Greenville Technical College
About Greenville Tech
Established in the early 1960s, Greenville Tech has grown from a small institution to a thriving four-campus system where over 14,000 academic students and more than 54,000 continuing education registrations prepare for today’s and tomorrow’s career opportunities or prepare to pursue a four-year degree and beyond. Greenville Tech owes much of its growth to innovation with priorities such as flexible scheduling choices and convenient locations that make the college accessible to anyone interested in pursuing a college education.
Greenville Tech is home to many unmatched offerings including the only University Transfer Honors program at a two-year college in South Carolina and the only two-year campus to build garden-style apartments where students can live and learn.
Mission Statement
Vision
Greenville Technical College’s vision is to be an exemplary center for learning that enables student success and promotes economic development.
Mission
Greenville Technical College drives personal and economic growth through learning.
Role and Scope
Greenville Technical College is the largest public two-year college in South Carolina, serving a fall headcount of more than 14,000 curriculum students. The college provides exceptional learning opportunities primarily to the residents of Greenville County.
Curricular offerings include (1) technical courses, certificates, diplomas and associate degrees in business, computer technology, health sciences, engineering technologies, industrial technologies, and public service; and (2) university transfer courses and associate degrees.
The college also provides an extensive offering of continuing education courses for occupational advancement and personal interest, as well as economic development services that encourage business and industrial growth in a diverse economic community.
In addition, developmental courses serve under-prepared students seeking to enter a program of study. Upon completion of their educational goals, the majority of graduates either are employed in fields related to their programs of study or transfer to four-year colleges and universities.
Since the college is an open admission institution, students come from diverse socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. Affordable education is provided at times and locations convenient to students. Faculty and staff are student-centered, flexible, and recognized in their fields. Various educational support services are provided to facilitate the teaching/learning process and to enhance the academic and personal development of the student, including an emphasis on articulation with local high schools and other colleges and universities.
Values
Greenville Technical College is committed to the following values:
Learning: We are committed to providing quality learning opportunities that enable individual and community achievement and that are affordable and accessible for all members of our community.
Integrity: We believe trust is an essential element in a safe and effective learning environment, so we promote and foster openness, honesty, respect, and fairness.
Diversity: We recognize and celebrate diversity, so we value and support considerate, meaningful communication and inclusiveness in collaborative decision-making processes.
Cooperation: We value collaboration and teamwork, so we foster caring, professional relationships among students, employees, and our community in an effort to expand partnerships.
Excellence: We value continuous improvement, so we encourage innovation, creative problem-solving and responsible risk-taking as we act courageously, deliberately, and systematically to enhance and enrich our learning environment.
Accountability: We value students, faculty, and staff, so we recognize their contributions, encourage their professional development, and regularly evaluate performance to improve learning outcomes, programs, processes, and services.
Strategic Initiatives
Greenville Technical College achieves its mission by implementing the following strategic initiatives:
Focus on student learning and experience by providing exemplary student support services and teaching/learning environments and by exceeding customer expectations in all college processes.
Nurture and support an environment of caring learning community among our inclusive GTC family, with attention to wellness, security, personal growth opportunities, collegiality, and open communications.
Ensure optimal learning through integral use of technology in all college functions.
Demonstrate a commitment to continuous development of our human resources.
Use reliable data in the planning and generation of resources.
Focus on corporate, economic, and community development.
Approved by Area Commission August 15, 2007, and the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education August 21, 2007
Greenville Tech History
The history of Greenville Technical College dates back to 1960. Early that year, the state technical education system was initiated by then South Carolina Governor Ernest F. Hollings, who felt that if South Carolina could offer a well-trained work force, the state could attract more business and industry. This training was to be provided by a statewide system of 13 technical centers (now 16 technical colleges). In September 1962, Greenville Technical Education Center first opened its doors to students.
The college's beginnings were modest: one building, eight acres and 800 full-time and part-time students. Three divisions of study were originally available: the Technical Division, the Industrial Division and the Extension Division. The staff consisted of 12 full-time and 20 part-time instructors and three full-time administrators. The college grew quickly. By November 1965, an additional 122 acres of land surrounding the original eight acres were acquired.
The Health Careers Division initiated its first program under a Manpower Development Training Act project in January 1966. The next month, the college began the Adult Education Program, which was highly publicized as SPACE (Special Program for Adult Comprehensive Education) and was an immediate success.
