The past three years have seen plenty of changes for Southern Regional Technical College. Beginning with the July 1, 2015 merger of Moultrie Technical College and Southwest Georgia Technical College to form the new SRTC, improvements have been prevalent for the college as a whole. From administration to instruction, faculty to staff to students, nearly every corner of SRTC has been enhanced, though the college’s mission remains: to be a top-tier college that will provide greater access to services and programs for the students and communities they serve. Now, as the College prepares for the upcoming acquisition of the former Bainbridge State College Campus on July 1, 2018, there is even more reason for stakeholder excitement across our region. The acquisition (pending SACS-COC approval) will add four additional counties to the SRTC service delivery area which will soon include a geographic territory that extends from the Interstate 75 corridor in the east to the Alabama state line in the west.

Enrollment and Personnel

In January 2018, Southern Regional Technical College announced it had achieved record enrollment for the second consecutive term. For the Spring 2018 Semester the College realized a 9.4% increase in total enrollment with a 10.4% increase in full-time equivalency when compared with Spring 2017 figures. The latter number being the largest across all TCSG institutions. Both of these numbers significantly outpace the state average for each of those categories, which are 2.2% and 0.8%, respectively.

This announcement comes on the heels a 2017 Fall Semester that saw a 9.0% and 10.2% increase in total enrollment and full-time equivalency, respectively, when compared to Fall Semester 2016. All numbers are courtesy of the Technical College System of Georgia data center.

SRTC’s total enrollment continues to sit well above the 3,700 students and the College continues to maintain one of the largest dual enrollment programs in the state, with around 1,400 students taking advantage of that opportunity. The Dual Enrollment program allows high school students to receive Carnegie unit credit from their respective high school and postsecondary credit hours from the College for the same course. With the recent changes to the program, any student enrolled in a Georgia high school (9^th – 12^th grade) that meets the dual enrollment and admission requirements of the College is eligible to participate in the program.

SRTC anticipates increases across the board – in dual enrollment, credit enrollment, adult education, and non-credit enrollment – when the College officially assumes operation of the technical programs housed in Bainbridge on July 1, 2018. Pending SACS-COC approval SRTC-Bainbridge will offer 24 technical and industrial programs, SRTC-Midtown Center will offer adult education and cosmetology, SRTC-Blakely will offer 12 technical and industrial programs plus adult education, and SRTC-Donalsonville will offer adult education.

The new College will employ over roughly 300 full-time personnel, 90 part-time staff members, and more than 200 adjunct instructors that will be tasked with providing the highest level of service and education possible to students in both credit and non-credit programs.

Benefits to our Students

SRTC will serve an eleven-county area with locations in Ashburn, Bainbridge, Blakely, Cairo, Camilla, Donalsonville, Moultrie, Sylvester, Thomasville, and Tifton. Moreover, Florida residents of Gadsden, Jefferson, and Leon counties qualify for in-state tuition. The Bainbridge – Shotwell Campus, Moultrie - Veterans Parkway Campus, Thomasville Campus, and Tifton Campus are full-service locations, meaning students have access to student affairs and enrollment services, academic offerings, and adult education (GED). The Moultrie – Industrial Drive instructional site offers predominately Industrial Technology programs (e.g., Welding and Joining, HVAC, Automotive Technology, etc.) while the Grady County instructional site offers select credit programs, high school dual-enrollment, and adult education. Additionally, adult education services are offered in Camilla, Sylvester, and Ashburn.

The college offers over 150 programs in the classroom / labs and for online students. Within the classroom setting there has been a significant expansion of night classes at all full-service campus locations.

Program Expansion at SRTC

Over the course of the past three years, SRTC has been able to expand the college’s credit program offerings to several sites. To address a critical need for healthcare workers, SRTC has expanded its Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) degree program to the SRTC Moultrie and Tifton locations in a move that could eventually double the number of nursing graduates the school produces annually. The first cohorts began in 2017 and are set to produce their first graduates this year.

Additionally, SRTC has added a Cardiovascular Technology program in conjunction with Tift Regional Medical Center that will meet a specific need for a vital community partner.

The Spring 2016 Semester also saw the addition of evening Esthetics classes at Moultrie-Veterans Parkway site on Monday and Wednesday, Social Work Assistant at the Tifton site on Monday evenings, Cosmetology at the Moultrie-Veterans Parkway site Monday – Thursday evenings, and additional offerings for Early Childhood Care and Education at the Tifton site.

Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) and Valdosta State University recently finalized an agreement that will allow business students to seamlessly transfer between the two schools. The agreement, which has been in process since last fall, serves to strengthen the academic bond between the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) and the state’s University System (USG).

The agreement covers the following Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) at VSU: Accounting, Economics, Finance, Healthcare Administration, International Business, Management, and Marketing.

