NGTC Announces State SkillsUSA Winners, Participants

Five North Georgia Technical College students will participate in the National SkillsUSA competition later this year after winning at the state level.

Those five, who won their competitions at the state SkillsUSA competition in March, are Patrick Bell of Cornelia in CNC Milling Technology, Adreona Howard of Toccoa in Criminal Justice, Jacob Hester of Cleveland in First Aid/CPR, Austin Duley of Toccoa in Marine Service Technology, and Georgia Zumwalt of Jefferson in Photography.

They will represent North Georgia Technical College at the 50th annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Kansas City in June.

SkillsUSA is a national career and technical student organization with chapters at high schools and colleges across the country.

The five state winners led a strong showing by North Georgia Tech at the State SkillsUSA competition.

This year, 40 students from 15 programs at the college competed and a total of 26 medals were won.

The contests are planned by technical committees made up of representatives of labor and management in the industries and are designed to test the skills needed for a successful entry-level performance in given occupational fields. As part of that, safety practices and procedures are judged and graded and constitute a portion of a contestant’s score.

North Georgia Technical College President Dr. Gail Thaxton said the college’s students did an outstanding job representing themselves, their instructors, and North Georgia Tech.

Thaxton also thanked the school’s faculty and staff for their dedication and enthusiasm, pushing and pulling the best from the students to get them to this point.

Placing second in their competitions were Ashley Jordan of Martin in CNC Turning Technology, Daniel Rico of Lavonia in Electrical Construction Wiring, Frank Johnson of Clayton in HVAC, James Fryery of Lula in Industrial Motor Control, James Biddy of Armuchee in Marine Service Technology, and Frank Zayas of Buford in Photography.

Students who achieved third place included Keith Garrett of Clarkesville in Welding; Travis Schmitt of Patterson in Marine Service Technology, Haley Shuler of Gainesville in Medical Assisting, and Austin Giles of Cleveland in Precision Machining Technology. Three teams also placed third in their contests: the Welding Fabrication team consisting of Nikolaus Adams of Eastanollee, Kevin Cyr of Gainesville, and Blake Nelms of Royston; the Crime Scene Investigation team consisting of Selena Forrester of Hartwell, Karla Orozco of Baldwin, and Gabriel Orozco of Clarkesville; and the Health Knowledge Bowl team consisting of Rebecka Hopper of Rabun Gap, Stephanie Murphy of Clarkesville, Jamie Shirley of Mt. Airy, and Marle Quinn of Clarkesville.

Full Article 

Study Discusses NGTC Economic Impact on Area

A recent study states that the economic impact of North Georgia Technical College on the area it serves adds up to $35.2 million. The study was recently conducted by a University of Georgia economist and commissioned by the Technical College System of Georgia. It looked at how much the area served by North Georgia Tech benefited economically from spending that is either directly or indirectly related to the college.
It was part of a larger study that details his analysis of economic data from the Technical College System of Georgia for the 2012 fiscal year. The study also found that the North Georgia Technical College’s spending results in 452 public and private sector jobs in its service area. That service area includes Stephens, Fannin, Union, Towns, Habersham, White, Rabun, and Franklin counties. North Georgia Technical College President Dr. Gail Thaxton said that the study validates the tremendous impact of the partnership of mutual support the college nurtures and enjoys with the community.

New Welding Building at NGTC completed

North Georgia Technical College opens up its new welding building. Wednesday, the school held the official ribbon cutting for the newly completed, state-of-the-art facility, located on the school's Clarkesville campus. The project took just over one year to complete. The school received just over $1 million in grant funding to help build the facility.

NGTC Reaches Agreement With Southern Polytechnic State University

An agreement between North Georgia Technical College and Southern Polytechnic State University will allow students completing associate degrees at North Georgia Tech to move directly into bachelor’s degree programs in Engineering Technology at Southern Polytechnic State.

Officials said that the two schools have been working since 2009 with the support of the Technical College System of Georgia to pursue a program that matches Southern Poly’s Bachelor of Applied Science program to North Georgia Tech’s associate’s degree program.

According to officials, the most significant innovation in this project is that students will be able to complete their four-year degrees by attending classes through distance learning, allowing a graduate of North Georgia Tech to pursue the bachelor’s degree with Southern Poly without ever leaving their hometown.

