The Kansas Board of Regents approved a proposal this week to form an affiliation between Wichita State University and Wichita Area Technical College. The plan will now go before the state Legislature.
Under the affiliation proposal, WATC would become the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology, and its employees would become WSU employees.
WATC would remain a separate legal entity and continue to provide two-year associate’s degrees.
The two schools had initially proposed a full merger. In a statement, WSU president John Bardo and WATC President Sheree Utash said an affiliation will be less costly and less time-consuming.
If the Legislature approves the plan this year, it would then go before the Higher Learning Commission, which accredits both institutions.
The affiliation could be complete as early as 2018.
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