Specializing in careers at technical schools

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Shar Shanti serves as college director of ITT Technical Institute’s Owings Mills campus, the only ITT branch in Maryland. The school opened in Maryland in 2005 and now enrolls 700 students. ITT has 93 campuses across the nation, with 49,000 students.

Q Why did ITT decide to open a campus in Owings Mills?

A ITT does a lot of feasibility studies before opening schools. We care about the number of graduates working in the field and earning a decent income. Headquarters determined where employers say there is a good demand. There is a huge demand here for workers with high-tech skills in the Baltimore-Washington area. We offer information technology, electronic technology, computer technology, business with technical project management and drafting and design. We’d like to eventually add a school of health and criminal justice with cyber security, because the FBI and CIA say a lot of crime is committed using the Internet.

Q What can ITT graduates expect to earn after graduation?

A It depends on the field. We have a career services director and center where we help graduates get jobs, and we like them to obtain the highest-paying job. We do negotiations for them as well. No other school will do that. Some starting salaries are $30,000 and $40,000, which isn’t bad for an entry-level job for someone with a two-year degree. That’s a good-paying salary, and some people even get more than that. We have one student who landed a job at Hopkins Hospital as system administrator, and he isn’t even graduated yet.

Q How have perceptions about career and technical schools changed?

A Traditionally, parents of high school students would like them to go to a state college or a traditional, four-year school, where they have softball teams, Glee Clubs. Parents feel they want their students to go to what they call a “real college,” but we are real college. We have the same degrees, but ours are focused on the subject matter instead of studying on a lot of classes.

It’s changing. I’ve been in the business for 14 years, and people are much more aware of ITT as a good name and how we care about students, which are our customers. I appreciate the changes of the mind-set of the last 10 to 15 years. The reason it’s changing is because people are seeing the end results. Sometimes it’s difficult to encourage parents and students, but that’s changing, which is good. We have a huge demand for the high-technical movement with BRAC [federal military Base Realignment and Closure].

Q How does the cost compare to traditional schools?

A Our cost is $425 per credit so it’s a little bit higher than going to a community college or traditional state college. We are not cheap, but our students know they are getting a good return on their investment.

Q What is the job placement rate?

A We have a minimum of 65 percent placement rate. Some of our schools have higher at 80 to 85 percent. Our first graduating class was 100 percent but it was only two students. September’s class is 60 percent but in the next four to six weeks, it will be 65 percent.

Q The career services center is still working with those graduates to find them jobs?

A Career services is a

lifelong service for all our alumni.

Q Describe your average student.

A Our traditional students are working adults who feel they need to get a degree but they need to learn a skill and don’t just want to learn the theory, which we have, too, but they just want to have the hands-on experience.

FAST FACTS ON CAREER SCHOOLS

» National average job placement rate: 70 percent

» Average student age: Mid-20s.

» Some Maryland schools: University of Phoenix, Kaplan College, North American Trade Schools, Lincoln Technical Institute, ITT Technical Institute

kvolkmann@baltimoreexaminer.com

Advertisement