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Staff Photo by Lesley Onstott Keesha Millard, front, looks toward the dry erase board at the front of the lecture hall while taking an exam in Greg Alex's anatomy and physiology 1 class at Northwestern Technical College in Rock Spring, Ga. Enrollment is at a record high at several technical colleges as many adults return to school.
Fall enrollment at Georgia technical colleges is at its highest level ever as more adults, facing lower wages and layoffs, choose technical training over a four-year degree.
"They realize it's the quickest way back in to the job market," said Craig McDaniel, president of Georgia Northwestern Technical College, which has campuses in Rock Spring, Calhoun and Rome, Ga.
Enrollment at Georgia Northwestern has increased 18 percent since last year to 6,016 students this fall, said Dr. McDaniel. He said 2,611 students are enrolled at the Walker County campus in Rock Spring.
All 28 colleges in the Technical College System of Georgia are experiencing surging registration numbers, officials said. Overall, technical college enrollment has increased 24 percent since last fall, to 110,254 students.
The system's record for all-time record enrollment for a quarter was 91,838, set in 2003, said TCSG Commissioner Ron Jackson.
"Our enrollment is growing at a record pace because the word is out that a Georgia technical college education is the most direct route to a great job and a long-term career," said Mr. Jackson. "If there's an up side in this down economy, it's that the state's technical colleges are helping tens of thousands of Georgians learn highly marketable skills and find their new place in today's changing work force."
Many adults are taking technical training because they have lost their jobs or are looking to change careers and earn more money, college officials said.
Carol Bentley said she decided to enter cosmetology school at Georgia Northwestern this year because her family's construction company was struggling to stay afloat.
"Needless to say, business is almost nonexistent," said Ms. Bentley, 53. "We need an additional stream of income. ... It was a great time to think about changing careers and do something else."
Dr. McDaniel said Georgia Northwestern also tripled its enrollment of new high school graduates over the last six years and is seeing enrollment growth among people with four-year degrees.
Many people cannot find work with degrees in liberal arts subjects such as English or history, he said.
"If you look at Labor Department data, it shows that 80 percent of the jobs don't require a four-year degree, but they do require some education past high school," he said.
"We focus on the skills that are in demand in the region we serve."
By the numbers
6,016: Number of students enrolled at Georgia Northwestern
18 percent: Increase in enrollment at Georgia Northwestern
24 percent: Increase in enrollment in the Technical College System of Georgia
Source: Technical College System of Georgia
Joan Garrett has been a staff writer for the Times Free Press since August 2007. Before becoming a general assignment writer for the paper, she wrote about business, higher education and the court systems. She grew up the oldest of five sisters near Birmingham, Ala., and graduated with a master's and bachelor's degrees in journalism from the University of Alabama. Before landing her first full-time job as a reporter at the Times Free Press, she ...
Wonder what Craig McDaniel, president of Georgia Northwestern Technical College, will say later when that great job and long-term career doesn't come true? And the vocational school graduate is drowning in education debt?
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