Tri County Tech

One of 29 public technology centers in the Oklahoma Career and 

Technical Education System, Tri County Tech (TCT) serves the residents 

of three counties and has a vision of inspiring success through lifechanging learning experiences. It provides high school programs, 

adult programs, customized business and industry training, and 

conference and event meeting services. TCT strives to break the cycle 

of poverty for the students it serves by offering them opportunities 

that they would otherwise not have, providing support services, 

and keeping tuition low for the adult students. Program offerings 

include pre-engineering, medicine & bioscience, culinary arts,

cosmetology, early child care education, automotive technology, 

precision machining, construction technology, auto collision repair, 

marketing management, computer repair, networking, and welding. 

TCT also offers a Practical Nursing Program and Dental Hygiene Program.

Student-Focused Processes and Results

• With the goal that no student should be denied access to education 

based on his/her ability to pay, TCT launched its own foundation. 

(Many of TCT’s students come from generational poverty, with 

more than 70 percent of high school students qualifying for free 

or reduced lunch.) Students receive financial tuition assistance 

(only adult students pay tuition); gas cards; and money for 

medications, clothing, and food, including backpacks filled with 

food for the weekends. Between FY2014 and FY2018, foundation 

scholarships grew from $60,000 to $250,000. Flex programs for 

adults permit these students to participate in career programs 

while still employed in less-skilled positions.

• Rates for completion/retention and placement for students after 

 graduation have been in the top 25 percent nationally for eight 

fiscal years. TCT has also delivered the top state completion/

retention rate for full-time students in five of the past seven years. 

The adult average wage for graduates is above the growth rate 

for state and national wages, increasing to $19 per hour in FY2018 

compared to a state and national average of about $15 per hour.

• Seventy percent of TCT’s high school program graduates move on 

to further education in college or adult technical schools. 

• In support of the TCT goal that students complete their studies 

without the burden of debt, tuition is held low and scholarships 

are plentiful. The highest priced adult tuition at approximately 

$4,500 for the Practical Nursing Program is still much lower than 

the tuition for other regional programs, which can cost more 

than $36,000. 

• TCT has created learning spaces (nearly 270,000 feet of interior

space distributed through nine buildings) to engage multiple 

styles. Instructional program areas are supplied with the space,

materials, and equipment required for each career program,

including video conferencing equipment, a patient simulator,

a virtual welding trainer, a digital panoramic x-ray system, 

2018 Award Recipient

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Department of Commerce 

Highlights

• With the goal that no student should be denied access 

to education based on his/her ability to pay, TCT launched 

its own foundation. Between FY2014 and FY2018, 

foundation scholarships grew from $60,000 to $250,000.

• Rates for completion/retention and placement for 

students after graduation have been in the top 25 percent 

nationally for eight fiscal years. TCT has also delivered 

the top state completion/retention rate for full-time 

students in five of the past seven years.

• Seventy percent of TCT’s high school program 

graduates move on to further education in college or 

adult technical schools. 

• Based on the GPTW survey, TCT engagement results 

for most workforce segments have been in the top 

10 percent nationally each year since FY2014.

 
2018 Award Recipient

Tri County Tech 

a plasma cutter, 3d printers, a sewer pipe camera, fitness facility 

equipment, an auto collision repair paint booth, video creation 

equipment, and 600 computers.

• Overall satisfaction for full-time high school and adult students 

has increased each year from FY2016 to FY2018, with FY2017 

and FY2018 levels above 90 percent of five other Baldrige Award 

education winners’ results. Segmented satisfaction results for 11 

out of 17 TCT programs have improved or maintained levels 

above 98 percent.

Senior Leadership and Community Support

• In full transparency, senior leaders share organizational 

performance through measurement and reporting systems, 

monthly Superintendent Forums attended by all employees, and 

workgroup-level communications. Community interest and 

concerns are addressed through meetings with partner schools, 

towns, and the Board of Education. 

