The enrollment at Lanier Technical College has reached a record high.  According to figures supplied by the Technical College System of Georgia, the combined enrollment at the school’s five campuses at the end of fall quarter was 3308 credit students.  This surpasses the previous high of 3250 credit students enrolled in fall 2003

Dr. Mike Moye, president of Lanier Tech, credits the increase in enrollment to the college’s focus on making its offerings more accessible.  Lanier Tech now has campuses in Oakwood, Cumming, Winder, Dawsonville, and Commerce.  According to Moye, this expansion has allowed many students to seek career training who could not have imagined going to college in previous years due to busy schedules and other obstacles.

Lanier Technical College offers career-skills training in health occupations, business, computers, industrial technology, and public service.  The college offers a full evening schedule and hundreds of On-line courses to further meet the needs of working students.  According to Moye, “many of our students can be considered non-traditional due to their ages and domestic situations.  We have made every effort to ensure that students who already have families at home or are working full-time jobs have access to the training offered at Lanier Tech.”

Another major factor in the enrollment increase is that Georgia citizens are starting to learn more about the Georgia HOPE Grant program.  A vast majority of the students enrolled in credit programs at Lanier Tech use the Georgia HOPE Grant to pay for tuition and books.  The HOPE Grant does not share the strict requirements of the HOPE Scholarship, which is mainly used in the University System by those seeking four-year degrees.  The primary qualifications for the Georgia HOPE Grant are that the student must be enrolled in a technical certificate or diploma program and must be a legal Georgia resident for one year prior to applying.  There are no income, age, high school GPA, or high-school graduation date limitations.

The record credit enrollment figure of 3308 does not include the thousands of students enrolled in Lanier Tech’s GED training, English as a second language courses, customized economic development training, or continuing education seminars.  In 2007 the college trained over 21,000 people in all areas combined.  Lanier Tech is currently the tenth largest unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, which oversees 33 other technical colleges in the state

For more information about the programs offered at Lanier Technical College, call 770.531.6300 or visit online at www.laniertech.edu.

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