| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Public technical college run by the School District of Lee County; campus-based, with one online and one hybrid program |
| Campuses | Two in Fort Myers, Florida: the main campus at 3800 Michigan Avenue and the Southwest Florida Public Service Academy at 4312 Michigan Avenue |
| Credentials | Clock-hour career certificates and a nursing diploma; no degrees |
| Program length | 6 weeks (nursing assistant) to about 15 months (Master Automotive Service Technology) |
| Schedule | Main campus Monday to Friday, 8 am to 2:30 pm, full-time; nursing clinicals and academies keep their own hours |
| Cost | $1,378 to $10,580.12 for Florida residents in 2026-27; non-residents pay an out-of-state fee |
| Accreditation | Council on Occupational Education (since 1978; next review 2029) and Cognia |
| Federal aid | Pell Grants only; no federal student loans (federal school code 007558) |
| Students | 764 in fall 2024, all full-time (IPEDS) |
| Founded | Opened August 1967 as Lee County Area Vocational Technical School; renamed Fort Myers Technical College in May 2015 |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
Lee County’s public technical college
Fort Myers Technical College (FMTC) is part of the School District of Lee County and works under the Florida Department of Education’s workforce division. It opened in August 1967 as Lee County Area Vocational Technical School, became Lee County High Tech Center Central in 1994 and Fort Myers Institute of Technology in 2012, and took its current name in May 2015. It awards clock-hour career certificates rather than degrees and charges tuition by the clock hour; 2026-27 program totals for Florida residents run from $1,378 to $10,580.12.
Most programs are taught on the 30-acre main campus. Police, corrections, fire and EMS training is at the Southwest Florida Public Service Academy, further along Michigan Avenue, which calls itself an extension of FMTC. Those academies make up much of the college’s output: 254 of its 715 awards in 2023-24 were in homeland security and law enforcement (IPEDS).
Programs and 2026-27 costs
Main campus, 3800 Michigan Avenue
Costs are FMTC’s approximate totals for Florida residents in its Spring 2027 program summary (published August 2026), including tuition, lab fees, books, certification and other charges. FMTC’s fee sheets give resident prices only.
| Program | Clock hours | Length | Prepares for | 2026-27 total (Florida resident) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Master Automotive Service Technology | 1,800 | About 15 months | ASE G1, A1–A8 | $10,073 |
| Automotive Maintenance & Light Repair | 600 | About 5 months | ASE A4, A5, A6 | $3,249 |
| Automotive Collision Technology | 1,400 | About 13 months | Three ASE collision tests | $10,245 |
| Diesel Maintenance Technician | 600 | About 5 months | ASE T4, T6, T8 (no CDL) | $5,337 (program summary) or $5,049 (program page) |
| Marine Service Technologies | 1,350 | About 12 months | Yamaha, Mercury Marine, ABYC credentials | $9,322 |
| Carpentry | 1,200 | About 11 months | NCCER Core, Carpentry Level 1 | $6,367 |
| Electricity | 1,200 | About 11 months | NCCER Core, Electrical Level 1 | $7,396 |
| Plumbing | 1,080 | About 10 months | NCCER Core, Plumbing Level 1 | $7,394 |
| HVAC/R | 1,350 | About 12 months | EPA 608, OSHA 10, ESCO Employment Ready | $6,847 |
| Major Appliance & Refrigeration | 1,200 | About 11 months | EPA 608, PSA appliance credential | $6,306 |
| Welding Technology | 1,050 | About 10 months | AWS SMAW and FCAW plate | $8,227 |
| CNC Production Specialist | 600 | About 5 months | – | $3,946 |
| Mechatronics Technology | 1,550 | About 14 months | – | $6,137 |
| Electronic Technology | 1,400 | About 13 months | ETA CETa | $5,705 |
| Biomedical Equipment Repair | 1,140 | About 11 months | – | $4,519 |
| Solar PV (entry level) | 600 | About 5 months | – | $4,378 |
| Turbine Generator Maintenance | 1,200 | About 11 months | – | $7,390 |
| Professional Culinary Arts & Hospitality | 1,200 | About 11 months | ServSafe | $5,834 |
| Cosmetology | 1,200 | About 11 months | Florida cosmetology license exam | $6,829 |
| Nursing Assistant (Articulated) | 165 | About 6 weeks | Florida CNA exam | $1,378 plus about $320 for shots and screening |
| Practical Nursing | 1,350 | About 12 months | NCLEX-PN | $9,340 |
| Professional Nursing (LPN-RN), hybrid | 900 | About 12 months | NCLEX-RN | $7,790 ($14,761.74 out-of-state) |
| Medical Coder/Biller, online | 1,110 | 10–12 months (program page) or 12–15 (summary) | AAPC CPC/CPC-A, CPB | $4,785 (no federal aid) |
Southwest Florida Public Service Academy, 4312 Michigan Avenue
Costs are as listed on the academy’s course pages in October 2026.
