4-28-23 mptc president says merger proposal not necessary

The Moraine Park Technical College president says a recommended merger between a Washington County community college and MPTC isn’t necessary.   Bonnie Baerwald was responding to a resolution approved by the Washington County Board of supervisors in favor of a  recommendation creation of a pilot community college concept combining the resources of UWM at Washington County and MPTC.   The recommendation came from the Washington County Campus/Higher Education Task Force to be implemented via legislative and policy actions.   Baerwald says technical colleges already offer  technical programs and trades instruction and  students  can transfer to the UW system with an associate of liberal arts and associate of science transfer degree.  Baerwald says although Moraine Park has seen slight declines in enrollment the past few years, the college is financially stable and expects enrollment to grow in 2023-24.