| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Public technical college in the Utah System of Higher Education; campus-based, with some online hours in many programs |
| Campus | 1, in St. George, Utah |
| Credentials | Certificates only (no degrees or diplomas) |
| Programs | 29 listed |
| Typical length | Most programs 12 months or less; CDL 3 to 6 weeks; electrical and plumbing apprenticeship classes 21 to 45 months |
| Accreditation | Council on Occupational Education |
| Federal aid | Yes, Pell Grants for eligible programs (school code 041217); CDL, Nursing Assistant and the electrical and plumbing programs are not eligible |
| 2026-27 tuition | $105 per credit for residents and non-residents; CDL $305 per credit; course fees extra |
| Students | 1,172 (fall 2023) |
| Founded | 2001 by the Utah Legislature, as Dixie Applied Technology College |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
Dixie Tech: St. George’s public technical college
Dixie Technical College, usually called Dixie Tech, is a public technical college in the Utah System of Higher Education, with its own board of trustees. The Utah Legislature created it in 2001 as Dixie Applied Technology College; it took its current name in 2017, when Utah’s applied technology colleges became technical colleges, and moved to its Tech Ridge campus in St. George in 2018. It has not been renamed since: the change to Utah Tech University applied to Dixie State University, a different school.
Dixie Tech teaches career certificates only, with no degrees, and lists 29 programs, from a 3-week CDL course to 45-month apprenticeship classes. Tuition is $105 per credit ($305 for CDL), and high school students attend tuition-free. IPEDS counted 1,172 students in fall 2023.
Programs and what they cost
Every program leads to a Dixie Technical College certificate. The table shows the main programs with the tuition and course fees listed on each program page in October 2026. Books, tools and exam fees are extra.
| Program | Credits | Length | Schedule | Prepares for | Tuition and course fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practical Nursing (LPN) | 27 credits | 11 months | Day or evening cohort | NCLEX-PN; ACEN-accredited | $5,335 |
| Nursing Assistant | 3.5 credits | 6 to 18 weeks | Cohorts include evenings | Utah nurse aide (UNAR) exam | $544 |
| Medical Assistant | 28 credits | 10 months + 180-hour externship | Evening, plus online hours | NHA CCMA | $3,706 |
| Pharmacy Technician | 18 credits | 5 months + 180-hour externship | In person | PTCB or ExCPT; ASHP-accredited | $2,538 |
| Phlebotomy Technician | 3 credits | 13 weeks | Two evenings a week | NHA CPT | $663 |
| Electrical Residential / Apprenticeship | 12 / 24 credits | 21 / 45 months | Mon and Wed evenings; job in the trade required | Utah residential / commercial journeyman exam | $1,539 / $3,077 |
| Plumbing Residential / Apprenticeship | 18 / 24 credits | 33 / 45 months | Tue and Thu evenings; job in the trade required | Utah residential / commercial journeyman plumber exams | $2,366 / $3,154 |
| HVACR Technician | 21 credits | 10 to 12 months | Evening or midday cohort | EPA 608; RMGA natural gas technician | $4,112 |
| CDL Class A / Class B | 6 / 3 credits | About 6 / 3 weeks | Weekdays 8 am to 2 pm; open enrollment | Utah CDL | $2,764 / $1,382 |
| Automotive Technology | 40 credits | 12 months | Mon to Wed or Thu to Sat, plus online hours | ASE; ASE Education Foundation-accredited | $6,840 |
| Collision Repair Technology | 34 credits | 12 months | Weekdays | I-CAR ProLevel 1; I-CAR-accredited | $7,151 |
| Diesel Technology | 35 credits | 12 months | Weekdays | ASE | $5,804 |
| Welding Technology | 30 credits | 12 months | Morning, afternoon or evening | AWS SENSE Level 1 | $6,824 |
| Machining Technology | 30 credits | 11 months | Morning or afternoon | College certificate | $6,014 |
| Culinary Arts | 38 credits | 11 months | Weekdays, plus online hours | ServSafe Food Handler and Manager | $7,191 |
| Information Technology | 30 credits | 12 months | Morning, afternoon or evening | CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, Cloud+; AWS | $4,289 |
| Software Development | 30 credits | 12 months | Weekday mornings | College certificate | $3,797 |
| Drafting and Design | 30 credits | 12 months | Weekday mornings | College certificate | $4,051 |
Programmatic accreditation, as the college lists it: ACEN for Practical Nursing, ASHP for Pharmacy Technician, the ASE Education Foundation for Automotive Technology, I-CAR for Collision Repair and the AED Foundation for Heavy Equipment Technology. Medical Assistant is not accredited by CAAHEP or ABHES. The college also teaches EMT, Advanced EMT, Firefighter, Biotechnology, Heavy Equipment, Digital Design and CRM Administration. A combined iOS and Android Mobile App Development program is listed as pending approval.
