Plans for expansion of Lanier Technical College in Forsyth will be realized this spring with the construction of a 60,000 sq. foot, state-of-the-art facility...
Lanier Technical College will nearly double the size of its Forsyth Campus this year. This expansion is in response to the school’s growing enrollment, which reached record levels in 2008, and the need in the community for new training programs.
The college plans to break ground on a new 60,000-square-foot building this spring at the campus located on Majors Road in southern Forsyth County. This state-of-the-art facility will house most of the school’s medical training programs, including practical nursing, radiology, sonography, cardiovascular intravenous technology, surgical technology, and physical therapy assisting. A large economic development center will also be included in the project. The economic development center will meet the school’s need for a large open meeting space and will also be available for community events.
Lanier Technical College is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia. The Forsyth Campus is the second largest of five campuses located throughout the college’s eight-county service area in Northeast Georgia. The college offers career and technical skills training in the areas of technology, computers, business, health, and public service.
Lanier Tech has maintained a strong presence in Forsyth County since the Forsyth Campus opened in 1998 to meet the needs of students and employers in the community. The college specializes in providing students with skills that they can apply immediately in a wide range of occupational areas.
One of the primary advantages that the state’s technical colleges offer is the Georgia HOPE Grant program. Dr. Joanne Tolleson, Vice President of Operations of the Forsyth Campus says, “Most people I meet in the community do not understand that the requirements for the HOPE Grant are much less restrictive than those for the HOPE scholarship. In fact, the HOPE Grant pays much of the tuition and fees for a vast majority of our students.”
New program offerings were chosen after a thorough needs analysis conducted by Lanier Tech and the Technical College System. Dr. Mike Moye, president of Lanier Technical College, says that this type of evaluation of employment conditions within the community is necessary in order to ensure that graduates from new and expanded programs acquire skills and experience that will help them find good jobs locally, while at the same time helping local employers fill needs for skilled employees. The studies conducted by the college and by the state both showed that the primary demand in Forsyth and surrounding counties will be in a variety of health occupations.
Funding for the expansion project of $11.2 million was approved in the 2007 state budget. Governor Sonny Purdue has recommended another $1.5 million in next year’s budget to increase the size of the economic development center. The design for the new facility is currently being finalized and ground breaking is scheduled for this spring.
