Tower Winter/Spring 2024 - 4

Charlie Byers, Residential Remodeling
Technology Instructor
/// ON CAMPUS
T(R)ENDING
TO GROWTH
Across the country, higher education is struggling to
meet enrollment numbers and maintain programming.
However, this trendline is moving in the opposite
direction at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.
In the fall of 2022, the College discussed the future
location of the Residential Remodeling Technology
program with instructor Charlie Byers. The College
planned to relocate the first-year cohort from the
Griscom Education Center to the Main Campus
because space had become available as other labs
were renovated and/or relocated. The Residential
Remodeling Technology program needed more space
because its program was doubling. Charlie was thrilled.
" That expansion has come about because of the breadth
of opportunity for graduates in the industries we serve in
our program. Our graduates can be remodelers, they can
work for roofing or siding companies, they can work for
residential electrical or plumbing outfits, " Charlie said.
Mitch Kauffman, Civil Engineering Construction
Technology Instructor, with second-year students.
Remodeling is one of many programs that has seen
dramatic increases in enrollment, with overall enrollment
numbers for the College increasing by 10 percent this
school year, on top of another 10 percent increase the year
before, and an upward trendline (aside from COVID-19
interruptions) before that. At present, Thaddeus Stevens
College has the highest enrollment numbers in its history,
with 1,451 students continuing their education here.
In the fall of 2023, the College saw the Residential
Remodeling Technology, Electro-Mechanical
Technology, and Computer & Network Systems
Administration associate degree programs and the
Electrical Construction and Maintenance certificate
program double in size. The College's Workforce
and Economic Development Center, based at
Tec Centro, which offers short-term six-month
and six-week programs, also witnessed dramatic
growth in recent years. The Center's most recent
graduating class had 62 students enrolled.
3 : Tower Magazine
Tower Winter/Spring 2024

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