What the main programs cover
Practical Nursing
The 27-credit program runs 11 months. The day cohort starting January 2027 meets Monday to Thursday, 9 am to 4:30 pm, and the evening cohort starting May 2027 meets Monday to Thursday, 4:30 to 8:30 pm; clinicals can fall on any weekday. Applicants must be 18, have a C or better in Human Anatomy and Lab, Human Physiology and Lab and Psychology, score at least 70% on the TEAS or 75% on the HESI, and hold a current Utah CNA and BLS card. Cohorts stay open until filled, and there is no application fee.
Electrical and plumbing apprenticeships
Dixie Tech provides the related classroom instruction; the employer provides the on-the-job hours. Students must work for an electrical or plumbing company from the start. The Residential programs prepare for Utah’s residential journeyman exams: 21 months for electrical, 33 for plumbing. The two Apprenticeship programs run 45 months and lead to the commercial journeyman exams. Electrical classes meet Monday and Wednesday and plumbing classes Tuesday and Thursday, both 6 to 9 pm. Attendance must stay at 83% or above. State apprentice licensing is handled by the Division of Professional Licensing.
HVACR Technician
The 21-credit program has nine courses: Introduction to Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration; Electrical Essentials I and II; Heating Systems; Basic Refrigeration; Installation Skills; Residential and Commercial Air Conditioning; Residential and Commercial Refrigeration; and Exit Skills. The evening cohort meets Monday to Thursday, 6 to 9 pm, with two online hours a week, and the day cohort meets late morning to mid-afternoon. Graduates are prepared for EPA Section 608 certification and the Rocky Mountain Gas Association natural gas technician credential.
CDL Class A and B
Class A (TECD 1100, 6 credits) takes about six weeks and Class B (TECD 1150, 3 credits) about three. Both run Monday to Friday, 8 am to 2 pm, with open enrollment all year, and meet the federal Entry-Level Driver Training requirement under 49 CFR Part 380. Students must be 18 or older and arrive with a CDL learner permit and a DOT physical. Outside costs include a $68 book, a $52 written test, a $200 driving test and a $75 physical. Neither program is eligible for federal aid, but scholarships are available.
Medical Assistant and Pharmacy Technician
Medical Assistant is an evening program: about 10 months of classes Monday to Thursday from 5 to 8:30 pm with six online hours a week, then a 180-hour externship. Students prepare for the NHA Certified Clinical Medical Assistant exam and can add NHA phlebotomy, EKG and front-office exams. Pharmacy Technician is 18 credits, about five months of classes followed by its own 180-hour externship, and prepares students for the PTCB or ExCPT exam and Utah licensing. The program pages don’t say who arranges externship sites.
Automotive, Diesel and Collision
All three are 12-month programs. Automotive Technology (40 credits) runs Monday to Wednesday, 8 am to 4 pm, or Thursday to Saturday, 7:30 am to 4 pm, plus six online hours a week, and adds manufacturer training from Ford ACE, Toyota T-TEN, Subaru, GM, Chrysler CAP and Audi. Diesel Technology (35 credits) meets Monday to Thursday, 8 am to 3 pm, with optional Freightliner, Peterbilt, Kenworth, Cummins and Allison training. Collision Repair (34 credits) keeps the same hours and prepares students for I-CAR ProLevel 1. Students buy their own tools, about $2,500 for Automotive and Diesel.
$105 a credit: tuition and paying for it
Utah’s technical colleges charge residents and non-residents the same rate, and the Utah Board of Higher Education held tuition and fees constant for 2026-27 at the technical colleges other than Mountainland, Ogden-Weber and USU’s technical programs. Dixie Tech’s program pages still price tuition at $105 per credit.
| 2026-27 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tuition, all programs except CDL (residents and non-residents) | $105 per credit |
| CDL Class A and B tuition | $305 per credit ($105 plus a $200 differential) |
| High school students | No tuition; course fees, books and supplies apply |
| Example: a 30-credit program | $3,150 tuition, plus that program’s course fees |
| Lowest and highest totals among the programs we checked, tuition and course fees | $544 (Nursing Assistant) to $7,191 (Culinary Arts) |
There is no general student fee, but each program has its own course fees, which range from $176 for Nursing Assistant to $3,674 for Welding and are often as large as the tuition. For a 30-credit program, the college’s cost-of-attendance estimate is $3,150 in tuition, $1,820 in fees and $680 for books, before housing and transport.
