Published July 21, 2004


In its 38-year history, Northwestern Technical College has become a major player in the Northwest Georgia’s educational, economic and business landscape.

The school’s main campus is in Walker County. A satellite campus is planned for Catoosa County.

A college’s job is to educate students and train them for their future professional pursuits. Northwestern meets head-on the challenges of today’s constantly evolving technology culture, which demands flexible, hard-working people who can not only work well with change, but also embrace it.

Established in 1966 as the 150-student Walker County Area Vocational Technical School, Northwestern routinely sets enrollment records. Its lasting partnership with the regional community and industry means better-trained workers and thus, economic development for our area.

Last August, ground was broken on the Center for Allied Health and Information Technology at the main campus in Walker County. The building is about halfway to completion, said Northwestern President Ray Brooks several weeks ago.

The new building will house programs like registered nurse training and licensed practical nursing, occupational therapy assistant, database specialist, early childhood education, health information technology, pharmacy assistant, cardiovascular technology, computer support specialist, social work assistant, telecommunications technology and network security.

Northwestern plans to invest $6.6 million in its Catoosa County campus at Benton Place. Officials expect enrollment would double with the expansion.

Growth in enrollment and demand for services have, however, pushed the school’s boundaries, both in terms of land and facilities at the U.S. 27 campus, to its limits. About 2,200 students were enrolled in spring 2004.

According to its Web site, Northwestern has 18 associate degree programs, 24 diploma programs and 38 specialized certificate programs. Offerings range from truck driving to early childhood education to accounting. Many students take credit courses on-line, a welcome trend since the Northwestern campus has little room for expansion.

Among Georgia’s 34 technical schools, Northwestern was No. 1 in total enrollment growth between fall 2002 and fall 2003. The school also ranked in the top five for percentage growth in credit hours, figured by taking the number of enrolled students and multiplying that by the total class hours taken.

Even with a tuition increase, the school is still a tremendous value for potential students. Northwestern’s tuition and fees rose by about 3 percent for this fall, the lowest jump among public and private colleges in North Georgia.

As our area has grown, Northwestern has grown with it. The school is a great ally to our community’s development, and we look forward to its promising future