Until July 1, 2010, East Central Technical College was a

technical college An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...

within the Technical College System of Georgia. Its primary locations were in

Fitzgerald The FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty is a noble and aristocratic dynasty of Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman and later Hiberno-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the ...

and

Ocilla The Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA) is United States federal law that creates a conditional 'safe harbor' for online service providers (OSP) (a group which includes internet service providers (ISP) and other Inter ...

, with a

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

and extended campuses located in

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

Pearson Pearson may refer to: Organizations Education *Lester B. Pearson College, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada *Pearson College (UK), London, owned by Pearson PLC *Lester B. Pearson High School (disambiguation) Companies *Pearson PLC, a UK-based int ...

, and Rochelle. The school served the counties of

Ben Hill Benjamin, Ben or Benny Hill may refer to: People * Benjamin Harvey Hill (1823–1882), U.S. politician for the state of Georgia * Benjamin J. Hill (1825–1880), Confederate States Army brigadier general during the American Civil War, merchant a ...

/ Irwin,

Coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

, Atkinson, and

Wilcox Wilcox may refer to: Places ;Canada *Wilcox, Saskatchewan ;United States *Wilcox, Florida, an unincorporated community in Gilchrist County, Florida *Wilcox, Missouri *Wilcox, Nebraska * Wilcox, Pennsylvania *Wilcox, Washington * Wilcox, Wisconsin * ...

Tift Tift may refer to: Places *Tift County, Georgia, a county in south-central Georgia, United States People with the given name *Tift Merritt (born 1975), American singer-songwriter People with the surname *Andrew Tift (born 1968), British portrait ...

and Turner counties were originally to have been part of the school's area, but opted out before it began. The school also previously had campuses in Turner and Telfair counties, but in 2001 the Turner campus was transferred to Moultrie Technical College, and the Telfair campus to

Heart of Georgia Technical College Oconee Fall Line Technical College (OFTC) is a public community college with its main campuses in Sandersville and Dublin, Georgia. It is part of the Technical College System of Georgia and provides education services for an eleven-county servic ...

. On September 4, 2008, the State Board of Technical and Adult Education approved a merger East Central Technical College and Valdosta Technical College, effective July 1, 2010, as part of a larger program of restructuring throughout the TCSG. In 2009, it was announced that the new school would be known as

Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Wiregrass Georgia Technical College (WGTC) is a public community college in Valdosta, Georgia. It is part of the Technical College System of Georgia and provides education for an eleven-county service area in south-central Georgia. The school's ...

. The merger was completed, as planned, on July 1, 2010.

History

In 1968 Lewis Brinson became the first director of Ben Hill-Irwin Area Vocational Institute. On September 21, 1970 200 full-time students enrolled at the institution and on September 15, 1971 the first full-time

graduates Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

received their

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

s. On June 9, 1978 a $600,000 campus expansion plan was completed. The school changed from being locally governed to being governed by the state under the direction of the Georgia Department of Technical and

Adult Education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

(DTAE). In the fall of 1982, Ben Hill-Irwin Institute began a computer electronics program. It also expanded its

machine shop A machine shop or engineering workshop (UK) is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tools to make parts, usually of metal or plast ...

curriculum through a co-op program with Robins Air Force Base in 1983. January 1, 1984 Dr. Ed Green became the new president after the retirement of Brinson. The school changed its name to Ben Hill Irwin Technical Institute and established a joint degree program with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) in Tifton, which made it possible for ECTC students to earn an

associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

applied science Applied science is the use of the scientific method and knowledge obtained via conclusions from the method to attain practical goals. It includes a broad range of disciplines such as engineering and medicine. Applied science is often contrasted ...

from ABAC in 1986. According to ectcollege.org on July 1, 1996 Dr. Diane Harper became the third president. On November 7, 1996 the school changed its name to East Central Technical Institute. Over the next few years, enrollment increased tremendously and the support of the community continued to grow. The college continued to expand throughout the 1990s with the opening of the Charles Harris Learning Center in 1994, the Douglas satellite campus in 1997, on July 16, 1998 the opening of the Wilcox

Lifelong Learning Lifelong learning is the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated"Department of Education and Science (2000).Learning for Life: Paper on Adult Education Dublin: Stationery Office. pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons ...

Center, and on April 28, 1999 the new campus in Turner County. The name changed again to East Central Technical College in 2000 because of Georgia House bill 1187, that allowed institutes offering associate degrees to become

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

Accreditation

East Central Technical College was

accredit Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

ed by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education to award associate degrees of

applied technology Applied science is the use of the scientific method and knowledge obtained via conclusions from the method to attain practical goals. It includes a broad range of disciplines such as engineering and medicine. Applied science is often contrasted ...

, diplomas, and technical certificates of credit.

References

TCSG website

Georgia Encyclopedia entry
{{authority control Defunct public universities and colleges in Georgia (U.S. state) Technological universities in the United States Education in Ben Hill County, Georgia Education in Irwin County, Georgia Education in Coffee County, Georgia Education in Atkinson County, Georgia Education in Wilcox County, Georgia Educational institutions established in 1970 2010 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)