Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College preps for SACS review

Every ten years, colleges and universities accredited by SACSCOC must demonstrate that they comply with the standards contained in the “principles of accreditation” and with the commission’s policies and procedures. This process is called reaffirmation of accreditation.

The SACSCOC Board of Trustees will vote in December 2026 whether to affirm the college or not. In the meantime, the college must have its draft report completed by December 2025 and sent in the spring of the following year.

OCtech President Dr. Walt Tobin explained during an Area Commission meeting last month that part of the reaffirmation process includes the commission members conducting a self-assessment.

“Based on the assessment, if you identify some area of improvement or change, we must demonstrate change occurred. We must have multiple years of assessment,” Tobin said later.

The president recommended that the assessments be made on a calendar year basis so that the college will have three years’ worth of data by 2025.

“We will add to the calendar to do the assessment every September or October,” Tobin said.

The president also gave a review of the South Carolina Technical College System’s legislative agenda for the upcoming year.

That includes seeking $23.2 million in recurring funds; $51.1 million for lottery tuition assistance; $20 million in equipment for high-demand job skills training; $2 million for ReadySC project funding and $95 million for SC Wins, a statewide technical college scholarship program designed to address workforce shortages in South Carolina.

“This is our legislative request for 2023-2024 as they (state lawmakers) begin the session in January 2023. The request is for the South Carolina Tech System. Our share of the state funds is approximately 3.5 percent,” Tobin said.

Also in his report, Tobin said the college has partnered with the American Association of Community Colleges and Google to provide training for students to become Google Career Certificate graduates.

“This partnership allows Orangeburg and Calhoun (county) residents to take on jobs in the digital economy and will enable them to work from home. The training is free,” Tobin said.

Project management, data analytics, IT support and user experience will be included in the first cohort of classes.

“We will evaluate how it goes,” Tobin said. Graduates have the potential to earn between $50,000 and $75,000 working from home.

“Google and AACC have Fortune 500 companies that will hire these employees,” he said.

In other matters, the president reported on the town hall meeting that the Regional Medical Center held regarding its partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina.

As part of the transition, a new, 18-member Constituency Advisory Board will be formed and tasked with providing the new hospital board with policy recommendations “based on the identified health care needs of the area served by the hospital and the entities that interact with the hospital.”

Tobin said while he was initially tapped to serve as an advisory board member from the college, he has asked Dr. Stefanie Gadson Brown, dean of healthcare prep and workforce, to serve in that capacity instead.

The president also reported that the college recognized faculty and staff members for their exceptional work during the college’s fall convocation.

Billy Etheridge, dean of business, computer education and public service, was named faculty member of the year. Sherisse Jackson, an advanced manufacturing instructor, was named faculty member of the year for teaching and innovation. Dayna Smoak was named staff person of the year.

OCtech Vice President of Fiscal Affairs Kim Huff stated that the college reported revenue of $10.5 million at the end of August, with expenses standing at $3.6 million.

“Fall enrollment is down, even slightly more than we anticipated. The college still has HEERF funds to help cover the tuition shortfall. The HEERF funds are available until June 2023,” Huff said later, referring to the federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund money the college has received.

Huff also reported that the college already received 88 percent of its state appropriations, and that the college’s prior approval of opening a Local Government Investment Pool account with the state Treasurer’s Office “should provide much better investment earnings for the college.”

The college has four projects in progress, Huff said, including a new digital sign for which proposals are being reviewed.

The renovation of buildings T, S and K are among the other projects. Bids have been received for work on the Building T renovation, while architects are working on design documents for the remaining two projects.

OCtech Vice President of Academic Affairs Williette Berry said the S.C. Technical College System approved the college’s certificates in advanced EMT, advanced welding and introduction to engineering.

The state Tech College System already approved the college’s certificate in HVAC basics last month.

Berry also noted that the college faculty had completed its last Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or DEI, session during its fall convocation. The topic was “Equity Root Cause to Improve Outcomes for Men of Color.”

“The deans and I are now having conversations about how to incorporate what was learned into courses by implementing culturally relevant teaching across all curriculums,” Berry said.