Anderson Oconee Pickens

Dedication of Oconee Campus Set for September 13

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 8/28/2007

CONTACT: LISA GARRETT, 646-1506
(By Lisa Garrett)

SENECA --- The public is invited to attend the dedication of the Tri-County Technical College Oconee Campus at the Hamilton Career Center set for Thursday, September 13 at 10 a.m.

          The ceremony will include comments from Dr. Ronnie Booth, president of Tri-County; Dr. Michael Lucas, superintendent for the School District of Oconee County, along with Board of Education Vice Chair Ken Poston; Hamilton Career Center Director Mike Pearson; Oconee County Council Chair Marion Lyles; Helen Rosemond Saunders, vice chair of the Tri-County Technical College Commission; and Pat Smith, vice president of nursing for Oconee Memorial Hospital.  A ribbon cutting and open house will follow.

            Fall semester at Tri-County Technical College’s Oconee Campus at the Hamilton Career Center began August 20 with a varied slate of university transfer classes for those Oconee County residents who want to save driving time while pursuing a degree in the evening.  Classes include Art History and Appreciation, Biology, English Composition, American Government and several mathematics courses.

Offerings cater to working adults and high school students by offering late afternoon and early evening classes in the University Transfer curriculum. High school students can choose to take dual enrollment classes (sunrise and late afternoon/evening) to get a head start on college.

Tri-County shares a newly constructed building with the Hamilton Career Center, who occupies the annex in the daytime, and Tri-County offers classes at in the late afternoon and evening.  The building is connected to the existing facility that previously housed the Career Center’s Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) program.  There are two classrooms and a science lab, allowing three courses to be offered at the same time, creating a centralized Oconee County location for Tri-County courses.

This spring, the LPN diploma program will begin classes, giving area students twice-a-year entry into the Tri-County Technical College LPN curriculum.  Academically qualified students in the Health Occupations/Sciences area of the Hamilton Career Center will be given preference for LPN program slots.  This gives high school students a head start on a nursing career.  The general education classes will meet Registered Nurse (R.N.) requirements so students can move more quickly into the R.N. major if they choose. 

Bringing Tri-County Technical College to Oconee County came to fruition because of collaboration between Oconee County School District, Oconee Memorial Hospital and the College, with support from the Oconee County Council.  Last year, Tri-County partnered with the Oconee County School District and Oconee Memorial Hospital to develop a collaborative agreement to expand nursing opportunities for Oconee County high school students.  The result is a seamless pipeline for high school students to take courses in the health profession, enroll in Tri-County’s LPN program offered on the new Oconee campus and continue to gain other nursing credentials while they work in area hospitals.