| Program | Hours | Schedule | Prepares for | Florida resident | Out-of-state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Law Enforcement Academy | 770 | About 5–6 months, days | CJSTC State Officer Certification Exam | $4,906.76 | $11,675.06 |
| Correctional Officer | 445 | About 12 to 14 weeks, days | State Officer Certification Exam | $3,346.76 | $7,258.31 |
| Firefighter I/II | 532 | 16 weeks, Mon–Fri 7 am–4 pm | Florida Firefighter I/II exams | $7,098.73 plus about $170 | $11,363.41 |
| Emergency Medical Technician | 300 | Mon, Wed, Thu, 8 am–5 pm | NREMT | $4,018.55 | $6,655.55 |
| Paramedic | 1,100 | About 13 months, every third weekday | NREMT paramedic | $10,580.12 | $19,698.22 |
The academy also teaches Correctional Probation Officer, a crossover course from corrections to law enforcement and advanced law enforcement courses. FMTC also lists two programs not in the tables: a short IV Therapy course and a 900-hour Specialized Career Education program starting August 2027.
A $973,000 state workforce grant paid for the Diesel Maintenance and CNC programs, which opened for 2023-24. The Diesel program trains mechanics and includes no truck-driving (CDL) training. Medical Assisting and an information technology program, both on our earlier page, are not on FMTC’s current program list or its Spring 2027 program summary; ask the school about their status if you are interested in either.
What the main programs cover
Practical Nursing
Practical Nursing is 1,350 clock hours over about 12 months and is full-time only, with no online option. At least half of the hours are clinical, in shifts of 8 to 12 hours that can be days, evenings or nights. Admission is selective: applicants sit the TEAS in person and are ranked on a selection matrix, and FMTC asks for proof of Florida residency for tuition purposes and documented healthcare work or volunteering. The next cohort starts 8 July 2027, with applications taken from 3 to 14 May 2027.
Professional Nursing (LPN-RN)
This program is for nurses who already hold a current Florida LPN license, and applicants also take the TEAS. It is hybrid: classes meet one day a week, on Tuesday or Thursday from 7:30 to 4, and clinicals run 6:30 am to 7 pm and can fall on evenings, nights or weekends. At least 450 of the 900 hours are hands-on clinical time. Graduates earn a diploma, not a degree, and sit the same NCLEX-RN as degree nurses. The next start is 16 December 2026.
Carpentry, Electricity and Plumbing
The three building-trades programs follow NCCER’s curriculum and lead to NCCER Core plus Level 1 in the trade. Carpentry’s 1,200 hours divide into an introduction (150), rough framing (450), finish and trim (450) and foundations and forms (150). Electricity’s 1,200 hours cover electrical helper (300), residential (450) and commercial (450) work. Plumbing’s 1,080 hours start with a 360-hour helper, plumber and pipefitter course, then 240 hours each of residential, commercial and plumbing applications. All three run full-time on weekdays.
HVAC/R and Major Appliance & Refrigeration
HVAC/R is 1,350 hours in five courses, with an optional 350-hour advanced course, and prepares students for EPA 608 refrigerant certification, OSHA 10 and ESCO Employment Ready. Major Appliance & Refrigeration Technician is 1,200 hours across four courses: installation helper (200), laundry appliances (300), cooking appliances (350) and cooling appliances (350). Its graduates can take EPA 608 and the Professional Service Association’s Graduate Certified Appliance Professional exam. FMTC is an approved HVAC Excellence testing site.
Automotive, diesel and marine service
Automotive Maintenance & Light Repair is four 150-hour courses (AER0025 to AER0028) aimed at ASE A4, A5 and A6, and Master Automotive Service Technology extends to 1,800 hours and the full ASE G1 and A1 to A8 series. Collision prepares for ASE structural and non-structural repair and painting tests. Diesel Maintenance covers ASE T4, T6 and T8 in 600 hours. Marine Service Technologies works on outboard, inboard gasoline and inboard diesel engines and includes Yamaha ITOS/MCP, Mercury Marine Fundamentals, ABYC Systems and OSHA forklift training.