In September 1966, an agreement with Clemson University enabled the college to begin a two-year college transfer program. Under the administration of Clemson University, this program began as an experimental project based on the recommendations of the State Committee for Technical Education and the Governor's Office. In 1973, this agreement was terminated and the college formed an Arts and Sciences College Transfer Division which continued to offer, as part of the Tech program, essentially the same courses that had been offered through Clemson.
Two Industrial Division programs, Carpentry and Masonry, were moved from the main campus on Pleasantburg Drive to Donaldson Center in September 1967. The space on campus was quickly occupied by the Special Schools program, which was established to train personnel for the new General Electric Turbine Plant to be located in Greenville.
On December 11, 1968, the college was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate degrees, diplomas and certificates. Two years later, the student population for the school year reached 11,921. The number of faculty and staff had grown to 185 full-time and 182 part-time employees.
Health care training began with the formal dedication of the Health Careers Center on May 14, 1970. In 1971, the college accepted the responsibility of the Associate Degree Nursing program from the Greenville Hospital System, and in 1975, a Nursing building (renamed Health Annex in 1995) was completed to house this expanding program.
In 1972, the college received reaffirmation of accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Business courses, which had been offered at the college since its inception as part of the Technical Division, were incorporated into a separate Business Division that same year.
In 1978-79, the college took part in the Appalachian Educational Satellite project, which brought live educational programs from a center at the University of Kentucky to the campus, using satellites for live video transmission, as well as voice communications. Also, throughout this period the college used its facilities to offer live television programs transmitted from the University of South Carolina through a closed circuit video cable.
The Center for Continuing Education for Women was formed in 1978 to assist women in exploring alternative career choices. Aligned with the counseling program in 1981, it became a full-service Career Advancement Center that provided pre-employment screening and testing for area industries, individual counseling services, interviewing techniques, resumé writing and job search skills to all area esidents.
In September 1981, Clemson University, in coordination with Greenville Tech, began to offer upper level courses in a four-year Engineering program in Computer Science, Engineering Technology, and Electrical, Computer and Mechanical Engineering on the Greenville Tech campus. Through this program, students who had completed the first two years of study in the Greenville Tech program could transfer to the "Clemson University at Greenville Tech" program to earn a bachelor's degree. Also in 1981, Greenville Tech was selected as the site for the state Advanced Machine Tool Resources Center, in order to provide a focal point for study of the technological advances in this area.
In 1982, the college was reaffirmed for accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. By 1981-82, enrollment had increased to approximately 30,000 (unduplicated headcount) students per year in eight divisions of study, including credit and Continuing Education programs. Growth of the campus and buildings kept pace with enrollment.
The Greenville Higher Education Consortium was approved in July 1987 by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. The name was changed in 1992 to the University Center of Greenville. It is a partnership among eight colleges and universities: Clemson University, Furman University, Greenville Technical College, Lander University, the Medical University of South Carolina, South Carolina State University, the University of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina Upstate. All but Furman University, which is located in Greenville County, offer courses at the University Center on Greenville Tech's campus. The center is governed by an independent board of university presidents and administrators. The center offers graduate and undergraduate courses year round. Degrees are awarded by each of the member universities.
In January 1990, the Southeastern Institute for Advanced Technologies (SIAT) opened the doors of a new facility, putting business, engineering and industrial technologies in an integrated manufacturing environment. SIAT is an "umbrella" under wich the college can expand its ability to provide training and resources to meet the needs of the region. In 1997, SIAT changed its name to the Computer Training Center and began offering Microsoft and Novell certification courses in network engineering.
Also in 1990, new alternative instructional delivery systems, the telecourse and teleclass, were implemented. A telecourse is an integrated learning approach that uses television to teach and inform and can be accessed via cable television or videotape. Teleclasses are live, interactive televised classes which originate at the main campus and are transmitted to receive sites throughout the county. Students at the receive sites hear and see the instructor and students at the main campus, and have the capacity to interact with the main campus classroom.
In Fall 1991, the college initiated an Advanced College Entrance (ACE) program for junior and senior high school students who wanted to get a head start on their college careers. ACE students could take one college course each term that would apply toward one of the college's associate degree, certificate or diploma programs and transfer to almost any college or university.
Supported by a grant from the South Carolina Department of Education, in 1991 the college began the first year of its partnership with the School District of Greenville County to develop and implement the Preparation for the Technologies Program (Tech Prep). This effort prepared students for postsecondary education at traditional or technical colleges or for the work place.
