What is Tech Prep?

Tech Prep is a program by which high school students are able to earn articulated college credit for technical courses by the time they graduate without paying tuition. The college credits earned are held in escrow until student completes certain requirement at the postsecondary institution granting the credit.

Tech Prep links high school academics and career technical education curriculum with postsecondary curriculum to create a career focus program of study without duplication of coursework. Key elements of this process include:

• Career guidance and counseling for students, informing them to program and career options, and encouraging goal setting;
• In-service training for secondary and postsecondary teachers to enable effective implementation of Tech Prep programs;
• In-service training for secondary and postsecondary counselors to more effectively recruit students to assist students in appropriate employment;
• Preparatory and support services to assist program participants, including provisions for equal access for special populations students.

To enter the program, a student and parent must sign an agreement to follow a career focus program of study beginning in grade 9, that leads to the attainment of a postsecondary degree, certificate, or approved apprenticeship. Currently more than 150 secondary schools have articulation agreements with 35 postsecondary institutions. This national program is funded under Title II of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 and is administered by the Arkansas Department of Workforce Education. Annually, more than 1 million dollars are allocated to 15 regional consortia (partnerships of local school districts, two-year and four-year colleges, and business/industry) to coordinate the program mission and to work in concert with other initiatives such as Career Academies, High Schools That Work, Arkansas Scholars, and Arkansas Career Opportunities.