Progress is being made on two major construction projects at Aiken Technical College (ATC) on Jefferson Davis Highway.
As part of an overall campus improvement plan, ATC is demolishing some of the old buildings, clearing the way for new construction. A location has now been selected for a new health sciences building. It will be a 30,000-square-foot facility to house the nursing program.
“It’s going to be for our CNAs, LPNs, ADNs. And then the current health science building, which houses nursing, we can explore that space for renovations, whether we want to expand some of our existing health science programs, or do we need to add maybe potential additional health science programs? It’s based on what the community needs will be,” Dr. Forest Mahan, President of ATC, told ABD.
Mahan said they will also look into possibly adding extra laboratories for biology or chemistry.
The building for the nursing program was a beneficiary of the settlement of the Savannah River Site (SRS) lawsuit in the wake of the failed mixed oxide (MOX) project and weapons-grade plutonium brought to the site to be converted into fuel pellets. The college received $11.5 million from the SRS settlement money. That was added to $3 million already in hand to provide seed money.
The other project is a partnership with the Aiken County Public School District (ACPSD). The district is building a new Career and Technology Center (CTC) on campus, in the spot made available when the 500 Building was demolished. ATC leased the land to the school district, but the building will be owned by ACPSD.
Mahan said the consolidation of students onto their campus will enhance dual credit programs already being offered in health sciences, welding, and cyber classes.
“So, the dual credit opportunities are there now that allow for them to then feed into our programs here at Aiken Tech, but having that new state-of-the-art building located on the campus, the students will be in the district’s building, but once they leave that building, and once they go out and onto the campus, they’re on the Aiken Tech campus, and so they’ll be able to have access to our facilities,” he said.
The new CTC will be between 90,000 and 100,000 square feet, replacing the aging building just across Jefferson Davis Highway. Money for the project was also bolstered by the SRS settlement. ACPSD received $30 million from the distribution.
Mahan said CTC students will benefit from being on campus even before they begin taking classes at ATC.
“We are an open campus, so hopefully, they’ll be able to begin to familiarize themselves with our library or our Learning Commons,” he said. “It would be a chance for the students to become familiar with our facilities. Not just the Learning Commons, but if they’re studying welding and they want to continue for an associate degree, then they can become familiar with our welding facility. If you’re thinking of cyber, they can become familiar with our computer technology program and the actual physical setup of those programs.”
Mahan said, although in Aiken County, students in Richmond and Columbia counties can attend Aiken Tech and pay in-state tuition.
“The only trick is they can’t qualify for state aid, but if they do qualify for Pell or other types of support or loans, then they can come and take classes with us,” he said. “We had the same agreement for students who live in South Carolina, who may go over, say to Augusta Tech, for certain programs that we may not offer.”
As for the nursing education center, Mahan said they are in the final planning stages and hope to soon be going out for bid. He said they hope to break ground by May.
