WGTC - News & Events

Patient Care Dual Enrollment Program Wins National Award
Posted November 2003

Dual Enrollment is a program whereby a student can attend a postsecondary college and high school at the same time, earning credits by both institutions.

Representatives from Heard County Comprehensive High School joined representatives from West Georgia Technical College, West Georgia Tech Prep Consortium, the U.S. Office of Vocational and Adult Education, and the West Georgia Youth Apprenticeship Program at the National Tech Prep Conference in Nashville, TN, to accept an award from the Programs of Study clearinghouse. This award was received for he exemplary program of study in Health-care Science.

Nationally, there were 15 various programs of study selected for the award. In a nationwide search, the U.S. Office of Vocational and Adult Education joined with C.O.R.D., the Center for Occupational Research and Development, a national non-profit organization providing innovative changes in education, to identify exemplary programs of study based upon specific criteria. This criteria stated that the high school academic component must prepare a student for enrollment in any postsecondary program. The program of study must be developed in partnership with business and employer groups, and it must prepare students for self-supporting employment in a high demand occupational area. West Georgia Technical College’s Patient Care Technician program taught at Heard County Comprehensive High School met all the criteria and submitted its application for the award. In the winter and spring of 2003, West Georgia Technical College’s instructor, Pam Parmer, R.N., taught the Patient Care Technician certificate program to 16 high school students at Heard County Comprehensive High School. These students learned about patient care hands-on, did clinical work at Florence Hand Home in LaGrange, GA, passed numerous nursing tests, and took pride in their program.

Before beginning the West Georgia Technical College program, the students’ high school curriculum had included courses in Health Occupations, Healthcare Science, Human Anatomy/Physiology or Chemistry taught by Tommie Thaxton and Rita Porter of Heard County Comprehensive High School. The Program of Study Clearinghouse will distribute information about successful nationwide programs of study in a searchable website so that other schools across the nation can build new career and technical education programs based upon these flourishing models.

Commercial Truck Driving Program Exceeds Expectations
Posted November 2003

Ray Benefield, one of five instructors for the college’s Commercial Truck Driving program, is excited. He says, “We have exceeded our own expectations for the CDL program. I feel that our curriculum is very successful. It provides non-traditional opportunities for people in our area. CDL is a true equal-opportunity profession. Times are changing. The workforce must have basic skills just to enter the job arena. On-the-job training is important, and our program offers this. We have a 100% employment rate with our graduates.”

Benefield started driving trucks on his family farm when he was nine-years-old. He remembers, “I drove my first commercial truck at age sixteen and all through military and civilian life. I have driven over the road, local interstate, local route delivery and in five foreign countries. All total, I have over thirty years of driving experience.”

Photo Caption: Commercial Truck Driving instructors:(l to r) Tommy Ray,Ray Benefield, Lynd Coxwell, Dale Hodges,and Billy Yohn. (Notshown: Tracy Pike)

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2,123 on West Georgia Tech rolls
Posted on Wednesday, October 22 -- LaGrange Daily News

For the first time ever, enrollment at West Georgia Technical College has topped 2,000. The technical college entered its third week of fall quarter with enrollment at 2,132 students, compared to 1,990 this time last year. Two-thirds of the students are female - 1,423 compared to 709 males.

The student body is 55.7 percent white, 43 percent African-American .5 percent Hispanic .5 percent Asian and .1 percent American-Indian. Full-time students outnumber part-timers 922 to 624. Day classes have 1,665 students enrolled, with 710 in night classes.One new student, Brandi Smith, 22, said she decided to go back to school because of her daughter, Carly, 3. She is studying business office technology.“I felt I needed to further my education because of her, and this was the best technical college in the area and it’s affordable,” Smith said.A total of 390 students are taking classes at off-campus sites in Franklin, Greenville, Manchester and Warm Springs. There are 63 classes offered off-campus now, up five classes from last year.

The technical college will break ground on a Meriwether County center in December and will offer classes at the technology center currently under construction in West Point. A total of 503 students are taking one or more of the 35 online classes, compared to 300 last year. President Daryl Gilley said the courses’ flexibility makes them attractive. “We are really marketing the online courses,” Gilley said. “People don’t have to match their schedules to the class schedules.” The number of high school students dually enrolled with the technical college is at 88. Every high school in Troup County, Franklin, Greenville and Manchester has a dual enrollment program, where a technical college instructor teaches college-level classes at the high school. “I figured it would be a good challenge,” said Peyton Frew, a senior at Troup High School who takes the certified customer service specialist class. “It teaches you how to deal with people and it has expanded my vocabulary. ”After graduating, Frew plans to attend Abraham Baldwin Agriculture College and wants to get a job with Realtree roductions. His classmate, Fred Reed, also a senior, wants to continue at West Georgia Technical College and become an automotive paint specialist. “It’s a better chance to get your foot in the door at (the technical college),” Reed said. Three new certificates were added this fall: digital media production, electronic control and instrumentation and injection molding. In the winter quarter, students can take environmental horticulture, family/childcare provider and mammography.

