Forsyth Tech President Says Plan Will Help Students Complete Their Studies

“President Obama’s plan to invest $12 billion in the nation’s community colleges could not have come at a better time,” said Dr. Gary M. Green, president of Forsyth Technical College.

Green said that Forsyth Tech is seeing double-digit enrollment increases as more young people are starting their work toward bachelor’s degrees at the community college, and more people are depending on the college for retraining and skills upgrade to get back into the workforce.

After the first day of Forsyth Tech’s walk-in registration for fall classes ended yesterday, the number of approved applications had increased 33% over July 2008. 

“The President’s initiative will help community colleges provide access and opportunity for the millions of Americans who look to their community colleges for hope during difficult times,” Green said. “I applaud his effort.”

In a speech at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan today, President Obama said that expansions and reforms in the community college system are needed to help people get educated in the struggling economy. As few people are able to afford four-year universities, the President is calling for an additional  5 million community college graduates by 2020.

“The President’s initiative recognizes the importance of students completing their community college program, a longstanding goal of Forsyth Tech,” Green said.

“It supports online instruction, an area where we are a national leader, and it supports construction and renovation of facilities in institutions that are stepping up to acquire non-federal funds for capital investment.” President Obama’s plan targets $500 million to develop new online courses, $ 9 billion for challenge grants to spur innovation at community colleges, and $2.5 billion for construction and renovation of facilities.

According to James Kvaal,  a special assistant to the President for economic policy, many community colleges, which were built decades ago, have outdated facilities and suffer from a lack of classroom space.  

President Green noted that Forsyth Tech, which opened almost 50 years ago, needs both renovations to existing buildings and construction of new learning spaces to accommodate its dramatic growth in enrollment.