President’s Report

Since Piedmont Technical College opened its doors in 1966, we’ve strived to provide a solid jumping off point that will propel our students toward success. In that time, we’ve continued to adapt and expand to meet the needs of our industry, business and educational partners in the region. That’s because the training and education we provide is the coin of the realm in today’s economy. The more relevant skills individuals in our region receive, the more successful they will be as part of the growing workforce in our area of the state. And with a more skilled workforce, our region will be more attractive to companies that are looking to expand or open new operations.

With that said, we have worked hard to raise the bar each year when it comes to the quality of our service to the community and the applicable training we provide to our students. This year alone we have seen a groundswell of new success and opportunities.

In fact, we served more than 6,000 students in nearly 100,000 credit hours of instruction last year through our credit offerings. And that’s only half the story. In partnership with local business and industry we served another 6,000 students through workforce development programs, in more that 150,000 contact hours of training.

Piedmont Tech has worked in close partnership with readySC™ , Apprenticeship Carolina™ and local economic developers to leverage our strength in credit and non-credit training into real jobs for people all over the region. We’re also thrilled with new announcements from companies like Teijin and we’re committed to delivering the consistent training our existing industry partners need for their success—from Self Regional Healthcare to Prysmian to ZF Transmission.

Since last year’s annual report, we completed our SACSCOC reaffirmation. It’s a testament to our faculty and staff that we completed this rigorous process with no recommendations from the visiting team, and with a vote of confidence in our Quality Enhancement Plan.

We’ve also developed new partnerships across our service region. The Abbeville Promise launched this fall, thanks to the good work of concerned citizens in that county. That program complements programs in two other counties in our region, making Piedmont Technical College’s service region a leader in these efforts across the state, and making a quality college education accessible to more students across our region.

Other partnerships are ensuring a well-qualified talent pipeline for local companies and making new opportunities available to students all over our region. For instance, we launched new advanced manufacturing and industrial dual enrollment programs, like Welding, Mechatronics, and Manufacturing Production Technician in several counties, through the collaborative efforts of local companies, our school district partners, and the local economic developers.

And on our own campus, we’ve launched a more intensive advising effort for health care students, in partnership with local health care providers, to ensure students are fully informed about the careers they’ve chosen, and that they have all the tools they need to succeed. This new program, called the CAREplan, will ensure a well-trained workforce for these critical positions.

These are just a few of many examples you can read about in this detailed report.

Through this website, you’ll see how we’ve mapped clear pathways to success for various student groups. You’ll also get an in-depth look at how we partner with others to make these pathways a reality.

We will show you what the college has planned for the future and how those plans will continue to open doors to new employment options for our students.

Above all, we hope you’ll see what our talented faculty and staff members are providing to students every day — a chance to raise their expectations and achieve more than they ever thought possible. So this year, as we’ve continued to do throughout the college’s history, we’ve taken the strength of our existing foundation and we’ve set the bar higher. We’ve expected more from ourselves and we’ve expected more from our partnerships. And everyone involved has stepped up to bring a growing number of transformative opportunities to various individuals in our region. In turn, we’ve raised student possibilities to new heights.

At PTC, we are more than a technical college. We are a place where single parents choose to juggle full-time work, a full course load and family obligations to foster a better life for their children. We are a place where recent high school graduates can save thousands of dollars on tuition and focus more on their courses than on financing their education. Ultimately, we are a place that opens up a world of opportunity for any student no matter where they start or where they hope to end up.

And that’s why we’ve spent this year raising expectations.