In its first two years, the M³ — which brings together Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee Area Technical College and UW-Milwaukee — has helped increase the MPS graduation rate and the percentage of MPS grads going on to college. More than 130,000 students are collectively served by MPS, MATC and UWM.

Northcentral Technical College (NTC) and UW-Green Bay have announced two transfer agreements leading to a four-year degree in Business Administration. The agreements give students the opportunity to earn an associate degree at NTC in business management or leadership development and then seamlessly transfer their credits to UW-Green Bay with junior status to finish a baccalaureate degree online in business administration within four years.

Nicolet College, Northcentral Technical College and Mid-State Technical College have received a grant to assist rural hospitals in filling medical positions in high demand. The grants support education and training for an array of allied health professionals, including surgical technologists, substance abuse counselors-in-training, central service technicians, sonographers and phlebotomists.

A new Veteran Military Center is now open at Western Technical College in La Crosse. The $820,000 facility will serve Western’s 1,000 military-connected students. "One space is going to house our staff and our student veterans that do our work study, will help us with like paperwork and processing benefits. Then the other space is a space that is set up just for the student veterans, and it's like a lounge, kind of similar to a USO feel," said WTC Veteran Services Manager Jackie Helgeson.

Earlier this year, Fox Valley Technical College received a $10.4 million federal grant to build a new center airport rescue firefighting (ARFF) training center. Last week, FVTC broke ground on the new building that will help firefighting students complete their FAA-required training. Oshkosh Corporation and Pierce Manufacturing are also helping with the project.

The Wisconsin Technical College System Board and Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) honored Oshkosh Corporation on Tuesday evening with a ‘Futuremaker Partner’ award. The partners not only collaborate to provide skills education for FVTC program students and experienced company employees, they are innovating to expand workforce participation in the region.

The debut of the new culinary program has been much anticipated at Chippewa Valley Technical College and the community. Strong urging and support from the restaurant industry led to the CVTC board’s approval of the program in November 2016. Completing the two-year program leads to an associate degree, with certificates and diplomas earned at earlier stages.

Gateway Technical College has launched two new academic programs designed to meet the needs of the Foxconn Technology Group focusing on an advanced manufacturing strategy needed to develop products and enhance its operating processes. Gateway has begun enrolling students in the new programs, Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Supply Chain Management. Graduates of the curricula will earn an Associate of Applied Science degree.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos met students and staff at Fox Valley Technical College's Public Safety Training Center. She was given a demonstration of an immersive simulator used by students and police officers to train for a variety of different scenarios, including school shootings.