Board of Trustees to vote on programs

Possible cuts, addition to be discussed at next meeting 

Eileen Peck (left) and Ruth Hatcher are both on the WCC board of trustees. The next board meeting to discuss the addition/discontinuation of programs will be on April 22. Courtney Prielipp | The Washtenaw Voice

Yana McGuire | Staff Writer 

WCC’s Board of Trustees will be voting on the addition of five programs on April 22, 2025.

If approved, WCC’s Fall 2025 program list will include an associate degree in construction technology, advanced certificates in advanced auto repair along with semiconductor & battery manufacturing and a certificate in education paraprofessional.

Brandon Tucker, WCC’s executive vice president for instruction, presented the recommendations to the board at the March 25 meeting, in which he highlighted the 16-to-17-credit certificate in education paraprofessional as a direct entry to Talent Together’s “grow your own” teacher preparation program. This program helps K-12 teacher candidates gain a bachelor’s degree and teaching certification by offering free college tuition and fees.

When the Voice inquired with Tucker, he was unavailable for further comment at the time, according to Fran Lefort, WCC’s director of media relations.

With the new work expectations paraprofessionals face, the certificate could help current professionals keep up with today’s education standards and create a pathway to filling 31,000 jobs in Michigan, according to Tucker at the meeting.

If the board votes against the new programs, the Chair or Dean will discuss the reasons they were not approved and offer suggestions so that the proposal can be revised and resubmitted, according to WCC’s website.

Possible cuts

The Board of Trustees will also consider the discontinuation of eight programs. Associate degrees in elementary education and film studies, advanced certificates in advanced machine tool programming and digital video advanced production, certificates in applied data analytics, fluid power and foundations of information systems and a certificate of completion of introduction to manufacturing processes are all up on the chopping block.

Recommendations for the discontinuation of a program occur when there is a lack of interest from students and/or a notable change has happened within the program. Most of the time, courses within the program are still available and this would be the case for the programs listed above, according to Tucker’s board meeting presentation. 

The discontinuation of recommended programs, if approved, will have no impact on staff. In addition, students involved with these programs have either transitioned to relevant programs or have graduated, according to the meeting discussion notes provided by Lefort. 

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