From the Desk of…

The college is beginning to do business as Kettering College — Kettering College without the phrase “of Medical Arts” at the end.

Why?
Our identity is shifting. When the college began, more than 40 years ago, the only academic degree you could earn here was a two-year associate’s degree. Now, you can earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and more and more of our graduates are earning these degrees. The reason is that, as the complexity of health care increases, health care workers need enhanced understanding and know-how in order to perform in a safe and competent, as well as compassionate, manner. Employers recognize this and are on the lookout now for better educated employees.

The phrase “Medical Arts” carries with it the connotation of “technical” training, and Kettering College now offers a higher level of education than that. We want our students and potential students, as well as employers and other stakeholders, to know that our business today is higher education. In health care, higher education is what the times demand.

For the foreseeable future, some associate of science programs will remain, always with a convenient link to an appropriate bachelor’s completion degree. But we want people to understand, without confusion, that Kettering College is a four-year and master’s degree-granting institution. The name change is an unmistakable signal of that fact.