Sixteen to twenty-four weeks here against four years at a typical in-state university - most of our students are working, paid, in the trade they trained for before their high school classmates finish a sophomore year.
Total tuition across every program here runs $7,400 to $9,600, paid once. The average bachelor’s graduate in this state leaves with just over $29,000 in student loan debt, before a single dollar of interest.
Run the numbers forward: a graduate earning $22/hr full time out-earns a still-enrolled college junior by roughly $88,000 before that junior even sits for a final exam.
Shop hours over lecture hours
Every program runs at roughly four shop hours for every one classroom hour. Class sizes are capped at fourteen so nobody watches - everybody runs the machine, pulls the wire, or lays the bead themselves.
The shop floor holds twelve welding booths, six HVAC training rigs, and a working machine shop with three CNC mills - real equipment, not simulators, from week one.
Paying for it
State workforce development grants, VA education benefits for veterans, employer tuition sponsorship, and monthly payment plans are all accepted. Most students combine at least two.
