A Brief History of Tech Prep

College Tech Prep is a national educational reform that began in 1990 through the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act, a federally funded program.  Launched in Ohio in 1991, College Tech Prep represents a high school through college program with a seamless, rigorous sequence of academic and technical coursework culminating in post-secondary degrees and/or industry-recognized credentials that support workforce pipelines for a 21st century economy.
In Ohio, it is the intent that all career-technical programs meet College Tech Prep program standards to ensure that every high school graduate is college and/or career ready - prepared to succeed in post-secondary education and the workplace.  Therefore, by the end of 2013, all career-technical programs in Ohio were required to transition to College Tech Prep.
In the beginning, the program was divided into consortia to make the Ohio College Tech Prep program manageable and to reflect the divergent needs of various regions of the state.  College Tech Prep was conceived as a collaborative endeavor, so regional consortia consisted of locally based employers, community and technical colleges, universities, career-technical education planning districts (CTPD's), and secondary schools.
Originally, there were 28 Tech Prep consortia in Ohio.  These consortia were formed in five phases from 1992 through 1996.  In combination, these consortia reflected the involvement of :

  • 44 public colleges, universities, and regional campuses
  • 92 Vocational Education Planning Districts (VEPD's) representing all Ohio secondary school sites
  • 1500+ businesses, industries, and labor representatives

The College Tech Prep program was funded through a combination of federal, state, and local funds, administered jointly by the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio Department of Education, with ODE serving as the fiscal agent.  Individual consortium funding was based on size, performance measures, and incentive funding related to state performance targets.  Statewide performance measures were collected through the Educational Management and Information System (EMIS) for secondary Tech Prep programs and the Higher Education Information (HEI) system for post-secondary education programs.  Ohio was divided into four geographic regions for administrative purposes.  In respect to Ohio College Tech Prep, these regional divisions offered consortia the opportunity to work together to develop programs and strategies that reflected their geographic and economic priorities.
Responding to the elimination of federal funding for Tech Prep as of June 30, 2011, Ohio's College Tech Prep initiative restructured from 23 consortia to six broad regions in FY12.  Each of these regions supports the program goals:

Connect secondary (7-12), college, adult and apprenticeship programs in meaningful Programs of Study / Career Pathways
 
Provide secondary students and adult learners with opportunities to earn college credit through College Credit Plus, statewide articulation or bilateral articulation agreements where credit transfer guarantee options do not exist, or pathways into adult-focused CTE clock hour programs.
 
Ensure students are aware and take advantage of post-secondary credit options
 
Assist school districts, Ohio Technical Centers and colleges in their efforts to adhere to statewide Career-Technical Credit Transfer (CT)2 requirements and bilateral agreement expectations.
 
Develop exemplary Programs of Study and process program approval renewal applications.