The agreement allows Technical College System of Georgia students to select a pre-engineering technology associate’s degree program, specializing in electrical engineering technology, industrial engineering technology, or mechanical engineering technology. They take the associate’s degree classes at an accredited TCSG college like North Georgia Tech, then either enter the workforce directly or transfer those credits and complete the bachelor’s degree in engineering technology at Southern Poly.

North Georgia Technical College President Steve Dougherty said the new program is very exciting considering the potential for students in northeast Georgia.

Dougherty went on to say that since this involves engineering technology, it will be a boost to attracting industry to the local community.

NGTC's Clinical Laboratory receives accreditation through 2018

North Georgia College's Clinical Laboratory program will receive a full seven-year accreditation. The National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences has announced that the program has received that honor for the third time in a row. North Georgia Tech's Clinical Laboratory Program has been continuously accredited since becoming accredited in 1964 and is not accredited through 2018!

NGTC Switching To Semesters

Preparations continue at North Georgia Technical College for the switch from quarters to semesters.Starting in August 2011, the Technical College System of Georgia, which includes North Georgia Tech, will convert from an academic calendar based on quarters to one based on semesters. Moving from quarters to semesters will align the technical college academic calendar with the K-12 school system. Other benefits the semester schedule offers, according to North Georgia Tech, include additional instruction time and more in-depth coverage of course content.The school stated that class sizes are not expected to increase on the semester system, nor will a student’s grade point average be affected.
Read article:WNEG News

Job Fair

The Georgia Department of Labor will host a job fair in Stephens County today. Today's job fair will run from 12 to 3 p.m. at North Georgia Tech's Currahee Campus, which is located on Highway 17 between Toccoa and Martin. It is sponsored by the Toccoa Career Center of the Georgia Department of Labor, the Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce, and North Georgia Tech.

NGTC Celebrates 5 years

The Toccoa Record
It’s hard for many to believe that only five years ago North Georgia Technical College opened the doors to a brand new, state-of-the-art branch campus in Stephens County.

Known as the Currahee Campus, the 46,000-square-foot facility is located on a 50-acre site in the Hayestone-Brady Industrial Park on Highway 17 between Toccoa and Lavonia.

With Sammy Howe as director and a skeleton crew of only 8 faculty and staff members, classes began on the new campus on July 7, 2005.

Initially, 101 students enrolled in classes at the new facility during that first summer quarter.

Now, five years later, enrollment numbers have soared to almost 500 students attending classes on the Currahee Campus.

“It is a great opportunity to bring post-secondary education and adult education to the people of Stephens and Franklin Counties,” Howe said at the opening.

“This location will provide an opportunity for people to look at new career options closer to home. Companies who are interested in moving to the area will have a place to look at for an educational facility to meet their training needs,” Howe said.

Recently the NGTC Foundation received a donation from the First Citizens Foundation to complete preliminary plans for a proposed addition to the campus. The new expansion will include a health wing which will provide even greater opportunities for the citizens of Stephens, Franklin and other surrounding counties.

In addition to educational facilities, the new Currahee facility also provided the community with access to a conference area open to the public for meetings, social gatherings and even weddings.

“We welcome you to come and visit us soon,” said campus director Greg Roach. “You can visit our library, enjoy the Thursday buffet, or schedule a wedding reception. And when you’re ready to move forward in your career by getting a better education, we’re here to help.”

For more information: NGTC
or Call: 706-779-8100.

Read the article:NGTC celebrate 5 years

North Georgia Technical College enrollment increases again

North Georgia Technical College is expected to nearly double its enrollment in just two years!

School officials announced that enrollment is up again this Spring Quarter at a rate over 20% higher than Spring 2009. Enrollment at all of NGTC's campuses now totals 2,647.

NGTC students given more credit transfer options

North Georgia Technical College and Piedmont College have signed a new credit transfer agreement for their criminal justice programs, allowing students to articulate into the 4-year Piedmont College and retain their credits from NGTC. This new agreement is in addition to prior transfer agreements for students in business and nursing programs.

North Georgia Technical College sees a jump in enrollment

North Georgia Technical College has seen a major increase in student enrollment for the Fall quarter. The school as a whole experienced a 44% increase over last fall's enrollment, while Stephens County's Currahee Campus has had a 55% increase. 2,988 total students attend NGTC.