South Georgia Technical College ranked 3rd for Best Associate Degrees in Georgia

February 9, 2022
South Georgia Technical College CAT Heavy Equipment Diesel Technology Instructor Kyle Hartsfield (right) is shown above with one of his students working on a caterpillar piece of equipment as part of the SGTC’s Heavy Equipment Dealers Service Technology program. His students learn while they earn. The students are all employed by different caterpillar dealers throughout the southeastern United States. They attend classes on campus for eight weeks, return to their respective CAT dealers for eight weeks and apply the classroom knowledge to real work situations. They rotate between classroom, lab, and actual work experience for two years to earn an associate degree.
South Georgia Technical College CAT Heavy Equipment Diesel Technology Instructor Kyle Hartsfield (right) is shown above with one of his students working on a caterpillar piece of equipment as part of the SGTC’s Heavy Equipment Dealers Service Technology program. His students learn while they earn. The students are all employed by different caterpillar dealers throughout the southeastern United States. They attend classes on campus for eight weeks, return to their respective CAT dealers for eight weeks and apply the classroom knowledge to real work situations. They rotate between classroom, lab, and actual work experience for two years to earn an associate degree.

    South Georgia Technical College was selected as the third best college in Georgia to earn an associate degree according to University HQ.    The ranking was based on cost of tuition, admission rate, retention rate, graduation rate, graduating salary, number of programs offered, online programs offered, loan default rate, diplomas awarded, percent of students receiving financial aid and reputation and expert opinion.  The rankings can be found at: https://universityhq.org/best-colleges/georgia/#associate

    “South Georgia Technical College has a tremendous reputation for providing an outstanding two-year education that prepares students for the workforce,” said South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford.  “We are very pleased University HQ has ranked us as one of the top two-year colleges in Georgia to receive an associate degree.  This provides external validation about the quality and excellence in technical education we provide.”

    The two colleges ranked higher than South Georgia Technical College were Gwinnett Technical College in Lawrenceville, and Abraham Baldwin Technical College in Tifton.  Gwinnett Tech has over 9500 students and ABAC has approximately 3900.  South Georgia Tech costs $6,000 less than either of the top two colleges and has a graduation rate 24 percentage points higher than the top ranked college and 30 percentage points higher than ABAC.

   Other colleges included in the rankings in descending order included:  Georgia Northwestern Technical College, West Georgia Technical College, Georgia Highlands College, Southern Crescent Technical College, Georgia Piedmont Technical College, Ogeechee Technical College and Georgia Military College.  South Georgia Tech’s graduation rate was the highest of the 10 premiere two-year colleges. 

   South Georgia Technical College has been ranked as the top community college in Georgia for three consecutive years by Niche.com.  SGTC is one of only two technical colleges in Georgia with on-campus housing.  It offers students the “complete college experience” with outstanding academics, nationally ranked intercollegiate athletics and student activities.  The college offers over 200 associate degree, diploma, and technical certificates of credit.

   SGTC President Watford gave credit to the community as well as the faculty, staff, and students at South Georgia Technical College.  “This ranking is a testament to the faculty, staff and students at South Georgia Technical College and to our business and industry partners.  Students attend South Georgia Technical College because of the outstanding faculty and staff here who continuously work for the betterment of students.  Our professionals are helping students enroll, remain in classes, and become educated and trained for the careers of their choice.  Then we work with business and industry partners to help place students in the workplace.  This type of cooperation and hard work is what has helped us to be the top community college in Georgia for the third consecutive year and now one of the top colleges in Georgia to earn an associate degree.”

    South Georgia Technical College is an excellent choice for an individual that is interested in finding the career of a lifetime.  Partnerships with industry leaders such as Caterpillar, John Deere, Georgia Power, Delta, and others have helped the college to earn world-wide recognition in graduating students in heavy equipment technology while also taking advantage of the “complete college experience” that includes on-campus housing, a full-service cafeteria, men’s and women’s intercollegiate basketball, intramural sports, and clubs and student organizations.  The college also highlights particularly successful students through its Student of Excellence program and by participation in the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL).  The college has had students nationally recognized in its SkillsUSA, National Technical Honor Society, and Phi Beta Lambda organizations.

    To apply or for more information contact the SGTC admissions office at 229-931-2394 in Americus or 229-271-4040 for the Crisp County Center campus.  Students can begin applying now for Spring Semester’s eight-week session which starts March 14th.