The Technical College System of Georgia
College Profile
As the needs of the nation's businesses and industries are changing, so are the expectations of today's students who will one day enter the workforce. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that almost three-quarters of all jobs in the near future will require postsecondary education or training, so high school students should carefully consider their college plans.
The 26 colleges of the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) are uniquely situated to offer Georgia's high school graduates a postsecondary education; one that is focused on the hiring expectations of employers who will remain successful and even thrive in the 21st Century marketplace. In 2010, more than 191,000 TCSG students will take advantage of the affordable technical college programs to improve their career opportunities and earning potential through 600-plus certificate, diploma, and associate degree programs.
And more than 76,000 TCSG students will save gas and time this year by taking at least one online course through the TCSG's Georgia Virtual Technical College.
There are six TCSG colleges in the Atlanta area: Atlanta Technical College on Metropolitan Parkway, Chattahoochee Technical College in Marietta, DeKalb Technical College in Clarkston, Gwinnett Technical College in Lawrenceville, Lanier Technical College in Oakwood, and Southern Crescent Technical College in Griffin. Together, these six colleges serve 61,000 students.
Overall enrollment at the TCSG colleges, including the metro Atlanta campuses, has broken records in each of the last three years. There's been a steady rise in the number of TCSG students under 25 years of age, including a 16 percent increase in 2010. Last year, a report from the Georgia Governor's Office of Student Achievement noted that a TCSG college was the first choice for high school graduates in 62 Georgia school districts and a top ten choice for graduates in 165 districts.
"There's an important transformation going on now where more and more high school graduates and their parents are seeing a technical college as their first choice for the kind of education that leads to great jobs and steady careers," said TCSG Commissioner Ron Jackson. "They see that the highly competitive 21st Century job market rewards individuals that are highly skilled, and that has reinforced the importance of the knowledge gained in a technical college education."
Jackson added, "If today's high school graduates are to find success and profit in tomorrow's workforce, then they must have the knowledge, training and critical thinking abilities that will set them apart from thousands of others will be vying for the same job. The 26 TCSG colleges work hard to instill those workforce-ready talents in our graduates."
TCSG colleges specialize in developing students for careers that are expected to have strong growth in the coming years, including healthcare, energy and the environment, logistics and transportation, information technology and life sciences. Traditional technical college program areas like electronics, HVAC, automotive technology and welding remain strong as well, except students need to be ready for the requirements of even higher technical knowledge in those fields.
High technology specialized training and competitive hiring by employers means that the days of technical colleges as "your daddy's old trade school" are long gone. Instead, TCSG students are attracted to the advantages of small class sizes and highly personalized instruction with hands-on learning.
Another benefit of the TCSG colleges is the flexible course scheduling that accommodates almost every student's needs. System-wide, about half of the TCSG students attend college full-time and half attend part-time.
Equally important, is the very low cost of tuition at a TCSG college, which averages about $2700 a year for a full, 15-credit hour course load. TCSG students find the cost is made even more affordable by easy access to the Georgia HOPE grant and federal Pell grant. In fact, almost 85% of TCSG students use financial aid to pay for their tuition and fees, mostly in the form of the HOPE and Pell grants. Better still, the grants do not require repayment and leave students free to graduate without the burden of debt from a student loan.
Depending on the program and the award level, TCSG students can graduate in as soon as a few months for a certificate of credit, longer for a diploma, or take up two years for an associate degree. Job match data with the Department of Labor and the colleges' self-reporting show that nine in ten TCSG graduates from last year are either currently working or have chosen to continue their education.
Georgia's high school students don't have to wait until after their graduation to enroll at a TCSG college. The TCSG's dual credit programs provide exceptional opportunities for Georgia high school juniors and seniors to take college level courses at TCSG colleges and earn credit toward a high school diploma and a college degree at the same time.
TCSG dual credit courses will jump-start a college education and open pathways to exciting careers at virtually no expense to students or their parents. In most cases, state funds will pay for the cost of the college tuition. Depending on the program, students can choose to enroll in one TCSG course or become a full-time TCSG student. Either way, the credits earned will count to a TCSG education as well as transfer to many colleges and universities throughout Georgia and the nation.
Providing every Georgia high school graduate with the ability to discover their natural talents and learn the skills to succeed in an exceptional career is the hallmark of the Technical College System of Georgia.
