Forty-two Graduates to Receive Degrees Focused on Clean Technology and Sustainability

Denver, CO, June 14, 2012 - Ecotech Institute, the first and only college entirely focused on preparing America’s workforce for careers in clean technology and sustainability, will hold its first graduation on Thursday, June 21, 2012. Forty-two students will receive their associate’s degrees, which prepares them for a career in the clean technology industry. The graduates will receive degrees in the following areas: Wind Energy Technology, Solar Energy Technology, Renewable Energy Technology and Electrical Engineering Technology. Former Governor Bill Ritter, who currently serves as the Director of the Colorado State University Center for the New Energy Economy, will deliver the commencement speech at the graduation.

"As Governor, I was proud when Ecotech Institute chose Colorado as the place to locate the country's first private technical institute devoted solely to preparing the workforce for the clean energy economy,” said Bill Ritter, Former Colorado Governor and current Director of the Colorado State University Center for the New Energy Economy. “It is a privilege to play a role in Ecotech's first commencement, and to see the efforts of the staff and faculty come to fruition."

Students in this first graduating class began classes in a temporary facility in June 2010 as Ecotech completed an overhaul of an existing vacant building. In January 2011, they moved to the current LEED gold-certified campus in Aurora, Colorado. Today, Ecotech has more than 500 students and continues to grow.

“This initial group of students are visionaries, as they signed up for classes before they were able to see the beautiful campus and cutting-edge labs,” said Mike Seifert, president of Ecotech Institute. “Now, a variety of clean tech companies are offering them excellent positions and their forward-thinking commitment is paying off. We applaud each of them and look forward to watching their success.”

At Ecotech all students develop soft skills (communication, workplace etiquette), and math and science basics and technology skills, but the educational emphasis is on hands-on, practical training. Ecotech’s prestigious national board of advisors, who all work in clean tech industries, helped design the school’s curriculum, providing coursework that reflects what the students will experience upon graduation. For a demographic breakdown of this first graduating class, please visit http://www.ecotechinstitute.com/pdf/ecotech-graduate-information.pdf.

“Ecotech is producing well-prepared graduates that are highly sought in industries such as ours,” said Jesse Masters, Recruiter from M-I SWACO, a Schlumberger Company. “Its curriculum and practical labs offer complete training that makes new employees ready to hit the ground running. We were very impressed with the interviews we conducted with students from this graduating class and are excited to have several of these graduates join our team.”

Ecotech’s campus is LEED-gold certified and supports a commitment to sustainable living. The school generates approximately 5-10 percent of its energy from on-site clean, renewable energy sources such as rooftop wind turbines, solar panels, integral thin solar technologies embedded into the glass of the building canopy, and solar trees.

Ecotech Institute, which is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, offers five highly practical associate’s degree programs that provide graduates with skills valued by today’s alternative renewable energy employers.

To learn more about Ecotech Institute, visit us online at www.ecotechinstitute.com or call 877-326-5576. The next round of classes begins in July and applications are being accepted now. Financial assistance is available to those who qualify.

About Ecotech Institute
Ecotech Institute is the first and only college entirely focused on preparing America’s workforce for careers in renewable energy and sustainability. Launched in April 2010 in Denver, Colorado, the college offers five associate’s degrees designed by experts in the industry for people seeking careers in the emerging cleantech economy. Ecotech Institute is a division of Education Corporation of America. For more information about Ecotech Institute, visit ecotechinstitute.com.

Contact:
Alicia Hassinger or Jenny Foust
Communications Strategy Group
303.433.7020
ahassinger@csg-pr.com or jfoust@csg-pr.com

About Education Corporation of America
Education Corporation of America is a leader in the post-secondary career school market with current enrollment of almost 20,000 students.  The ECA website is ecacolleges.com.  In addition to Ecotech Institute, ECA schools include Virginia College, founded in 1983, a private institution of higher education that offers non-degree and associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in the areas of Health and Medical, Business, Information Technology, Interior Design, Computer Design, Culinary Arts, Cosmetology, Nursing and more in eighteen different cities.  Virginia College campuses are located in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and Montgomery, Alabama; Jacksonville and Pensacola, Florida; Augusta, Columbus, Macon and Savannah, Georgia; Biloxi and Jackson, Mississippi; Charleston, Spartanburg, Columbia, and Greenville, South Carolina; Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tennessee; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Richmond, Virginia; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Austin, Texas. The Virginia College website is vc.edu.  Virginia College also offers classes worldwide via the Internet, with student services and admissions facilities in Birmingham, Alabama, and Tampa, Florida, and a Military Student Center also in Tampa.  Information about online classes at Virginia College is available at vconline.edu.  Additionally, ECA operates Culinard, the Culinary Institute of Virginia College, with locations in Birmingham and Mobile, Alabama; Richmond, Virginia; Savannah, Georgia; and Jacksonville, Florida.  The website is culinard.com.  ECA also operates Golf Academy of America, with locations in Phoenix, Arizona; San Diego, California; Dallas, Texas; Orlando, Florida; and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  The Golf Academy website is golfacademy.edu.