GNTC holds luncheon to celebrate academic partnerships
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Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) held a High School Appreciation Luncheon and Information Program on Tuesday, March 8, to show gratitude to the faculty and staff from regional high schools for their contribution to GNTC’s Dual Enrollment program.
The presentation took place at the Conference Center on GNTC’s Gordon County Campus in Calhoun. Counselors, faculty and administrators from high schools across the northwest Georgia region took part in the luncheon. The last time GNTC hosted the event was March 2019 due to the pandemic.
During the presentation, information was provided about the results of the Dual Enrollment program and the upcoming SACSCOC (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges) reaffirmation process; SACSCOC is the accreditation organization of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states.
Georgia’s Dual Enrollment program allows qualified high school students in GNTC’s nine-county service area to maximize their education and career training by taking courses that earn college and high school credit at the same time for free. The program includes the opportunity to earn a Technical Certificate of Credit (TCC) before graduation.
“Without the Dual Enrollment program, it would be so much harder to be at college right now because I would have to have student loans,” guest speaker Malik Ware, 19, said. Ware is a former dual-enrolled student who will graduate this spring with an Instrumentation and Controls Technician associate degree.
“I am grateful to be working at Logical Systems Inc. in my field of study and to be graduating without the crushing weight of student loans,” Ware said.
He said he jumped at the opportunity to start pursuing his career through courses at GNTC for free while still in high school.
“When I graduated high school, two-thirds of my college education was complete,” Ware said.
The presentation began with GNTC’s Dean of Student Success Legare Price providing an update on the new online application and user-friendly enrollment portal that is tentatively scheduled to go live later this semester.
“Students will more easily track their application’s progress, next steps needed, financial aid status and other information they need to know with the new system,” Price said.
Selena Magnusson, vice president of Institutional Effectiveness and Student Success at GNTC, said the SACSCOC team will be on-site to interview students and instructors, Oct. 24-27.
Kristi Hart, director of High School Initiatives at GNTC, discussed some of the highlights from Georgia Northwestern’s Dual Enrollment program from the previous academic year, noting the college has seen 2.2% growth in enrollment in the 2022 academic year.
GNTC is working towards receiving accreditation of its Dual Enrollment program by the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP).
“Only one college in Georgia currently holds NACEP accreditation,” Hart said.
Georgia Northwestern Technical College provides quality workforce education to the citizens of Northwest Georgia. Students have the opportunity to earn an associate degree, diploma or a certificate in business, health, industrial or public service career paths. This past year, 11,134 people benefited from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs. GNTC has an annual credit enrollment of 8,528 students and an additional enrollment of 2,606 people through adult education, continuing education, business and industry training and Georgia Quick Start. GNTC is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia and an Equal Opportunity Institution.
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