LAKE AREA TECH REACHES A DECADE OF ENROLLMENT GROWTH

WATERTOWN, SD – For the tenth consecutive year, Lake Area Technical College has surpassed its record fall semester enrollment with a new total of 1593 students. That number is a 5.6% increase over last fall semester’s enrollment of 1508 students. The increase is driven by a strong returning upperclassman count of 654 students, which is a 10.3% increase over last fall and 939 new students starting programs resulting in a 3% increase over fall of 2012.  In the past decade Lake Area Technical College has grown by an unprecedented sixty percent.

Lake Area Technical College President, Deb Shephard comments, “Lake Area Technical College has accomplished a decade of growth.  That is something few colleges can say they have experienced, especially with the ups and downs in the economy.  Although the growth is great, we realize that we need to stay focused on the things that have made us who we are such as hiring the best faculty, strong community and industry support, creating a caring culture for students, giving students the skills they need to be successful, retaining students, and making sure they are placed upon completion.”

Lake Area Technical College attributes its growth to several factors: 99% placement rate after graduation, offering programs in high-demand, high-pay fields, adding new programs, expanding online E-Degrees, and receiving the Aspen Award for being one of the top ranked two-year colleges in the nation.