But not all the news at the technical college is good. Gilley said Gov. Sonny Perdue has warned that all technical college budgets could be cut by 7.5 percent next year.“If that happens, the new programs we planned to implement will have to hold,” Gilley said. The president said he expects enrollment to continue to grow, even if there’s not enough room. “We’ve reached our growth limit on campus,” he said. “We have no room to grow. We plan to take more classes off-campus and online.”

Jody Kent can be reached at jkent@lagrangenews.com or (706) 884-7311, ext. 229.

Digital Media Production and Entertainment Technology
Posted August 2003

Fall Quarter introduces the much awaited certificate in a growing field: Digital Media Production. David Arnold is the Director of Video Production Services, which houses a state-of-the art studio in the second floor of the Callaway Center for International Business. He has been with the college for eight months and enjoys writing, directing, producing, and editing television documentaries and commercials. He has stated that “I am excited about utilizing all of the equipment in our studios. We work with sound, lighting, and post-production. We are expanding our programs everyday, and will be going to other DTAE college campuses to produce commercials and programs for them.”

Because there has been so much interest in Video Production Services, WGTC is offering the Digital Media Production certificate, which is a 45-hour program. This curriculum will consist of such courses as Television Production I and II, Digital Post-Production, Introduction to Graphics for Television, Introduction to Audio, Field Video Production, Writing for Television and Radio, Survey of Mass Communication, and Advanced Video Projects. One of the instructors for this certificate will be Kelly Finley, who will be teaching classes during the day and evenings. Soon to follow will be an Associate of Applied Technology Degree in Entertainment Technology.

WGTC currently produces and airs, on the city of LaGrange’s public access television station (Channel 19) its first program, “Technically Speaking” where President Daryl Gilley interviews campus faculty and staff. The public can learn more in-depth about the services and curriculums offered on the campus. Soon to air is another program, “The MamaJama Show” which features Debbie Burdette, Executive Director of Certified Literate Community Program, reading to young children in her audience.

Photo Caption: David Arnold, Director of Video Production Services

The Lighthouse Institute is an annual award which recognizes excellence in teaching at technical colleges in Georgia. It provides many opportunities for teachers to share their teaching techniques they use in their classrooms.

This year, WGTC’s two Lighthouse

Institute winners are Wanda Barbee and Sherry Gray. Barbee has been a WGTC instructor with the Radiologic Technology Program since 1985 at the WGTC campus. In those years, her students have enjoyed a 100% state board pass rate. In May, she attended the Rick Perkins State Convention in Atlanta, where she enjoyed meeting DTAE Commissioner Ken Breeden personally. Many of her students have referred to her as a “guiding light” and say that she is “an incredible instructor with a genuine rapport with her students.”

Gray has been a WGTC instructor for Adult Literacy in Meriwether County since 1989. She conducts day and evening classes for those students seeking to improve their educational skills or to earn their G.E.D. She received a Business Administration Degree in 1981 and has taught Business Education at Hogansville High School. She and her husband (also an instructor at the college) have 4 daughters who are “proud of their mom.” She states that she is “thrilled to win the Lighthouse Award, as my peers voted for me. I feel that I work for a top-notch technical college.”

Barbee and Gray were selected for the Lighthouse award by their WGTC campus peers. They exemplify excellence and commitment to the mission of the Georgia DTAE (Department of Technical and Adult Education). They will attend a 4-day conference in Columbus, GA in September.

Lighthouse Institute winners
Photo Caption: (L to R) Sherry Gray, Dr. Daryl Gilley, and Wanda Barbee.

Lydia Coverson:2003 Associate of the Year
Posted August 2003

“It’s quite an honor to win the Associate of the Year Award, because my fellow employees voted for me. I love working on this campus and I know that I make a difference. I have seen our college grow over the 17 years I have worked here.” This award was presented to Ms. Coverson
at the June commencement exercises.

The winner of this award demonstrates great customer service and is helpful beyond the call of duty to the public and to her peers. Coverson does, indeed, exemplify excellence in day-to-day interactions with people.

Meriwether County Workforce Development Center Grant Application Approved
Posted August 2003

In an August 1, 2003 letter from Governor Sonny Perdue, the Meriwether County Board of Commissioners was informed that the County has been awarded a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant. The grant application is to construct a workforce development center to hold general and certificate/degree studies facilitated by West Georgia Technical College. Chairperson Nancy Jones proclaimed, "This is a great day for Meriwether County, its citizens, and its industry. It is essential for Meriwether County to have a well-trained workforce to grow and strengthen our industrial and commercial sector."

The grant award culminates a year of hard work and dedication in preparing the grant application and raising funds from the local community. The 9,625 sq. ft. building will be built and owned by the County government and West Georgia Technical College has pledged an additional $550,000 in faculty, staff, and classroom resources to conduct a wide variety college level classes. The Meriwether County Chamber of Commerce spearheaded the community fundraising campaign which successfully received monetary and in-kind pledges totaling over $250,000. The support from the local community was critical in having a successful grant application.

