New CTU med tech degree

By Ray Weikal

A growing demand for medical imaging technicians with college degrees has prompted Colorado Technical University to add a new program.

Starting this fall, students at the university’s North Kansas City campus will begin classes for the recently introduced Bachelor of Science in radiologic technology.

Job market conditions and increasingly complex equipment and techniques drove university officials to create the degree, according to Program Chair Jessica Langley.

“It’s what the industry is saying that they want,” Langley explained.

The bachelor’s program is geared for registered professionals who are already doing things like mammographies and CT, MR and other scanning machines, according to Langley.

No matter how little post-secondary education participants have, the program is designed to help them graduate with the equivalent of a four-year degree in only two years. That’s an important element for busy professionals, Langley said.

Most of the students will be working full-time, so classes will be held at night, on weekends and online, Langley said.

The rewards of the degree are worth the cost, according to Langley. When the students complete the program, they may see their pay go up $5 an hour or more, she said.

“You have the opportunity to sit for your national boards and you get your degree,” Langley said.

Many clinics profit from the status boost that comes with having technicians with top industry education, Langley said.

There are about nine Association of Science degree programs for radiologic technologists in the Kansas City area. The bachelor’s degree at Colorado Technical University will be one-of-a-kind in the Northland, Langley added.

“We took a step back to figure out how to get the competitive edge,” she said.

The university prides itself on preparing 21st-century students for high tech jobs with hands-on training, according to President Peter Correa. The new bachelor’s program fits perfectly with the institution’s mission, he said.

“This particular one is particularly exciting,” Correa said. “It really speaks to what our mission is here.”

Langley has been a registered radiologist for about a decade. Similarly, the entire teaching staff has real world experience with the technology, Correa said.

“We all reinvented ourselves as educators,” he said.

The university works closely with health care providers at places like Liberty Hospital and Truman Medical Center when developing new curriculum and degrees, Langley said.

Staff writer Ray Weikal can be reached at 389-6637 or rayweikal@npgco.com.