Public-safety academies
Firefighter training follows Florida’s Minimum Standards course, Firefighter I (191 hours) and Firefighter II (301 hours) plus 40 exam hours, over 16 weeks of 7 am to 4 pm weekdays. The Law Enforcement Academy is 770 full-time day hours toward the state officer exam, with open-enrollment and agency-sponsored seats. Corrections recruits complete 12 courses in 445 hours after passing the CJBAT and a physical abilities test. Paramedic students attend 8 am to 5 pm every third weekday for about 13 months.
Cost and paying for it: Pell Grants, no federal loans
FMTC’s 2026-27 fee sheets charge Florida residents tuition of $2.92 per clock hour, with lab fees, books, certification and other charges on top. The Carpentry sheet (revised 15 May 2026) shows how a total builds up:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tuition (1,200 hours) | $3,504 |
| Lab fees | $2,199 |
| Uniform pants and shoes | $200 |
| Certification | $169 |
| Equipment and facility | $150 |
| Application, ID, parking, commencement and supplies | $145 |
| Total | $6,367 |
Students who are not Florida residents pay an out-of-state fee as well. Under the Florida Department of Education’s 2026-27 rates, standard career-certificate tuition is $2.33 per contact hour and the out-of-state fee raises the full cost to $9.32 an hour, with districts allowed to vary rates by up to 5%. We found published out-of-state totals only for the LPN-RN program and the public-service academy courses (see the tables above); for other programs, ask the school.
FMTC takes part in federal aid for Pell Grants only (2025-26 awards of $740 to $7,395) and does not accept federal student loans. The online Medical Coder/Biller program is not eligible for federal aid. Florida residents may also qualify for Bright Futures, Florida Prepaid, the FSAG-CE and PTAG grants, and CareerSource Southwest Florida’s WIOA funding, which can cover tuition, books, uniforms and tools for people who qualify. Veterans can use the GI Bill; FMTC asks for a DD214, a Certificate of Eligibility and all official post-secondary transcripts.
FMTC’s financial-aid budget for 2026-27 puts a year’s total cost of attendance at $25,190 for a dependent student and $38,602 for an independent student, mostly housing, food and transport. IPEDS reported an average net price of $8,551 for 2023-24 and says 70% of students receive grant or scholarship aid.
Under a Florida statute, FMTC offers a money-back guarantee for Practical Nursing, Electronic Technology and the corrections-to-law-enforcement crossover. It refunds tuition only, if a graduate is not working in the field six months after completing, and only for students who paid themselves (no Pell or scholarships) and can show 30 or more applications and 10 or more interviews.
Admissions and a daytime schedule
Most programs have open admission. Each program sets minimum math and communications skill levels that students must meet or be exempted from. Practical Nursing and LPN-RN are selective, using the TEAS and a selection matrix. The public-safety academies add entrance tests (the CJBAT and a physical abilities test for corrections) and background and drug screening. Applications open on set dates announced on FMTC’s homepage.
Main-campus classes run Monday to Friday, 8 am to 2:30 pm, and full-time study is six hours a day, 30 hours a week; health-science hours vary with clinical schedules. FMTC’s program pages list no evening or part-time options. The exceptions are Medical Coder/Biller, which is online and self-paced with monthly starts, and LPN-RN, which meets one day a week. Fall 2026 starts were 8 July, 20 July or 4 August, and the spring start is 5 January 2027 for most programs; Nursing Assistant has six starts a year. The academies set their own class dates.
Accreditation and results
FMTC is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education (COE), which has accredited it since 11 November 1978, with its next review on 31 December 2029 (IPEDS), and also holds Cognia accreditation. Programs are approved by bodies including the Florida Board of Nursing, the Florida Board of Cosmetology, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Florida Bureau of Fire Standards & Training, NCCER, ASE and the Professional Service Association.
Programmatic accreditation is limited. FMTC says its Master Automotive Service Technology program is MAST-accredited. The LPN-RN program has pre-accreditation from the NLN Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA); Practical Nursing is state-approved but not accredited by ACEN or CNEA. The Paramedic program has a CoAEMSP Letter of Review, which the academy says is “NOT a guarantee of eventual accreditation”, and reported no graduates in the 2025 reporting year.
| Measure | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Graduation within 150% of normal time | 81% (students starting 2021-22) | IPEDS |
| Retention | 87% | IPEDS |
| NCLEX-PN, first-time candidates | 17 of 17 (100%) in 2025; 7 of 8 in January–March 2026 | Florida Board of Nursing |
| Florida CNA exam, first-time candidates | 54 of 60 (90.00%) in 2025; state average 89.08% | Florida Board of Nursing |
We could not confirm an NCLEX-RN pass rate for the LPN-RN program. FMTC posts program completion, placement and licensure rates on its job placement rates page as images; read them there before choosing a program.
