Cape Coral Institute of Technology to become Cape Coral Technical College
The Cape Coral Institute of Technology, as well as the Fort Myers Institute of Technology, will soon have new names due to a unanimous vote by the School District of Lee County bBoard members Tuesday night.
The Cape Coral Institute of Technology will be renamed to Cape Coral Technical College and the Fort Myers Institute of Technology will be renamed to Fort Myers Technical College.
The name change has an estimated cost of $12,000 for signage and printed marketing material, which will come from the Postsecondary Workforce Development Education Reserve fund, as well as the school internal accounts.
Superintendent Dr. Nancy Graham said the name change is part of a movement that has been discussed for quite some time. She said Lee County will be the 28th district in the state to do the name change.
“There has been a movement among legislatures, and one of our local legislatures, who has wanted to see this happen for quite some time,” Graham said.
She said the thinking is that if “college” is in the name, people tend to be more willing to consider the programs as real and worthy of attention.
“The counties that have done this have found increased enrollment. They have found growth in their programs,” Graham said.
She said vocational school representatives, which is what they still call them in some places, will continue to lobby, so at some point they can provide college credit.
Florida Gulf Coast University and Florida SouthWestern State College are in favor of the change. She said they believe it is a great pathway to get to their institution as well.
“We wanted one year because Rep. Rodriguez was working to make it across the state and we wanted to give him the opportunity,” Graham said.