Atlanta - Technical College System of Georgia Commissioner Ron Jackson has announced the creation of a 17-member task force of business, education and community leaders from Cobb, Paulding and Bartow counties whose charge will be to examine the feasibility of merging Chattahoochee Technical College (CTC) in Marietta and North Metro Technical College (NMTC) in Acworth.

Several of those on the task force are also members of the local boards at CTC and NMTC.

The first meeting of the task force will occur in late February at a time and location to be determined then followed by at least two additional meetings. Jackson believes that the task force could be ready to submit its recommendations to him and the state board that oversees the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) in the next four to six months.

“There’s an exceptional opportunity, given the close proximity of two great technical colleges with outstanding facilities and world-class programs, to create a single institution capable of providing an unparalleled workforce for business and industry in Cobb, Paulding and Bartow counties,” said Jackson.

Jackson has asked Cobb businessman Earl Smith, who’s also a member of the TCSG state board, to chair the task force.  Smith emphasized that his group will place what’s best for the students at the two colleges at the forefront of their deliberations.

“There’s great potential here for our students to benefit and excel by providing them with
increased access to training opportunities and vastly expanded technical education
programs,” said Smith.  “Our communities stand to benefit as well because our workforce will be higher-skilled, more diverse, and even more in-demand.”

(A full list of task force members is attached to this release).

Jackson added that a merger should not include closings or reductions in student services at any of the campuses.  “Preserving and improving our students’ education experience is our first priority,” said Jackson. 

The task force will be asked to consider the merger’s impact on the colleges’ administrative functions, staffing needs and resource allocation as well as the effect that combining the two would have on the area’s economic development efforts. 

Chattahoochee Tech enrolled 6,264 students in the fall quarter of 2007, making it the largest institution among the 33 colleges that make up the Technical College System of Georgia.  The college also has two branch campuses in Cobb County and another in Paulding County in the city of Dallas.

North Metro Tech enrolled 2,220 students in the 2007 fall quarter at its only campus in Acworth.

If combined, the new college would enroll almost 3,200 more students than the state’s next-largest technical college, Central Georgia Tech in Macon.

attachment: List of Task Force Members

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