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Tri-County Receives ARC Grant to Upgrade Business Training Center Facilities PENDLETON --- Tri-County Technical College has been awarded $82,643 from the Appalachian Regional Commission to upgrade its Business Training Center facilities located in the Industrial and Business Development Center and at the Anderson Mall classroom. The College's Business and Human Services Division has received $82,643 to be matched with $82,644 in local money to purchase 50 new computer workstations, printers, scanners and other office equipment. The two Business Training Centers offer office skills computer training and microcomputer skills training. "These labs offer continuing education classes and industry-sponsored training for local businesses and community residents," said Martha Addis, who chairs the division. "This equipment is essential for the College to offer up-to-date training that will enable students to reach their potential and position themselves for available job opportunities," she added. The Centers serve approximately 150 students per month. Over the last two years, the labs have served more than 3,600 students and more than 60 companies through industry-sponsored training. Rapid changes taking place in software/hardware technology and microcomputer training were the impetus for the request for new equipment, said Mrs. Addis. "This grant will allow the division to continue offering the quality, rapid response training that companies have come to expect through the Business Training Center, she said. The Center at the mall opened in 1986 in response to companies seeking quality computer training and retraining for their employees. "It is now, as it was then, a program that offers rapid response time and flexibility in scheduling requested courses," said Mrs. Addis. "Initially, the lab was at the Anderson Mall classroom only, but the expansion to campus was a direct response to increasing demands of businesses and industries for courses more conveniently located in Pickens and Oconee counties," she added. Currently, the labs are expanding offerings to include courses for engineers and technicians, in addition to its offerings for the general public, she said. Dr. Kathy Kegley joined the staff earlier this year as director of Computer Applications, Continuing Education, for the Business and Human Services Division. She holds a Ph. D. in computer engineering and prior to joining the College she was associated with Clemson University, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Sun MicroSystems Laboratories and the Department of Defense. She worked on computer graphics with NASA, and it was the focus of her master's and dissertation topics. Dr. Kegley is teaching new courses such as Publisher 97, Introduction to Graphics, Multimedia Presentations with PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photo Shop. Also on schedule are Java Programming for the Internet, Visual Basic 5.0, Object Oriented Design, and Webtop Publishing with HTML. |
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Oconee