In June 1992, Greenville Tech was reaffirmed for accreditation by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Beginning Summer 1992, Greenville Tech also made the transition from the quarter to the semester system, a conversion made by all of the technical colleges.
In August 1996, property on South Pleasantburg Drive across McAlister Square donated by T. Walter Brashier to the college became the new home of the University Center following renovations. This move made room for new programs and the addition of day classes to a schedule that formerly included only evening offerings. The University center's move created space in the center's former building on the main campus. Among the programs to occupy this building was the Upstate Dental Clinic, a 10,000-square-foot facility for the Dental Hygiene and Dental Assisting programs, which included classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices and a 21-chair, full computerized, state-of-the-art dental clinic.
The college received approval to establish campuses in Greer and Golden Strip in 1994, and a year later ground was broken for these projects. The two new campuses, which opened in August 1996, enable the college to better serve Greenville County's growing need for training and retraining. The Brashier Campus at Golden Strip houses Greenville Tech's Welding, Industrial Electricity/Electronics, Computer Electronics/Repair and Industrial Maintenance Technology programs, along with University Transfer, Business, Related Studies and Continuing Education classes. The first building at the Brashier Campus was named in honor of George E. Bomar. The Greer Campus houses programs in Visual Arts, which includes photography, art and sculpture, Physical Therapist Assistant, Occupational Therapist Assistant and Health Information Management. Materials Management, Criminal Justice, Paralegal, University Transfer, Related Studies, Business and Continuing Education classes are also offered.
In the 1990s, the college focused on teaming teaching with technology, resulting in a technology plan that made the classroom of the future an important part of Greenville Tech's campus today. The plan has created open access to computer labs across campus, which provide a current ratio of one work station for every 60 students. These classrooms and labs allow students to gain experiences that are relevant to the work place, bringing concepts to life and energizing the learning process.
As technology changes the classroom, it is also opening new avenues to Greenville Tech. The newest option is College Online, which allows students to take classes through the Internet. The college plans to offer several programs online, one or more classes at a time, so that students can go online and stay online to finish a Management, Associate in Arts, Associate in Sciences or Computer Technology degree.
Another option offered by the college is Fast Track. These accelerated programs and courses allow students to prepare for a career, a promotion, or transfer to a four-year college or university quickly. Jump Start classes, which allow high school students to get a head start on college, were first offered at one pilot school in 1996. This option caught on quickly, and by the next year there were over 200 students enrolled at eight high schools.
The college added a fourth campus in 1999 in the northwest part of the county. The Northwest Campus offers University Transfer and general education courses in addition to a wide schedule of continuing education courses. Many of the courses offered at the campus are presented in both English and Spanish versions, reaching out to the county's large Hispanic population.
In 2000, the main campus on Pleasantburg Drive was dedicated to Dr. Thomas E. Barton, the college’s president. The Engineering Technologies building was named in honor of Dr. Willie B. McMahand, a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives who served on the house education committee, helping the college move forward and better serve the community. The Brashier and Greer campuses had grown tremendously in four years of operation, and a second building providing additional classroom and office space was constructed at each campus.
The University Center of Greenville moved in 2001 to a renovated section of McAlister Square. This move allowed the college’s Continuing Education Division to relocate to the South Pleasantburg Drive building, which was renamed the Buck Mickel Center in honor of a business and community leader who dedicated his life to the economic development of the Upstate.
The college completed all requirements for reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 2002. Opening credit enrollment that fall reached over 12,000 students.
In 2003, a 170,000 square foot facility for the college’s automotive programs was dedicated. The McKinney Regional Automotive Technology Center included a showroom where street rods, motorsports vehicles, and new cars donated by both business and industry are displayed. The facility also includes 19 multi-media equipped classrooms, computer labs, offices and teaching facilities for the Auto Body, Automotive, Diesel, and MotorSports programs along with educational partnerships with General Motors and Nissan/Infiniti.
The Admissions and Registration Center opened in McAlister Square and houses advising, registration, testing, admissions, financial aid, student records, a cashier, and the bookstore. It was dedicated in honor of two long-time employees of the college, Hazel P. Hall and Dr. Douglas W. Brister, Sr., in 2004.
A Learning Center was established on the Barton Campus in 2004, combining the former Writing Center, Math Center, and Sky Lab into one convenient location where students could receive one-on-one help from instructors.
