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Has anyone gone to school for coding at - Wichita Technical Institute

Posted: Jul 08, 2011

I know they only have campuses in Wichita KS, Tulsa OK, Joplin MO, but I was just curious if anyone had gone there. TIA!

Curious, too! - Surprised

[ In Reply To ..]
No one responded, so I checked their website to see what you might have found interesting about them. Here is what I discovered upon reading the consumer disclosure information.

The program takes from 4 to 5 quarters, depending on the campus, and tuition ranges from about $17K to $23K, depending on the campus.

Average debt at graduation for independent students is $16K, on top of which interest will accrue. That is rather a lot, considering the jobs their students get.

Their figures are somewhat distorted because they do not seem to include dawdlers and dropouts, but something like 71% finish the program and get jobs. Where they get these jobs is interesting. The job titles given by the school sound "coding-like," with one actually being "coding," but the federal job codes associated with two of them turn out to be general medical records work and three of them (you have to look those up elsewhere) turn out to be . . . medical assisting. Which isn't surprising since they also offer a medical assisting course and their coding offering seems to be a spinoff of that. They've taken the small amount of coding that medical assistants need, turned it into a course in medical front office, and called it coding and billing.

Getting any job is probably good if you don't have one now, but let's compare those jobs to coding. Salary surveys typically have coders, even in small situations, beginning at about $30K. Coders also consider small office work to be very, very entry level and they typically do not aspire to do medical front office, since coders are trained in the more highly skilled functions of coding itself. The graduates of that course are getting jobs doing mostly medical front office. The salaries indicated by the federal job codes are about $20-25K. Considering that, the average debt of $16K begins to look very ominous. How would you pay that if all you are making is $20K? Or if you are one of the approximately 30% of students who do not get placed in a job at all? Especially considering that if you default on the loans, it will disqualify you from any government type of job, which isn't such a good thing because the data associated with the job codes reveals that starting salaries for federal coders is about $40K.

This program also appears to be on-site only, with students required to purchase and wear uniforms. Again, this goes with the medical assisting and doctor's office thing.

And no mention of anyone's prospect for certification by either AAPC or AHIMA. Not a good sign.

After a quick look at the website, most coders and MTs here would peg this program as an almost inexplicably expensive medical front office training -- which many people learn on the job for free -- with minimal prospects for a real coding job. Coding employers will be unlikely to recognize it, especially if you cannot pass a certification exam. Experienced coders and MTs here might also peg your post as a slick advertising ploy from that school, kind of a cheery "Look what I found! Doesn't it sound great?!"

If you are seriously looking to learn coding, you should do an internet search for "diploma mill." When you are sure you understand what that is, find out what real coding programs should contain and what kind of jobs you should be eligible for when you complete them. A lot of that information is below, along with the names of some reputable online schools that have reasonable rates, even the most expensive of which only charges $3,800 with a no-interest payment plan over 2 years, everything included, and no transportation/commuting costs.

Well, that's not entirely true . . . they don't include uniforms. But, if they did, it would be a business suit, because that's what real coders wear.

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