President’s Report

It is critical at Piedmont Technical College that we stand behind the quality of the education we provide. Our commitment to quality is key to educating a top-notch workforce for our industry and business partners, while also positioning our students to excel at four-year colleges. This year, we’ve continued to adapt, expand and create opportunities that guarantee our graduates are positioned for success now and in the future.

Through this website, you’ll learn how we became the first college in the state to make a commitment to the quality of our technical program graduates through a new Job-Ready Guarantee. This guarantee is our promise, both to Piedmont Tech graduates and their employers, that our recent alumni are entering the workforce with the right skill set to succeed on the job. And if they find they don’t have the necessary training to perform the job tasks learned with us, we will retrain them at no cost to the graduate or their employer.

We feel that strongly about the caliber of our programs. And we hope this new initiative serves to strengthen each graduate’s pride in their accomplishment.

Along these same lines, you will find that, for years, our university transfer students have been assured by an SC Commission on Higher Education policy that their courses are transferable from Piedmont Tech to other colleges and universities throughout the state. We also work closely with private colleges in our region to provide clear transfer pathways for these students. These types of initiatives ensure that our students are well-prepared to continue their education at the four-year college level.

You’ll also see that our commitment to graduates is further illustrated in our adoption of a new strategic plan. That plan lays out a road map for helping our students become more successful by building on and strengthening our programs and services over the next three years.

One way that we are accomplishing these goals is by making college more affordable. Over the summer, the South Carolina General Assembly voted to launch the SC Workforce and Industrial Needs Scholarship (SC WINS)—a statewide program designed to address workforce shortages. That scholarship has allowed us to significantly decrease the out-of-pocket cost for the majority of the students enrolled at the college. In fact, this legislation means that more of our students can attend tuition-free—including area high school students.

It’s hard to overstate the transformative effect this new funding can have on our current and future students. This also means big things for business and industry in our region. Making education more affordable will ensure a larger pipeline of skilled employees. This fact is at the core of the new legislation and will serve to further strengthen our community and the state of South Carolina as a whole.

Ultimately, we want everyone in our region to know that they have access to a college education. We have the necessary resources to help them achieve great things. And we will help them realize their dreams on the road to becoming future-ready.