well as a beautiful conference center and a library that is open to the public . And , Harden says they hope to open their popular café to the public again within the next few weeks .
Moving forward , there are many things the community can be excited about regarding OFTC . The Sandersville campus recently had a ribbon cutting for a new instructional facility that will house the college ’ s truck driving program , mine safety program , OSHA and several other non-credit programs .
“ We ’ re excited to open that facility and expand what we do in those areas ,” Harden says .
OFTC will also be expanding its cybersecurity program and hiring another full-time instructor to allow them to offer more classes in that area . The college also now has retention specialists , working with students who may be struggling and helping them get the resources they need . the students .
“ We ’ ve already seen this semester when we ’ ve had more intensive retention activities that it ’ s helped to retain our students already , and that ’ s always a goal .”
Another area that is always a goal is increasing enrollment .
“ We were very fortunate prior to the pandemic that we had double-digit enrollment increases , and of course , that slowed down because of COVID , but that ’ s a big push of the college is to serve more students so we can have more graduates to put into the workplace ,” Harden says . “ Our mission is workforce development , and so it ’ s very important to us that we ’ re meeting the needs of business and industry in our area .”
Last year , the college saw a 30 % increase in the number of credit awards they gave students as well as an increase in graduates . Harden says they are always forecasting for programs they need to have to be able to meet the needs of the workforce . In addition , she ’ s excited to continue working with dual enrollment .
“ I want to continue to work with our high school partners at Brentwood and at Washington County so we can expand what we ’ re doing in dual enrollment to get students prepared so that they can enter the workforce sooner .”
Students who graduate , she says , also won ’ t be in a great deal of debt . Since tuition is low , the college doesn ’ t offer loans , but they do offer the federal Pell grant as well as the HOPE grant and scholarship in addition to scholarships through the foundation .
“ We really do try to provide not only support academically and through our services and student affairs , but also financially to help our students ,” Harden says .
The ability the college provides to allow students to enter the workforce after graduation is one of the things that makes OFTC unique , and it ’ s a compelling reason for students to choose the college .
“ Our programs are structured to meet the workforce demands , so there will be a job available to you if you graduate from us ,” Harden says .
Being a small institution allows the college to offer smaller class sizes in which providing good customer service is an easy goal to achieve .
“ We do have a family atmosphere here ,” Harden says . “ We care about our students … Our faculty know their students , and when you leave here , you ’ re going to have a job , and not every postsecondary institution can say that .”
SANDERSVILLE SCENE 49