It’s one thing to know that a program is saving students money. It’s another thing to have data to back that up.

Wisconsin’s Western Technical College is saving students a good amount of money with Transcripted Credit courses — and now there’s proof. These courses saved local students roughly $1.6 million throughout 2018-19, a jump of nearly $600,000 from the year prior, according to a new report from the college’s K-12 Relations department.

Transcripted Credit courses are Western courses taught at the high school by high school teachers. Like dual enrollment, students receive credit from both their high school and Western when they successfully complete a course. And that Western credit is free to the students.

According to the report, the number of unduplicated students served from Transcripted Credit rose from 2,357 in 2017-18, to 3,369 in 2018-19. In total, area students saved $1,617,801.70 through Transcripted Credit at Western last year. The number of teachers involved in the program has increased as well, growing from 95 in 2017-18, to 111 in 2018-19.

High school teachers are certified to teach courses based on educational credentials, professional experience, and yearly training with Western faculty. Some of the courses taught are welding, animal science, child development/infant and toddler development, culinary fundamentals and general anatomy and physiology.

The college has agreements with more than 25 high schools.

“Often times students realize how much quicker it might be for them to obtain a certificate, technical diploma, or associate’s degree by finishing a program at Western with the credits that they have already earned in their high school,” said Tyler Ludeking, K-12 Relations specialist at Western. “The numbers we are seeing clearly demonstrate the strong relationships we are building at the high school level.”

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