Moraine Park Technical College celebrates double honors

Meghan Diemel

Contributor

May 4, 2026

FOND DU LAC – Moraine Park Technical College (MPTC) is celebrating two major milestones – one highlighting academic excellence and the other its commitment to service members.

MPTC President Bonnie Baerwald said the college’s diagnostic medical sonography (DMS) program was awarded accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). 

At the same time, the institution also earned the Military Friendly® Schools designation following an evaluation that used both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey.

Baerwald said it’s another feather in the cap for the college, which served more than 15,000 students for the 2024-25 school year – 68% of whom are first-generation college students. 

The accomplishments, Baerwald said, speak to the focused effort its leadership places on accountability to its students and taxpayers, ensuring the college continues to provide high-quality programs and services to meet its students where they’re at along their learning journey.

She said MPTC tries to help every student in a manner that speaks to the whole person, which includes not just their academic success but also understanding them personally, which, in a tangible sense, means increasing academic quality across modalities.

Baerwald said students are treated as individuals at MPTC, with staff making a deliberate effort to build personal connections and truly get to know them.

“For example, we really look at our data to say, ‘Where are students struggling? Is it a certain course? Is it a certain modality? Is it a time of day that something’s offered or the format?’” she said. “We’re trying really hard to be innovative… We’re trying to be very intentional about being accountable, [providing] high academic quality and meeting our students where they’re at.”

‘Military Friendly’ for 16th straight year

Baerwald said MPTC has been recognized as a Military Friendly School since 2010, an honor awarded to colleges, universities and trade schools that support veterans as students.

This year, she said, marks the first time the college has earned Gold status, along with a new designation as a Military Spouse Friendly School.

“At Moraine Park, supporting our veteran population is not only part of our work – it’s part of our core mission,” she said. “I’m exceptionally proud of our continued work in this area and that we’ve earned this [Military Friendly] distinction for 16 consecutive years. We know supporting our military veterans and their families is vital to their success here at the college and in their careers.” 

Baerwald said the school was among 3,200 organizations that participated in the Military Friendly survey, which uses methodology, criteria and scoring weightings developed by Military Friendly in consultation with its Advisory Council of independent military community leaders.

Final ratings – per militaryfriendly.com – were determined by combining an organization’s survey score, public data and an assessment of the institution’s ability to meet and exceed thresholds for student recruitment, retention, academic progress, graduation rates, career placement and support services for veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses. 

As a result of this achievement, Baerwald said the college will be showcased in the 2026-27 Guide to Military Friendly Schools issue of G.I. Jobs® magazine and on MilitaryFriendly.com.  

Kayla Lopez – Military Friendly vice president of memberships – said earning the designation is more than a badge of honor for schools – it reflects an institution’s deep-rooted values and strategic commitment to those who served.

“These schools don’t just open doors for veterans and military spouses,” she said. “They build sustainable pathways for academic success and long-term impact. Their support is transformative, proving that investing in military-connected students is both a moral imperative and a standard for educational excellence.”

DMS program accreditation

Baerwald said Moraine Park’s DMS program – which began in fall 2024 – introduces students to a wide variety of specialties, including abdominal, breast, OB-GYN, vascular and musculoskeletal.

Students in this program, she said, learn alongside other health science students in the college’s state-of-the-art simulation center and the ultrasound scan lab, where they learn to identify abnormalities through volunteer scans.

CAAHEP President Barry S. Eckert said choosing a CAAHEP-accredited program is crucial for students seeking a career in allied health.

“It ensures that they receive an education that is both comprehensive and relevant to current industry needs, ultimately benefiting their future employers and people receiving care,” he said.

Baerwald said the CAAHEP accreditation marks the program’s first since its inception, underscoring  MPTC’s commitment to delivering high-quality education and training that meets CAAHEP’s national quality assurance standards.

“Moraine Park’s diagnostic medical sonography program is a point of great pride for the college, and we are excited about the future impact our graduates will have within local healthcare systems,” she said. “Earning this accreditation affirms our commitment to excellence, continuous improvement and high-quality student support – while reinforcing the important role technical colleges play in preparing a skilled workforce for the communities we serve.” 

Within the district, Baerwald said the college’s DMS program has quickly become one of the most sought-after offerings and currently has a waitlist.

She said students are encouraged to apply early and complete pre-core courses, along with general education requirements, when possible.

Though healthcare experience – such as CNA and phlebotomy work or medical assistant training, including patient communication skills – can be beneficial, Baerwald said it is not required for admission. 

Moraine Park’s DMS program and its accreditation process, Baerwald said, are led by Sarah Chojnacki (associate dean of health sciences); Chris Schatz (dean of health and human services); and Ivy Williams (DMS program director and instructor).

A strategic embrace of AI 

Beyond its accreditation and designation milestones, Baerwald said MPTC is turning its attention to future workforce skills, including artificial intelligence (AI) – expanding offerings and developing a framework for current and future programs designed to support graduates’ social mobility. 

She said more than half of the job postings she has reviewed now require AI skills, even in non-tech fields, and noted that her research points to AI literacy as a growing workforce equity issue. 

Furthermore, Baerwald said AI skills can command a 28% wage premium for new job seekers.

“With that being said, I want to make sure every grad – all of our students – touch AI in some way, shape or form, in an ethical way, obviously…,” she said. “We’re not there yet, but we’ve got an AI implementation plan, and we’re trying to create a structure that’s in alignment with the [U.S.] Department of Labor, which just came out with an AI framework listing that President Donald Trump is navigating out.”

Baerwald said the president’s priorities align with federal grant opportunities, which could allow the college to add resources and build more robust AI literacy, programming and training.

She said one of the college’s goals is to develop an AI innovation hub, with an implementation plan mapped out in two-year phases.

Because AI capabilities are evolving rapidly and the institution operates on a fixed public budget, Baerwald said MPTC must be strategic in selecting the tools and initiatives it prioritizes.

“We’re trying to be very agile to make sure that if our policies and procedures need to change, then we change them,” she said.

Most importantly, Baerwald said the school, like other institutions, manages a significant amount of sensitive data across its IT systems, making cybersecurity a top priority as it advances its AI and technology initiatives. 

“I want to make sure that [data] is strategically secure, so that whatever AI tool or process we put into play, our employee and our student data is very well protected,” she said.

Creating a ‘home’ for students to succeed in 

With accreditations, designations, and innovation all shaping MPTC’s direction, Baerwald said the college’s vision of “success” takes a broader view.

She said it starts with ensuring graduates are workforce-ready and able to meet local employers’ needs, while also fostering meaningful, win-win partnerships with employers and educational collaborators.

Furthermore, Baerwald said the school is focused on ensuring students receive strong customer service as they progress through their programs, with any gaps addressed promptly to help them achieve their individual goals. 

To work toward that goal, she said the school’s advisors help students recognize their options and properly guide them in that direction – whether that includes a two-year degree, advanced coursework or transfer preparation for a four-year program. 

Bringing together recent achievements in accreditation and designations, along with emerging priorities in artificial intelligence, Baerwald said MPTC’s definition of success ultimately extends beyond programs and initiatives.

She said it also means ensuring students feel welcomed and a sense of belonging to something greater than themselves as they move through their educational journey. For more information about MPTC, visit morainepark.edu.