Huntsville-based Drake State and Community Technical College has formally entered into a partnership with online, non-profit institution Western Governors University, to provide Drake State alumni and employees with affordable plans for four-year and graduate degree programs.

Dr. Kimberly Estep, WGU’s Southeast Regional Vice President, represented the online institution at a signing event held at Drake State’s campus library, and explained the flexible, expedited educational philosophy of WGU.

“Everything we do is competency-based,” said Estep. “It isn’t a matter of how long it takes, but if the student can do it.”

Graduates of Drake State’s two-year programs will be able to pursue further education in fields such as IT, Cybersecurity, Nursing, Education, and more.

Drake State is the first institution to partner with WGU in the state. While initial projections for how many graduates will be taking advantage of this partnership are difficult to estimate, 150 students graduated from Drake State this spring, with other past alumni eligible to participate as well.

The news comes on the heels of the Alabama State Legislature authorizing an additional $5 million in funds to support dual-enrollment of high school students interested in taking STEM courses offered by Alabama community colleges. Dual-enrollment scholarships cover tuition, fees, and textbooks, and community college courses are often half the price of their counterparts at public four-year universities.

Over 16,000 high school students across the state have taken advantage of dual-enrollment opportunities since fall of 2021.

Of course, by combining dual-enrollment at Drake State with the flexible continuing education offered by WGU, Huntsville high school students could attain a bachelor’s degree in roughly half the time as normal, or a Master’s in the time it would normally take to earn a bachelor’s.

This sort of expedited education, combined with returning, or non-traditional students, could help ameliorate staffing shortages in high-demand positions.

Drake State President Dr. Patricia Sims emphasized the value of providing resources for non-traditional students, who are often already in the workforce, to advance to the sort of highly-technical positions that are in high demand.

“Career advancement means economic mobility, and that leads to a higher quality of life for our communities.”