Tri-County's Vision is to be Role Model
for Community College Education
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10/26/2004
(By Lisa Garrett)
PENDLETON --- It is our vision for Tri-County Technical College to
be the role model for community college education, and we are well on
our way, President Ronnie L. Booth told a crowd of business, industrial,
education, government and political leaders at the College’s Annual
Report to the People Luncheon
"Our momentum is strong, and we are in a unique position to take
Tri-County to the next level. Preparing Tri-County to become College
for Tomorrow's World has been the hallmark of this year," said
Dr. Booth. "We are continually looking ahead and planning for the
future."
Guests received a 25-page report that focuses on the accomplishments
of the students, faculty and staff. Highlights include:
• The College saw double-digit increases in enrollment. Fall enrollment,
totaling 4,548, coupled with the spring figure of 4,397, equaled 8,945
-- an unprecedented figure in the College's history.
"The public understands that a high school education just isn't
enough. The only way to have a chance in this economy is a good college
education," said Dr. Booth.
• During fall 2004, there was a new record of 1,235 enrollments in
75 sections of 52 online courses. This past summer one out of every
four students took one or more online courses, a new record for any
semester at Tri-County. Criminal Justice, Textile Management and Management
will be completely online in the future. Many Arts and Sciences classes
are online to help students to complete general education requirements
and electives.
• More than $2.5 million in lottery tuition assistance (LTA) were awarded
to Tri-County students during 2003 - 2004. LTA pays up to $924 per semester
for full-time students and up to $77 per credit hour for part time students
(6 - 11 credits). Between August 2003 and July 2004, the College awarded
nearly $10 million in financial aid assistance via the lottery tuition
assistance program, Foundation scholarships, LIFE scholarship, Pell
grants, work-study and other forms of financial assistance.
• A study commissioned by Dr. Booth last year and recently released
by CCbenefits Inc. of Iowa revealed that the College is a sound investment
because it enriches the lives of students and increases their lifetime
earnings, generates a return on government investment and reduces the
demand for taxpayer-supported social services.
The study, using a comprehensive economic model developed with funding
from the Association of Community College Trustees, captures and quantifies
the economic and social benefits of community and technical colleges.
"The real deal is the return on the investment for taxpayers, which
is 16-plus percent," said Dr. Booth. The study estimates that every
dollar of state or local tax money invested in the College today returns
a cumulative of $16 over the next 30 years.
• Industry associates across the tri-county area are upgrading their
skills while working toward a college degree free of charge -- thanks
to the College's offer to fund tuition for manufacturing employees taking
classes in Industrial and Engineering Technology Division.
Last year Dr. Booth appealed to industry managers to refer at least
one employee with great potential to learn advanced technical skills
and grow with the company. The College would assist the students with
financial aid, including a lottery scholarship, and the College would
pick up the difference to cover whatever tuition costs remain.
• Health Education Division graduates' performances on licensing and
certification exams ranked high this year and often exceeded state and
national averages.
For the seventh time in more than a decade, Practical Nursing graduates
report a 100 percent pass rate on the National Council Licensing Exam
(NCLEX-PN). The Veterinary Technology Class of 2003 also reports a 100
percent pass rate on a national credentialing exam. Associate degree
nursing students are top scorers among the technical colleges in the
Upstate and report the second highest score of all two-and four-year
colleges in the Upstate on writing the National Council Licensing Exam
for registered nurses NCLEX. Their 95.6 percent passing rate also exceeded
state (88 percent) and national (87 percent) results. Tri-County’s Medical
Laboratory Technology graduates report a 92 percent passing score on
the registry.
• Tri-County and the state's other 15 technical colleges have partnered
with PRIMEDIA Workplace Learning to deliver this one-of-a-kind training
program which blends online technical training with hands-on lab evaluations
to improve employee performance.
The College is offering PRIMEDIA, a complete library of 75 online maintenance
technician training courses with study guides and instruction manuals
for each of the hands-on performance evaluations. Following completion
of each module and in-plant practice, associates come to the Tri-County
campus to participate in evaluation labs where they demonstrate their
skills for certified instructors. Tri-County provides the equipment
and expert instructors for these evaluations.
• Thanks to the cooperative spirit of all our three county councils
and the Center for Accelerated Technology Training (CATT), a new Economic
Development Center will open on our campus late this fall. The Center
will be used to provide training for new and expanding industries through
the CATT program. Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Company, a new plant
slated to open in Pickens County later this year, will be the first
company to be lab trained in the Center.
Attached to Cleveland Hall, this 7,500-square foot-facility will have
a large multi-purpose training room and two classrooms. It will be versatile
enough to handle training for a complex assembly operation such as Reliable
Co., the distribution operations training project upcoming with Walgreens,
and any other type of entry-level training that is needed for other
CATT projects in the tri-county area.
• Contributions to the College foundation from companies, foundations,
faculty, staff and other individuals totaled $756,000. The largest gift
of the year came from the estate of Dr. Henry Cowart Drake. Fifteen
new endowments were established - five for professional development,
five for scholarships, and four for priority needs of the college and
one for technology.
• A $198,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to the SC Upstate
Photonics (SCUP) Center is enabling Tri-County, Greenville, and Spartanburg
technical colleges and Clemson University to develop selected courses
in support of photonics technician education.
Called the Educational Alliance, this unique collaborative effort between
the three Upstate technical colleges and the research university is
the only partnership in the Southeast that partners a research university
with a coalition of technical colleges for workforce development.
• Enrollment increased in the Opportunities for Accelerated College
Studies in which high school students take college courses on high school
and career center campuses. Last fall the College had 329 enrollments
in courses on six high school or career center campuses, a 58 percent
increase over the previous fall semester.
• The College was awarded a total of $2,751,783 in external grant funding
for the 2003 - 2004 year.
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