What is changing at FMTC
- The LPN-RN diploma was approved by the Florida Board of Nursing in March 2023, and Diesel Maintenance and CNC Production Specialist opened for 2023-24.
- In May 2025 Lee County Schools announced three new programs at FMTC in high-demand fields.
- A state funding request for 2024-25 sought $2.5 million to plan an “FMTC East Annex” in East Lee County for 100 to 200 students a year, with completion estimated for 2028-29. It is not open, and we could not confirm whether it was funded.
- Cape Coral Technical College is a separate Lee County school with its own principal, not an FMTC campus or a new branch.
Before you enroll
- There are no federal student loans, so plan how to cover living costs. FMTC has no student housing, and its own budget puts a year’s cost of attendance at $25,190 or more.
- Main-campus programs are daytime and full-time, Monday to Friday. Working adults should check whether a program’s hours, and nursing clinical shifts, fit around a job.
- The LPN-RN program awards a diploma, not an associate degree, and holds pre-accreditation rather than full nursing accreditation. If you plan a later bachelor’s degree, ask the university how it treats the diploma.
- Out-of-state students pay much more: Paramedic is $19,698.22 against $10,580.12 for Florida residents.
- The Paramedic program is still working toward accreditation and reported no graduates in 2025, and Medical Coder/Biller cannot be paid for with federal aid.
Housing and career help
FMTC is a commuter college with no student housing. A Career Specialist connects employers with students, and FMTC uses the College Central Network for job listings and résumé portfolios, tracks co-op and externship hours, and refers students to CareerSource Southwest Florida. The college says more than 150 business leaders sit on its program advisory committees. We found no published list of employers or job-fair dates.
Sources
Checked October 2026: FMTC programs · Program Summary Information, Spring 2027 (PDF) · Cost of attendance 2026-27 · Financial aid · Accreditation and approvals · Southwest Florida Public Service Academy · College Navigator (IPEDS) · Florida Board of Nursing exam reports
Programs & Courses
Transportation: automotive, diesel and marine
- Master Automotive Service Technology (1,800 hours)
- Automotive Maintenance & Light Repair Technician (600 hours)
- Automotive Collision Technology Technician (1,400 hours)
- Diesel Maintenance Technician (600 hours)
- Marine Service Technologies (1,350 hours)
Architecture and construction
- Carpentry (1,200 hours)
- Electricity (1,200 hours)
- Plumbing (1,080 hours)
- HVAC/R: Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and Heating Technology (1,350 hours)
- Major Appliance & Refrigeration Technician (1,200 hours)
Manufacturing, electronics and energy
- Welding Technology (1,050 hours)
- CNC Production Specialist (600 hours)
- Mechatronics Technology (1,550 hours)
- Electronic Technology (1,400 hours)
- Biomedical Equipment Repair Technology (1,140 hours)
- Solar PV System Design, Installation & Maintenance (600 hours)
- Turbine Generator Maintenance, Inspection & Repair (1,200 hours)
Health science and nursing
- Nursing Assistant (Articulated) (165 hours)
- Practical Nursing (1,350 hours)
- Professional Nursing (LPN-RN), diploma (900 hours, hybrid)
- Medical Coder/Biller (1,110 hours, online)
- IV Therapy (short continuing workforce education course)
Hospitality and human services
- Professional Culinary Arts & Hospitality (1,200 hours)
- Cosmetology (1,200 hours)
Law, public safety and security (Southwest Florida Public Service Academy)
- Florida Law Enforcement Academy (770 hours)
- Correctional Officer basic recruit training (445 hours)
- Correctional Probation Officer
- Correctional Officer to Law Enforcement Crossover
- Advanced and specialized law enforcement courses
- Firefighter I/II Minimum Standards (532 hours)
- Emergency Medical Technician (300 hours)
- Paramedic (1,100 hours)
Other
- Specialized Career Education, Comprehensive (900 hours; next start August 2027)
Campus Locations
Fort Myers, FL 3800 Michigan Avenue, Fort Myers, FL 33916
Fort Myers, FL 4312 Michigan Avenue, Fort Myers, FL 33905