The State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia has selected Ogeechee Technical College in Statesboro as this year’s recipient of the Sonny Perdue Award for the TCSG Technical College of the Year.  This is the second year since the award was established in 2010 that Ogeechee has been named College of the Year.

“This is a well-deserved honor for Ogeechee Technical College. Under President Cartee’s strong leadership, the staff and faculty of Ogeechee Technical College have consistently exceeded their goals,” said Gretchen Corbin, Commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia. “The true winners here are the Ogeechee Tech students who are benefiting from an excellent education that is equipping them with the skills that they need for careers with great companies.”

Each December, the TCSG board chooses the award winner from among the system’s 22 technical colleges. The top college is named after a review of 20 performance categories covering technical education, adult education, economic development, resource development, and administration.

 “I couldn’t be more proud to accept this award on behalf of all the board, faculty, staff and students of Ogeechee Tech,” said President Cartee. “We could not have achieved this milestone without their support, as well as that of the board, the community and the TCSG system office.”

Highlights from Ogeechee Technical College’s 2015 academic year include:

·         The highest graduation rate (75.5%) in the Georgia’s public technical college system. Ogeechee Tech graduated over 1,100 students in 2015, and has exceeded its Complete College Georgia degree production goals the last seven consecutive years.

 
·         The second highest student retention rate of 69.3%, compared to a system-wide rate of 64%.

 
·         The highest increase in enrollment by high school students (up 140% from the prior academic year).

 
·         The third-highest licensure pass rate in the system during FY15, with 94.7% of graduates passing their licensure exams.

 
·         An increase in the number of companies whose employees received Customized Contract Training through the college's Office of Economic Development program, providing over 25,000 hours of training in 2015.

Ogeechee Technical College, which was also named College of the Year in 2011, serves Bulloch, Evans and Screven counties in eastern Georgia. The other two finalists for the 2015 award were Athens Technical College and Gwinnett Technical College. Previous College of the Year award winners include Lanier Technical College (2014), Savannah Technical College (2013), Atlanta Technical College (2012) and Wiregrass Georgia Technical College (2010).

The TCSG College of the Year award was created in 2010 in honor of former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, a strong supporter of the TCSG colleges and their mission to develop the state’s workforce through technical and adult education.