With this announcement, the County will proceed in its partnership with West Georgia Technical College in making this dream a reality. The County will also apply for a One Georgia Grant, due in mid-September, to help offset any additional construction costs not covered by the $500,000 CDBG award and the $250,000 of local funds. County Administrator Robert Hiss said, "This grant award will have a positive impact on our current and future workforce. The campus will provide life-changing opportunities for many people for many years."

West Georgia Technical College is proud to announce Wanda Barbee as the local 2003 Rick Perkins Award winner. Mrs. Barbee has been with the college since 1985 and is the program director for the Radiologic Technology Program. She is a graduate of Cabarrus Memorial Hospital School of Radiography in Concord, North Carolina, where she received the Allen B. Tuggle Scholastic Award.

Mrs. Barbee has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Health Occupations Education and a Masters Degree in Technologic Education from the University of Georgia in Athens. She was the recipient of the 1998 Lighthouse Institute Award for Excellence in Teaching. Graduates of the Radiologic Technology Program have enjoyed a 100% passage rate on the national examination for the past ten years.

Rick Perkins nominees go through three phases of selection: (1) the college level (with the Screening Committee); (2) the consortia level (with the Selection Committee); and (3) the state level. The state Rick Perkins Award winner serves as an ambassador for technical education in Georgia, and must have made significant contributions to technical education and commitment to the mission of the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education. The winner of this award will carry the title of Instructor of the Year and is announced at the annual Rick Perkins Banquet held the last week of May in Atlanta.

Photo Caption: (L to R): Dr. Daryl Gilley, West Georgia Technical College President and Wanda Barbee, Rick Perkins Award Winner.

A joint venture between Duracell USA and West Georgia Technical College has proven that there is "power in partnerships." Duracell currently has sixty mechanics seeking an Applied Manufacturing Technology Diploma at WGTC. Duracell met with the college after identifying their employees' skill sets and WGTC was ready to help meet the needs of the company and its employees.

Duracell's mechanics are going through the program, which includes comprehensive training and many formal assessments. These employees have advancement and monetary incentives to go through this training. The Applied Manufacturing Technology Diploma program is designed around two types of learning experiences: the learning that takes place as a result of successful work experience and learning that occurs within the parameters of a college classroom. The combination of these two educational experiences allows WGTC to customize this program to meet the needs of a specific industry. The program is 65 credit hours in length: 45 credit hours of college classes and 20 hours of on-the-job training. The 45 hours of college-based classes included English and Math as well as Technical core classes. The Technical core classes include industrial and mechanical courses that focus on the continuous improvement of those skills needed to progress in the Duracell Mechanic Development program.

Photo Caption: (L to R): John Schlicher, Scott Robertson, Bruce Lott, James Terry, James Copeland, all Duracell Mechanics; Jim McNair, WGTC Machine Tool Technology Instructor; Frank Strohn, and Shyka Emerson, Duracell Mechanics.

There's power in partnerships. The Meriwether County Board of Commissioners and Meriwether County Chamber of Commerce are looking for $200,000 to strengthen the county's application for a Community Development Block Grant to help build a West Georgia Technical College facility in Greenville. The county has plans to apply for a $500,000 grant in April 2003 to move toward a near $1 million project. The Chamber of Commerce is leading the fundraising drive for the facility that will be built on a 50-acre tract, donated by the County Commission, across from Greenville High School along Georgia Highway 41.

So far, the county has commitments from local banks, Georgia Power Company, the Meriwether County Hospital Authority, and several local businesses. WGTC has proposed a 12,000 square-foot classroom and administration building which would contain a computer lab, an industrial lab, an adult literacy program, and several classrooms.

Something's afoot at West Georgia Technical College. With an enrollment increase of over 43% this fall, the college is the fastest-growing technical college in the state. The traditional day programs have grown by 38% while the evening programs have grown by 36%. E-Learning (on-line) classes have seen a 29% increase and the newly-added weekend courses are proving to be convenient for many students.

By expanding programs into tri-county areas which WGTC serves, the college is able to offer off-site classes. Franklin currently offers Adult Literacy classes in a new facility in the Franklin Industrial Park. Additional classes are also being offered: Fire Science and Introduction to Microcomputers. Cosmetology courses are being offered at Greenville High School and Manchester High School. Greenville also has a Warehouse & Distribution Program Certificate and Introduction to Microcomputers course available to its students. Introduction to Microcomputers classes are offered to students in Manchester, Warm Springs, Luthersville, and possibly Hogansville. Certified Customer Service Specialist and Certified Nursing Assistant Certificate Programs can be taken at Callaway High School in LaGrange.

Pam Hawkins, chair of WGTC's Business Technology Division, was recently named to Who's Who of American Women for 2002-2003 by the Marquis Who's Who Publications Board. This honor is given to those who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in their own fields of endeavor and to those who have contributed to the betterment of contemporary society.

Hawkins has been an instructor in the Business Office Technology Program at West Georgia Technical College since 1992. She received a B.S. Degree in Business Education and a Masters Degree in Business Education from Auburn University. She is the local advisor for Phi Beta Lambda, Georgia Phi Beta Lambda Advisor, President of the Georgia PBL Foundation, and represents the Southern Region as a member of Future Business Leaders of America - Phi Beta Lambda National Board of Directors.

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