Randolph Technical Center reports sharp enrollment drop, expands dual-credit and Grow Your Own programs

John Daniels, principal of the Randolph Technical Center and the county's CTE director, told the board the center's enrollment has fallen markedly this year "we went from 500 roughly 560 down to 349," and explained how the center's participant, concentrator and completer counts feed state funding.

Daniels said the center is preparing students for NOCTI testing (state CTE assessments) later in the spring and reported about 30 students met minimum requirements last year to earn the Governor's Workforce Credential. He described work-based learning tracking, endorsement requirements for instructors (69 of 74 courses properly endorsed) and ongoing data cleanup for course codes.

Daniels outlined partnerships that expand student opportunity: a dual-credit agreement with Pierpont (offering computer concepts and application credit and continuing instructor adjunct status), new college-credit classes with Davis & Elkins College including a Grow Your Own teacher pipeline (24–36 credits at no direct cost to the district) and a dual-credit social journalism sequence. He also noted recent community-engaged projects, an LPN graduation (nine graduates, eight passing boards so far), a Fairmont State mechatronics boot camp, and strong SkillsUSA performance with multiple medalists advancing to national competition.

Daniels said some program and funding numbers are live-state data that change frequently and that staff are preparing for upcoming NOCTI testing and work to ensure accurate endorsements and reporting.