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Career and Technical Education (BS) - Workforce Leadership and Development

About

Appalachian State University’s Career and Technical Education (BS) concentration in workforce leadership and development is a broad and flexible program designed for students who are interested in combining technical skills with the business preparation needed to advance into management or the training of employees within a particular industry. It does not lead to teaching licensure, as do other CTE concentrations at Appalachian.

The program offers a distinctive combination of career and technical courses, workforce courses, business foundations — such as accounting, marketing, law and organization behavior, and an internship. It develops the “hard” and “soft” skills needed to improve your competitiveness in the workforce.

The program is designed to accommodate the needs of both transfer students, who may already have earned an associate degree and have work experience in a particular business or industry, and traditional students just beginning their postsecondary education. It is offered both online and on campus.

After Graduation

Employment: Students in this concentration will have the business training as well as development of technical and soft skills to pursue entrepreneurial ventures or careers in business, industry, government, health care institutions or postsecondary educational-technical institutions.

Graduate school: Students will have the preparation needed for advanced study in a variety of fields, including business, education, training and development, and other areas.

People

  • Faculty Profile: Dr. Jerianne Taylor
    Faculty Profile: Dr. Jerianne Taylor

    CTE “connects the dots” in teaching technical skills, business foundations and the soft skills needed in the workplace, says Taylor, CTE professor and program director.

  • Alumna Profile: Kathleen Varner ’19
    Alumna Profile: Kathleen Varner ’19

    Kathleen (Kat) Varner graduated with a B.S. in CTE with a workforce concentration and is now the executive director for a non-profit organization called the Fenix in You Foundation, which serves at-risk and disconnected youth.

Courses

  • Program of Study
    Program of Study
  • Four Year Guide
    Four Year Guide

    Click on the pdf for your major

  • NCCC Transfer Four Year Guide
    NCCC Transfer Four Year Guide

Related Programs

  • Management (BSBA) - General Management
  • Sustainable Technology (BS)
  • Industrial Design (BS) - Furniture Design
  • Industrial Design (BS) - Product Design
  • Career and Technical Education (BS) - Business, Finance and Information Technology Education
  • Career and Technical Education (BS) - Business, Marketing and Entrepreneurship Education
  • Career and Technical Education (BS) - Family and Consumer Sciences Education
  • Career and Technical Education (BS) - Trade and Industry Education
  • Career and Technical Education (BS) - Technology, Engineering and Design Education

Minors

No minor is required for this degree.

View all minors

Engagement Outside the Classroom

Phi Beta Lambda is the collegiate division of Future Business Leaders of America.

North Carolina Association for Career and Technical Education (NCACTE)

Student North Carolina Association of Educators - a pre-professional organization for college students interested in a career in education.

Chi Sigma Iota - the international honor society for students, professional counselors and counselor educators.

Kappa Delta Pi - the national honorary education fraternity.

Orchesis - the expressive arts honor society, which sponsors activities throughout the year.

View all student organization contacts

Global Learning

Appalachian is committed to introducing students to different cultures and teaching them how to live and interact in a global society.  International internships for this program may be available.

Admission Requirements

Admission to Appalachian’s Teacher Education Program is required.

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Costs and Aid

Why Appalachian?

  • This concentration is delivered both online and on campus. It is among only a few workforce development programs offered at the bachelor’s level.   
  • The CTE program has a long-standing commitment to excellence and is well-respected at the local, state, national and international levels.
  • CTE graduates are hired quickly and often have multiple job offers.
  • A required internship offers work site experience with a qualified professional mentor.
  • Faculty and students are actively involved in professional and student organizations related to Career and Technical Education. Students have the opportunity to compete in regional, state and national TEECA, TSA and VEX competitions through the student organization ASU TECA.

Location

Boone and Hickory* and online

*The Hickory Campus location is pending accreditation from SACSCOC for this program. Accreditation is expected in summer 2023.

Careers

  • Entrepreneur
  • Career Facilitator/Manager/Specialist
  • Workforce Specialist (working for the state workforce organizations or private organizations)
  • Former Offender Specialist
  • Agricultural Employment Specialist
  • Apprenticeship Specialist
  • Career Counselor or Career Advisor
  • Corporate Curriculum Specialist
  • Product Trainer/Education Specialist
  • Business Services Representative
  • Workforce Education Director
  • Workforce Education Cooperative Education
  • Workforce Education Teacher in Middle and High Schools
  • Teacher in Career and Technical Education Centers
  • Government Training Programs
  • Business Training Programs
  • Industry Training Programs
  • Adult and Continuing Education Programs
  • Professional Development Consultant
  • Organizational Development Specialist/Consultant
  • Instructional Coordinator
  • Community College Instructor
  • Military Development

Contacts

Reich College of Education

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Jerianne Taylor
Professor
taylorjs@appstate.edu
Program director

  • Department of Curriculum and Instruction

    The Department of Curriculum and Instruction offers a broad range of comprehensive degree programs at the baccalaureate and master’s level. The department seeks to provide quality programs that emphasize an integration of academics and field experiences.

  • Reich College of Education

    Approximately 2,400 students

    • The Reich College of Education enrolls approximately 2,400 students in its bachelor’s, master’s, education specialist and doctoral degree programs. It houses five departments: Curriculum and Instruction, Family and Child Studies, Human Development and Psychological Counseling, Leadership and Educational Studies, and Reading Education and Special Education.

    Teacher preparation

    • Appalachian has been training quality educators for more than 100 years and is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
    • Appalachian offers the largest undergraduate teacher preparation program in North Carolina, graduating about 500 teachers a year.  There is at least one RCOE graduate working in every county in North Carolina.
    • The Reich College of Education is recognized consistently in the annual Institution of Higher Education Performance Report by the State Board of Education.

    Close ties to public schools

    • The Appalachian State University Public School Partnership – which includes 125 schools in nine surrounding districts – provides sites for student teachers and interns as well as professional development opportunities for teachers.
    • The Appalachian State University Academy at Middle Fork, located in Walkertown, North Carolina, serves over 300 K-5 students. The Academy provides a balanced education through the implementation of research-based practices, state-of-the-art literacy instruction, and exemplary classroom instruction and administration.

    Graduate programs

    • The School of Graduate Studies’ Accelerated Admission program, in which select undergraduate students can fulfill both undergraduate and graduate course requirements in their senior year toward the completion of a graduate degree program, is offered in: higher education, reading education and special education.
    • Other education-related master’s degrees, graduate certificates and specialist degrees are listed on Appalachian’s School of Graduate Studies website.

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