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Waukesha County Technical College AI associate degree, 1st grads

By and
Published  May 12, 2026 5:08pm CDT
Artificial Intelligence
FOX6 News Milwaukee
WCTC AI degree, 1st grads

WCTC AI degree, 1st grads

When Waukesha County Technical College launched its artificial intelligence associate degree program, AI as we know it was still in its infancy. Now, a milestone has been celebrated on campus.

The Brief

    • WCTC is celebrating its first group of AI associate degree graduates after becoming the first college in Wisconsin to offer the program.
    • The AI program saw double the expected enrollment and focuses on problem-solving for future, yet-to-be-invented jobs.
    • WCTC will break ground on a $5.5 million applied AI lab expansion in June, with six new classrooms scheduled to open in fall 2027.

PEWAUKEE, Wis. - When Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) launched its artificial intelligence (AI) associate degree program two years ago, AI as we know it was still in its infancy. Now, a major milestone has been celebrated on campus. 

AI associate degree program milestone

What we know:

Jen Castetter is just a few days away from graduation. In 2024, she was among the first group of students to pursue a degree in AI at WCTC. The technical college was the first in Wisconsin t offer an associate degree in AI. 

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Associate Dena Alli Jerger said AI has changed so much in just the last two years. WCTC launched the program a month before Chat GPT went live. 

What they're saying:

"We were hoping for 15 maybe 17 students to launch the program, and we had 34," Jerger said. "Half the jobs we’re trying to prepare people for don’t even exist yet – that’s why we have to teach people how to think and problem solve."

Alli Jerger

WCTC is now banking on the AI boom to continue. In June, leaders will break ground on a $5.5 million expansion of its applied AI lab. Six new classrooms will open in fall 2027.

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Meanwhile, AI continues to dominate headlines, and fears that it will replace human jobs. 

"Those are scary numbers, but they are also projections.  How can you project something that far out on something that is just so new," Jerger said. 

Putting AI to use

What's next:

Castetter believes there is nothing to fear. She hopes to use AI to advance her information technology (IT) career, programming computers to pull vital statistics from a pool of data. 

"It’s just a tool. It’s there to make you better or your job more efficient," Castetter said. 

Jen Castetter

On Saturday, Castetter will have another tool to help, a diploma. 

The Source: Information in this post was provided by Waukesha County Technical College.

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