos Morales
TSTC has grown to four college campuses and seven extension sites across the state.

For 50 years Texas State Technical College has been in operation…AND today they’re celebrating at the state capitol where they’ll be acknowledged.  KWBU’s Carlos Morales has more on what’s in store for the college in the next 50 years.

For TSTC student Nikki Green the college has continued to be a relevant choice, especially during a time when many continue to opt for 4-year colleges, because of the hands-on-experience TSTC offers students.

“What a lot of people don’t know is there are jobs waiting for them once they graduate and people that want them to go to a 4-year college leave that out," Green said. "So it gets overlooked.”

And as at 50-years-old – the school is attempting to maintain its relevancy by examining new instructional methods, like a competency-based learning system. In this format, students work at their own pace, taking as much time needed to learn the material and only progress if they master it.  TSTC Chancellor and CEO Mike Reeser says that technical schools offer experience and focus not met with a high school degree or a standard Bachelor’s degree.

"In the 50 years ahead," Reeser said, "I think we’ll see as much change in our economy as we have in the past 50 years. Technology will move at an accelerating rate so our rate of change will have to keep up with that.”

And since 1965 – when Senate Bill 487 created TSTC – the college has continued to adapt. In a 1982 interview with the Baylor Institute for Oral History, the first president of TSTC, Roy Dugger said the school was founded to create opportunities “in the world of work that’s evolving, not necessarily in what did exist, but what is likely to exist.” It’s a sentiment that Governor Greg Abbott echoed, during his inaugural State of the State address, when discussing the importance of having technical colleges.

"I’m thinking if this Governor thing doesn’t work out, I’m going to TSTC to get a welder’s certificate,” Abbott said. 

Chancellor Reeser says that while there’s a certain stigma surrounding technical education, he remains confident that the school will continue to grow and remain a viable option for many students in the years to come.