Dixie Tech takes federal aid, including Pell Grants for eligible programs (FAFSA school code 041217). CDL, Nursing Assistant and the electrical and plumbing programs are not eligible for federal aid, although the college offers scholarships for them. It mentions payment plans without publishing their terms. College Navigator shows that 0% of students took federal loans in 2022-23.
Open admission, with evening and part-online options
Dixie Tech has an open admission policy. Most programs ask for proof of education (a diploma, GED, transcript or degree) and a professional goal statement, and there is no application fee on the program pages. Some programs add their own requirements: Practical Nursing needs prerequisite courses, an entrance test and a CNA; CDL needs a learner permit and a DOT physical; and the electrical and plumbing programs need a job in the trade. Students must attend at least 80% of class time, or 83% in the apprenticeships.
Training is not daytime-only. Electrical, plumbing, HVACR, Medical Assistant, Practical Nursing (May cohort), Phlebotomy, Welding and Nursing Assistant all have evening classes, Automotive has a Thursday-to-Saturday cohort, and many programs add two to six online hours a week. No program is fully online. Cohorts are open until filled, and CDL enrolls year-round. High school juniors and seniors can enroll tuition-free.
Accreditation and results
Dixie Tech says it is accredited by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education. Programmatic accreditations are listed under the programs above.
| Measure | Result | Period and source |
|---|---|---|
| Practical Nursing, first-time NCLEX-PN pass rate | 95.83% (69 of 72) | 2025, Utah Division of Professional Licensing |
| Graduation rate | 85% within 150% of normal time | 2020-21 cohort, IPEDS |
The Practical Nursing result comes from the Utah Division of Professional Licensing’s NCLEX-PN report, and the graduation rate from IPEDS through College Navigator. Each program page also shows completion, placement and licensure rates, but without a year or a definition, so they are not compared here.
Before you enroll
- The electrical and plumbing programs are classroom instruction for apprentices. You need a job with a sponsoring employer in the trade before you can enroll, and the full path takes up to 45 months, not one year.
- Course fees can double the price. Welding’s fees ($3,674) are higher than its tuition ($3,150), and Automotive and Diesel students also buy about $2,500 in tools.
- Medical Assistant is not accredited by CAAHEP or ABHES. It prepares students for the NHA Certified Clinical Medical Assistant exam instead.
- CDL, Nursing Assistant and the electrical and plumbing programs are not eligible for federal aid.
- Dixie Tech awards certificates only. Students who want an associate degree later should ask the receiving college how it treats the credits.
- The college has no on-campus housing; it lists private off-campus complexes without endorsing them.
One campus, with a trades building planned
Every program is taught on the Tech Ridge campus at 610 S Tech Ridge Dr, St. George, UT 84770. The college is planning a 91,700-square-foot Trades and Technology Building on the same campus to expand diesel, the electrical and plumbing apprenticeships and digital design, and to add programs such as structural and wildland firefighting, automation and robotics, and composites, as St. George News reported in December 2025. No opening date has been announced.
Externships, job board and student services
Medical Assistant and Pharmacy Technician each include a 180-hour externship, and Practical Nursing includes clinicals. The college runs a job board and an industry partners page, and has a Student Wellness Center and a Testing Center on campus.
Facts checked October 2026.
Programs & Courses
Healthcare
- Practical Nursing (LPN)
- Nursing Assistant
- Medical Assistant
- Pharmacy Technician
- Phlebotomy Technician
- Biotechnology
Emergency Services
- Emergency Medical Technician
- Advanced EMT
- Firefighter
Construction Trades and Apprenticeships
- Electrical Residential
- Electrical Apprenticeship
- Plumbing Residential
- Plumbing Apprenticeship
- HVACR Technician
Manufacturing and Welding
- Welding Technology
- Machining Technology
- Heavy Equipment Technology
Transportation
- Automotive Technology
- Collision Repair Technology
- Diesel Technology
- CDL Class A
- CDL Class B
Service Professions
- Culinary Arts
Computer Technologies and Design
- Information Technology
- Software Development
- Mobile App Development (iOS and Android; pending approval)
- Drafting and Design
- Digital Design
- CRM Administration
Campus Locations
St. George, UT 610 S Tech Ridge Dr, St. George, UT 84770