Student Catalog and Handbook 2019-2020

Mission Statement

Our Mission

West Georgia Technical College, a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, supports student success, economic development, and the community by providing a skilled workforce through the delivery of relevant education and training opportunities.

Our Vision

We envision West Georgia Technical College as a model of innovation and excellence in technical education, recognized as an outstanding pathway to rewarding careers.

Our Role and Scope

West Georgia Technical College (WGTC) is a public, two-year, multi-campus technical college that provides quality education and promotes workforce development in the West Georgia region.

An open-access institution of higher education, the college serves traditional and nontraditional curriculum students who have a wide variety of educational goals, from personal enrichment to career development to university transfer. To help students meet their goals, WGTC offers associate degrees, diplomas and technical certificates.

The curriculum includes programs in health sciences, trade and technology, business, and public service. WGTC students draw on knowledge from a broad range of disciplines to develop the communication and critical thinking skills that are fundamental to lifelong learning.

WGTC further promotes adult education and economic development through GED classes, ESL classes, continuing education courses, and corporate training for business and industry.

WGTC is committed to being accessible and responsive to community needs. To foster student success, WGTC provides quality education on many levels and comprehensive student support services. In addition to traditional instruction, WGTC’s flexible course offerings and alternative delivery methods, including online instruction, enable more members of the community to pursue higher education.

Our Core Values

  • Integrity
  • Professionalism
  • Student Success
  • Academic Excellence

Student Rights

West Georgia Technical College promotes a climate of academic integrity, critical inquiry, strong work ethic, intellectual freedom, and freedom of individual thought and expression consistent with the rights of others. The College protects the rights of its educational mission, vision, and purpose. Students have the right to the following:

  1. To be in an atmosphere that is conducive to learning and to attend WGTC educational programs, courses, offerings and activities on campus or any activity sponsored by WGTC off campus in accordance with WGTC policies and procedures.
  2. To obtain the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities in order to acquire skill competencies and obtain employment by participating in programs, courses, offerings and activities in accordance with WGTC policies and procedures.
  3. To develop intellectual, personal and social values.
  4. To due process procedures.
  5. To participate in institutional decision making in accordance with WGTC policies and procedures.
  6. To participate in approved student organizations in accordance with WGTC policies and procedures.
  7. To privacy as outlined in the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

General Education Outcomes

West Georgia Technical College stands committed to its mission to focus on the development of academic and technical competence; critical thinking skills; social, personal, and intellectual values; and an understanding of society. In recognition of the growing complexity of society and the workplace, West Georgia Technical College has identified general education outcomes expected of each graduate of its credit programs. These general education outcomes reflect the breadth and balance necessary for success in a global society and provide the foundation for students’ lifelong learning experiences. West Georgia’s general education outcomes are intended to foster the development of effective communication skills, mathematical reasoning skills, critical thinking abilities, information literacy, and respect for diversity that are vital for students’ success in today’s workplace and society. General education outcomes provide the tools to help students understand, in a critical and independent way, the issues and structures in which we are immersed and to develop learning skills that will equip students for a productive life in the 21st century.

  • Apply appropriate reading, writing, speaking, or listening skills to express ideas, and opinions.
  • Use everyday mathematical concepts and basic mathematical tools to obtain or convey information.
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning skills for problem solving.
  • Individually or as a member of a group, use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
  • Demonstrate ability to work effectively with people who have ideas, beliefs, attitudes, and/or behaviors that are different from his or her own.

Student Warranty

West Georgia Technical College provides a guarantee of quality to all graduates of diploma or degree programs. To demonstrate confidence in and commitment to quality technical education programs which are relevant, current, and responsive to the stated expectations of Georgia's businesses and industries, the Board of the Technical College System of Georgia will warrant every graduate from programs offering a diploma or associate degree according to the following stipulations:

  • This warranty guarantees the graduate has demonstrated the knowledge and skills and can perform each competency as identified in the industry-validated Standard and Program Guide; any program graduate who is determined to lack such competence shall be retrained at no cost to the employer or employee for tuition or instruction fees.
  • Any claim against the warranty will be based upon an agreement between the employer and the college graduate that the individual could not perform one or more of the competencies contained in the industry-validated Standard and Program Guide.
  • This warranty is included as a part of the original tuition cost at all state technical colleges in Georgia and is applicable to graduates of any diploma or degree program who entered the program subsequent to the mandated standards implementation date.
  • This warranty will remain in effect for two consecutive years following the date of graduation and will be honored by any state technical college which offers the same program.
  • This warranty shall be issued in writing to each graduate who enters a diploma or degree program subsequent to the mandated standards implementation date beginning in the fall quarter, 1989.