The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) announced a 9.3% increase in enrollment for the upcoming academic year. Total enrollment is more than 148,000 across the system’s 22 campuses in Georgia. It is the highest enrollment since 2013.
“With the highest enrollment in more than a decade, this growth underscores the strong need for technical education and skilled workers in Georgia,” said TCSG Commissioner, Greg Dozier in a news release announcing the enrollment numbers. “Our 22 colleges remain focused on delivering the kind of education that makes a real difference for students, employers, and the communities they serve.”
Augusta Technical College is among the campuses seeing substantial increases in enrollment for the 2024 academic year.
“If you look at our fall enrollment numbers for the year 2022, we had 5,300 individuals enrolled at the college,” Augusta Tech President, Dr. Jermaine Whirl explained for ABD. “In 2023, we had 5,765. Our 2024 date is not finalized, but we’re sitting at 5,941. We won’t get the final data until October, but from 2022 with 5,300 to over 5,900, that just tells you that people are figuring it out, and they’re definitely coming to Augusta Tech.”
Whirl believes part of the attraction is the school’s ability to offer educational and training programs for careers in high-paying fields of employment. He said Augusta Tech prides itself in being a local workforce development solution.
“What we’re finding is many individuals, young and old, really want to stay in our local community, they don’t really want to go off, but they also want to find high-paid, high sustainable wage-earning jobs,” he said. “What they’re finding is that the programs that we offer are going to prepare them for those opportunities. So, I think the word is getting out, and those numbers really reflect the growing opportunity that people are seeing.”
Dozier agreed, calling the rising enrollment a testament to the demand for skilled workers and the technical college’s ability to provide career-focused programs.
“As our economy continues to expand, industries across the state are relying more than ever on a well-trained workforce to drive innovation and maintain Georgia’s competitive edge. TCSG is committed to providing students with the tools, training, and hands-on experience they need to thrive in today’s job market and help meet the workforce demands of our state,” Dozier said.
Whirl said the workforce demands have been driving Augusta Tech’s development of new training programs, partnerships in the community, and expanding the campus into other areas. That includes using Summerville Hospital as the health sciences campus and the coming automotive training facility coming to Walton Way.
Another advantage to enrolling at Augusta Tech, said Whirl, is the ability to get certified in a career field, opening the doors to joining the workforce, while working toward a two-year degree. If someone wants to pursue a four-year degree, they can do so through Augusta Tech’s partnership with Augusta University.
In addition to growing enrollment, the TSCG news release reported enrollment in high-demand programs, such as healthcare, manufacturing, information technology, and aviation, surged by 11.6%. The total credit hours taken by students jumped 10.6%.