• To date, the Vision 2020 goals for two competency-related 

objectives (concerning fiscal and operational effectiveness, and 

employee development and well-being) are 100 percent complete. 

With stakeholder and other input received, planning is well 

underway for Vision 2025. 

• Most results for the ethical behavior of senior leaders and 

governance are near or above the top 10 percent results on the 

national Great Places to Work (GPTW) survey. Each year from 

FY2014 to FY2018, 100 percent of human resources/marketing, 

operations, and The Strategy Center groups have ranked 

management as honest and ethical in the GPTW survey.

• For the past five years, GPTW survey results related to senior 

leaders keeping employees informed, setting clear expectations, 

answering questions, seeking suggestions, and involving employees 

in decisions show sustained performance at or better than the national

top 10 percent or organizations across most workforce groups.

Workforce-Focused Processes and Results

• Work process improvement is led by Workgroup Directors and is 

shared through the Workgroup Plan of Excellence Process, which 

includes a workgroup performance measure evaluation, workforce 

requests, budget request and revenue projections, cycles of learning 

review, and future work process improvement recommendations. 

TCT engagement results for most workforce segments have been in 

the top 10 percent nationally each year since FY2014. 

• TCT has been named a Fortune magazine top-50 best small/

medium workplace in the nation for two straight years. Workforce 

climate results, especially for safety, benefits, and pay, have been 

consistently near or above the 95th percentile of the national 

GPTW survey each year from FY2014 to FY2017.

• An innovative Performance Pay System focuses compensation on 

mission-driven key performance measures, workgroup action 

plans, and individual action plans. Although the high school 

program faculty has an organized bargaining unit called the TCT 

Teachers’ Association, it has chosen not to negotiate for over 

10 years. Instead, the faculty has trusted the senior leadership team 

to provide equitable salary, benefits, and contract terms, based on 

the Performance Pay System.

• TCT’s workforce is dedicated to its mission, with 100 percent 

contributing to the TCT Foundation, which has increased its 

financial support of students by 169 percent over a five-year period. 

Financial and Marketplace Results

• The responsibility for raising local controllable revenue is shared 

throughout the organization. Despite a strategic decision to forego 

federal funding beginning in FY2015, and despite a 24 percent 

reduction in state funding from FY2009 to FY2018, overall revenues 

grew 16 percent from FY2009 to FY2019. During this same period, 

TCT increased the total fund balance, which provides cash flow, 

by 103 percent.

• Enrollments for core students have grown by 2 percent from 

FY2015 to FY2018, while total customers have grown by 

29 percent over the same period. New education offerings have

included leadership and other tailored training to local large 

businesses Phillips 66 and Siemens in Bartlesville, OK; and 

specialized training to the Osage Nation and The Pioneer Woman 

(celebrity chef Ree Drummond) in Pawhuska, OK. In addition, TCT

has partnered with the Boys and Girls Club in Nowata County, OK,

to develop a new center to encourage the very young to enjoy learning.

• TCT improves its fiscal efficiency through strategic adjustments 

to generate higher revenues from fewer customers while reducing 

costs. For example, at the same time aggregate customers for 

The Strategy Center and community education have declined by 

389 students from FY2015 to FY2018, revenues for those programs 

have increased by 37 percent, representing over $470,000 in 

additional funds.

For more information:

Tri County Tech

6101 SE Nowata Rd.

Bartlesville, OK 74006

United States

Tonya.Foreman@TriCountyTech.edu

tricountytech.edu

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program

The Baldrige Program educates organizations of all sizes and 

from all sectors in organizational performance management and 

improvement. We also administer the Malcolm Baldrige National

Quality Award. Our key services are to identify and recognize 

role-model organizations, share best management practices, 

and help organizations achieve best-in-class performance levels.

We are the only public-private partnership and Presidential award 

program dedicated to improving U.S. organizations. 

For more information on the Baldrige Program: 

www.nist.gov/baldrige | 301-975-2036 | baldrige@nist.gov

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Department of Commerce