The college and Nissan North America formed a partnership to launch an Automotive
Technician Training program in South Carolina, supplying Nissan dealerships with a ready supply of well-trained workers with the high-tech skills to repair both Nissan and Infiniti new model vehicles.
Thanks to another partnership, the college’s MotorSports program was named the Official MotorSports Technical Institute of United Speed Alliance Racing (USAR).
In 2005, the college joined with Greenville County to open a Forensic Automobile Processing Center on the Barton Campus. This facility increases learning opportunities for Criminal Justice students.
The college joined with the Medical University of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina Upstate, the Greenville Hospital System, and Palmetto Health to form the Health Sciences Research, Education, and Innovation Institute on the Greenville Memorial Hospital campus. This first phase of the project, establishing an Upstate Center for Advanced Patient Simulation, allows Greenville Tech students to train on lifelike, computer-driven mannequins.
The college welcomed the first residents to Greenville Tech Foundation Student Housing in 2006. Located on the Barton Campus, the 121 garden-style apartments can house up to 438 students.
Construction began on the new Northwest Campus, located on a 160-acre site near the intersection of Farrs Bridge Road and White Horse Road.
Construction also began on the McCall Hospice House of Greenville, which provides care for patients in the final stage of life and serves as a training site for Greenville Tech students. The $7.7 million comprehensive care facility includes 30 private rooms, a chapel, an education center, and central living areas for terminally ill patients. It is located on five acres of the Brashier Campus donated by the college.
Facilities were renovated for Greenville County’s new DNA lab on the Barton Campus, joining the county’s forensic automobile facility.
Brashier Middle College, a second charter school for Greenville Tech, opened at the Allen Temple Community Center, moving a year later to the college’s Brashier Campus.
Greenville Tech opened a $50,000 Johnson Controls lab, which the company has donated to allow the college to participate in CAREERCONNECT, a new collaborative program dedicated to training the next generation of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) technicians.
In 2007, the McKinney Regional Automotive Technology Center added a second building, giving the automotive programs room to grow.
The college expanded working relationships with a number of four-year colleges. A partnership agreement with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University allows students to begin a bachelor’s degree at Greenville Tech and finish at Embry-Riddle. Greenville Tech forged bridge program agreements with Allen University, University of South Carolina Upstate, College of Charleston, and University of South Carolina. In addition, the college signed an agreement with six of the state’s historically black colleges and universities -- Allen University, Benedict College, Claflin University, Morris College, South Carolina State University, and Voorhees College -- establishing closer ties and easier transfer opportunities.
Greenville Tech and Southeast Toyota established a training partnership in 2008, creating the Southeast Toyota approved training center at the college.
Dr. Tom Barton retired later that year, and a new leader came on board. Dr. Keith Miller, a college president for 12 years before coming to Greenville Tech, went to work July 1, the same day he began his tenure as chairman of the board for the American Association of Community Colleges.
The Northwest Campus first offered classes Fall Semester 2007, but opened officially in 2008. The campus serves the communities of Berea, Blue Ridge, Travelers Rest, Slater-Marietta, and the Westside of Greenville as well as the entire Upstate from a 110,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, high-tech facility.
The college’s Hospitality program, housed at the Northwest Campus, was renamed, reflecting a broader focus. Known as the Culinary Institute of the Carolinas, the program meets the needs not only of Greenville’s growing restaurant and food service industry but the needs of the region and state as well.
Facts about Greenville Tech
Located in one of the fastest growing regions of the south, Greenville Tech is ideally situated to offer excellent training and placement opportunities to students. Surrounded by world-class manufacturing and business leaders, Greenville is home to national and international names including BMW, Michelin, Lockheed Martin and others.
Greenville Tech students benefit from extensive hands-on training, internships, co-op programs, and partnerships with area business and industry. The area’s diversity and its strong economy mean plenty of jobs, and for some disciplines, multiple job offers even before graduation. In addition, because Greenville Tech works closely with area employers, listening to their needs, and updating programs to meet current and future technologies, graduates are well prepared to meet emerging employment trends.
Institution Profile
Type: Public 2-yr. college
Academic Programs
160+
Four Campuses
Barton, Brashier, Greer, Northwest
Fall 2007 Credit Enrollment
15,070 students
2007 - 08 Continuing Education Division
Students Served: 36,914
Companies Served: 480
Total registrations for classes 47,910
Advisory Committees
62 committees with a total of 805 members from various industries
Library
57,408 volumes and more than 100,000 online and printed periodicals
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