Professional Services positions touch many career fields, including Criminal Justice, Crime Scene Technology, Fire Science Technology, Land, Forest, Wildlife Management Technology, Horticulture, Firefighter Training, Early Childhood Care and Education, Paralegal Studies, Social Work, Cosmetology and more. The Certified Programs at SRTC give you the option of obtaining a technical certificate of credit, diploma, or degree in a wide array of high-demand career fields.

Business and Industry

Customized training, workforce development programs, and economic development are the core of the technical college’s business. SRTC’s economic development team is ready to serve local businesses with assessments to define training needs, development of customized training curricula and materials, highly qualified instructors, integration of management principles into instruction, access to state-of-the art facilities; instruction labs, and online access, coordination of training activities with flexible scheduling options, and program evaluation and follow-up. Classes are available on a very flexible schedule including days, evenings, and weekends.

SRTC – Tifton is also home to the Surgical Technology Academy Training (STAT) Lab, designed for training surgeons, surgical support staff, and medical device corporate sales personnel in new product applications and surgical techniques, such as total joint replacements. The lab contains eight fully-equipped surgical stations to accommodate up to three participants each, in addition to an instructor station with central audio and video to aid training throughout a live demonstration. The master station is equipped with a versatile camera that can be placed at any point on the operating table. LCD screens can then show multiple angles to give the participants complete visualizations of the surgical procedure. The lab also features integrated audio-visual media including three plasma screens, video cameras, audio reinforcement, and bi-directional teleconferencing for live demonstrations in the lab in connected conference rooms.

Through a new partnership with online healthcare education provider Health Ed Today, SRTC now offers a Pharmacy Technician Program. The new program is a non-credit offering and is delivered through SRTC’s Economic Development Department.

This comprehensive 50-hour program will prepare students to work as a pharmacy technician in hospitals, retail, or other pharmacy settings and to take the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board’s PTCB exam. There is also a required 80-hour clinical externship.

The Economic Development department maintains relationships with highly competent, specialized, and experienced instructors for almost any training need. We take pride in delivering high-quality training and customer service. Furthermore, SRTC’s Economic Development team has a full array of Personal Enrichment Courses, from knitting to private pilot ground school. SRTC can also host your next event with wide-ranging facility rental options.

Dual Enrollment and Articulation

Area high school students now have even greater opportunities to get a jump start on their collegiate futures thanks to two bills passed during this year’s spring legislative session. While dual enrollment has been possible in Georgia since 2009, major changes were made in April 2015 to expand and streamline these opportunities. Gov. Nathan Deal, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, and the 2015 Georgia General Assembly partnered to pass SB 2 and SB 132, both of which remove barriers to dual enrollment participation and expand opportunities for students.

SB 132 was one of Deal’s legislative priorities and is based off recommendations from the 2014 Dual Enrollment Task Force. SB 2 further aligned Georgia’s K-12 education system with the state’s post-secondary institutions, allowing high school students to simultaneously earn a high school diploma while working toward a technical certificate, diploma, or associate’s degree.

The dual enrollment program enhances student engagement, improves graduation rates, and increases student learning. These students will be better prepared for the college curriculum of a two- or four-year college, and dual enrollment gives students extra opportunities to get a head start on a career path they desire. Recent changes to the program have streamlined existing dual enrollment options (Accel, HOPE Grant, etc.) into one program with one funding source. By consolidating the existing programs into a single program, it will be easier for students and parents to navigate and take advantage of the available options to enroll in college courses while still in high school. Dual enrollment also includes provisions to help remove some of the financial barriers that may prevent students from participating in dual enrollment.

Furthermore, the new bills have opened doors for more students than ever before. Any student approved and classified as a 9th-12th grader by the eligible high school and accepted as a dual enrollment student at the participating postsecondary institution is eligible to participate. All students must meet the postsecondary admission requirements.

There is no tuition cost to participating students. In fact, textbooks are also provided by the college. The Georgia Student Finance Commission administers the program which is funded through state appropriations.

SRTC currently collaborates with Baconton Community Charter School, Bishop Hall Charter School, Cairo High School, Colquitt County High School, Mitchell County High School, Pelham High School, Thomas County Central High School, Thomasville High School, Tift County High School, Tiftarea Academy, Turner County High School, and Worth County High School on dual enrollment. Upon completion of the acquisition of the former Bainbridge State College (pending SACS-COC approval), SRTC will also serve Bainbridge High School, Early County High School, Miller County High School, and Seminole County High School.

SRTC is committed to helping our graduates pursue their educational and career goals. To this end, SRTC has created partnerships with other colleges that allow students to articulate credit between the two institutions. The University System of Georgia, Albany State University, Thomas University, and Valdosta State University are all current partners of SRTC.

Furthermore, the Technical College System of Georgia has standing agreements with Ashford University, DeVry University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Georgia Independent Colleges, Life University, Mercer University, Southern Polytechnic State University, Troy University, and the University of Phoenix, though SRTC does not have individual agreements with those institutions.