Press Release                                                                                                                                                   
Date: October 13, 2023
Contact: lgarrett@tctc.edu

Medical Laboratory Technology Graduates Report 100% Pass Rate on ASCP Exam

PENDLETON --- Tri-County Technical College’s (TCTC) 2023 Medical Laboratory Technology (MLT) graduates report a 100% pass rate on a national certification exam.

The seven graduates who received their MLT degrees in May were successful on the National American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) exam. 

TCTC ranks higher than national registry scores. The 2023 national pass rate for the ASCP exam is 79%, and TCTC graduates scored an average of 109 points higher (or 11% higher) than the national average scores, said Amber O’Shields, MLT program director.

“This was a great group of students who really put in the work so the faculty and I knew they would reap their rewards,” said O’Shields. 

The exam is a computerized, competency-based exam.  Students are tested on seven areas: chemistry, microbiology, hematology, immunohematology, urinalysis and other body fluids, immunology and laboratory operations.  There are 100 multiple-choice questions to cover these seven major areas of clinical laboratory science. 

Medical laboratory technicians analyze blood and other bodily fluids for disease processes in hospitals and doctors’ offices.

TCTC graduates report a 100% job placement rate and are employed at the hospital labs that served as their clinical sites. O’Shields added that faculty received excellent feedback from the facilities where students did their clinical training throughout the year. 

“The MLT students received very good feedback and high evaluation marks from their clinical sites. Our students were well prepared for the workforce and were able to hit the ground running,” she said.    

TCTC’s eight hospital affiliates are AnMed, Bon Secours Saint Francis, Prisma Health Baptist Easley, Self Regional Health Care, Prisma Health Oconee Memorial, Stephens County Hospital and St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital.      

TCTC’s MLT program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS).

About Tri-County Technical College

Tri-County Technical College, a public two-year community and technical college serving Anderson, Oconee and Pickens Counties in South Carolina, enrolls more than 9,000 students annually and offers more than 70 major fields of study, including computer technology, industrial electronics, mechatronics, nursing, and university transfer programs. Tri-County boasts the highest student success rate among two-year colleges in the state and ranks in the top one percent nationally for successful student transfers to four-year colleges and universities. To learn more, visit tctc.edu. 

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