Land O’ Lakes, FL – (December 17, 2014) – At Tuesday’s board meeting, the District School Board of Pasco County renamed Fred K. Marchman Technical Education Center to Pasco Technical College - Marchman Campus, following a trend for Florida technical schools.
Renaming Marchman is designed to increase student access, interest and enrollment in the district’s instructional programs for both secondary and postsecondary students. Changing the name also should aid in recruiting industry and economic development while attracting students to the district’s public institutions. Students who enroll in technical colleges incur less debt burden than those who enroll in private and proprietary institutions.
“While the name changes, the mission remains the same; the new name just more accurately reflects the post-secondary training we provide at Marchman” said Superintendent Kurt Browning. “The mission also will not change, nor will the current governance or operating structure,” he added.
The change from Marchman Technical Education Center to Pasco Technical College is authorized and approved by the Council on Occupational Education (COE), the school’s accreditation agency.
The Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) presented a report to the Florida Legislature last January in reference to renaming Florida’s technical centers to technical colleges. OPPAGA reported that 37 states have public sub-baccalaureate technical institutions. Tennessee and Utah recently changed their entire state system of technical centers to technical colleges. Both states reported enrollment increases between 15 percent and 25 percent after the name change.
The renaming is part of a three-year improvement plan for Marchman, which includes offering dual enrollment to secondary students; redesigning master schedules and realigning calendars; increasing business partnerships; and increasing industry certification opportunities, among other things.
The staff, students and community are already buzzing about the name change, according to Principal Rob Aguis. “The change has already boosted pride and self-esteem among the students and staff,” he said. “Students on campus are already asking with excitement, ‘Are we really a college, Mr. Aguis?’ and I reply with that same excitement and pride, ‘Yes, we are really a college, Pasco Technical College – Marchman Campus!”
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