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By James T. Hammond
Published September 28, 2009
Two-year technical colleges are getting a lot of attention lately. Greenville Technical College President Keith Miller recently joined President Barack Obama to announce an infusion of $12 billion in federal funds over a decade into the job-training institutions.
Meanwhile, South Carolina’s state-assisted two-year schools are grappling with record levels of interest and enrollment. Spartanburg Community College has seen enrollment soar almost 20%. Greenville Tech’s student population is up 9%, while there are 14% more students at Tri-County Tech in Pendleton.
Presidents are searching for real estate that can temporarily help meet the burgeoning demand for space for all those aspiring college students.
These schools, conceived in the administration of Gov. Fritz Hollings and a great success story for higher education in South Carolina, provide the best hope for highly motivated students who do not have the financial resources to begin a college career at a pricey four-year university.
For those seeking a good-paying manufacturing or service sector job, a specialized two-year program may be just the ticket. For those who aspire to a bachelor's degree from a state university, the two-year technical colleges now provide a so-called Bridge program that allows seamless transition into the sophomore year after two years of college-level courses at the local institution.
These institutions have provided an affordable path to a good livelihood for many thousands of South Carolina citizens. Enrollment levels amid the worst recession since World War II demonstrate that demand for their services has not slackened.
For all these reasons, it may be time for these institutions and the state Board of Technical and Comprehensive Education to pause and evaluate how they can best serve our population in the twenty-first century.
Keeping the two-year experience affordable is a top priority. There are already too many institutions, including our state's four-year universities, that have priced themselves out of the reach of too many of our high school graduates. A two-year degree at Greenville Tech or one of the other 15 technical colleges is still a bargain. The subsidy from the South Carolina Education Lottery has helped keep it affordable.
Tuition and fees at Greenville Tech for the coming academic year will cost a Greenville County resident $1,692, after the $1,800 Lottery Tuition Assistance is factored in. A University of South Carolina undergraduate who receives the $5,000 LIFE scholarship will still owe $4,756 in out-of-pocket tuition and fee expenses.
But there are signs of mission creep at these vital two-year institutions. Greenville Tech has started a charter high school, and it has helped establish student housing that makes it easier for students from outside Greenville to attend school here. What's wrong with students living at home and attending the two-year institution nearest their homes?
Greenville Tech is one of Greenville's shining higher education assets. The same can be said of the other two-year institutions in their home territories. The leaders of these fine institutions have a vital role to play in preparing citizens of South Carolina for the new economy that will emerge from the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Clemson University economist Bruce Yandle believes history will record that the recession is ending in the current August-September time period. The Upstate is in transition from a low-skill, textile-based manufacturing economy to one that will employ fewer people, but will make high-tech goods such as BMW cars, Michelin tires and blades for General Electric jet engines. Those jobs will require skills that Greenville Tech, Spartanburg Community College and Tri-County Tech are best suited to teach.
As Yandle concluded in his most recent economic report, “The challenge is clear: More brains are needed, and the brains must be better connected to economic opportunity.”
Our technical colleges must prepare themselves to provide that economic opportunity for individual workers, and at a cost that everyone can afford.
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