Georgia Piedmont Technical College Associate Degree Programs
Georgia Piedmont Technical College appears in our ranking of the 20 Best Colleges for an Online Associates Degree.
Georgia Piedmont Technical College offers more than 50 programs fully online that award associate degrees, diplomas, and certificates. Degrees are offered in the areas of business, computers, and media, and students may enroll in online programs from anywhere that they can access a computer and the internet. The college offers around a dozen fully-online associate degree programs.
Business associate degrees offered online include those in accounting, banking & finance, business management, health information management, human resource management, and marketing. Associate degrees in areas like business and accounting usually require around 60 credits and award an Associate of Applied Science degree.
The degrees at Georgia Piedmont Technical College are career-oriented and technical, but the college does require that students complete classes in areas like language arts, the humanities, fine arts, and general education. For example, the Associate of Applied Science in Accounting features classes like Individual Tax Accounting and Payroll Accounting, but it offers students the choice of fulfilling general education requirements with classes like Introduction to Psychology and American Government.
For the Associate of Applied Science in Banking and Finance, students will take 49 credits of occupational courses in their major, and 15 additional courses in general education and liberal arts. Courses in finance and banking offered at Georgia Piedmont Technical College include Investments, Bank Business & Information Systems, and Business Regulations & Compliance.
Meanwhile, programs on the topic of computers include cyber forensics technology, computer programming specialist, computer support specialist, database specialist, and networking specialists. For database degrees, students can focus on SQL or Oracle. Students who enroll in the networking specialist degree can choose Linux/Unix, Microsoft, or Cisco as their focus.
Like the business degrees at the college, the computer degrees are also offered as an Associate of Applied Science degree. Students take general education courses like Art Appreciation and Introduction to Sociology, as well as occupational courses for their major. For example, the Associate of Applied Science in Computer Support Specialist features classes like Comprehensive Database Techniques, Information Security Fundamentals, and Computer Concepts.
While pursuing a computer or business degree online at Georgia Piedmont Technical College, students may augment their enrollment by pursuing a certificate in an area like payroll accounting, retail marketing manager, Visual Basic programming, or mobile application developer. Students may also use their associate degree as a stepping stone for enrollment at a four-year university.
About Georgia Piedmont Technical College
Georgia Piedmont Technical College is located in Atlanta and focuses on technical education for its students. The state runs a Technical College System of Georgia, and Georgia Piedmont is part of that system. The school’s colors are yellow, red, and blue. When it was founded in 1961, the school was known as DeKalb Technical College. It would undergo a few name changes before adopting its modern name.
The first class of students at the college numbered 18, and all students were enrolled in the electronics technology program. Classes were initially held at a temporary location until permanent buildings were constructed in 1963 on Clark Drive. Today, the college has an additional campus in Covington, as well as several learning centers in the counties of Newton, Morgan, Rockdale, and DeKalb.
Georgia Piedmont Technical College Accreditation Details
Regional accreditation for Georgia Piedmont Technical College comes from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), which allows the school to award college degrees, certificates, and diplomas. Degrees are offered at the associate level. Accreditation from SACSCOC applies to the overall institution, and there are also some programmatic accreditations that have been awarded to the college’s programs.
Programmatic accreditations include those from the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET for the engineering design technology and electronic engineering technology programs and the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology for the radiologic technology program. Other approvals come from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, and the Joint Review Committee on Cardiovascular Technology.
Georgia Piedmont Technical College Application Requirements
Georgia Piedmont Technical College application requirements include submitting the online application or coming to campus to submit a physical application, as well as paying a non-refundable application fee of $25.00. Students should also provide a copy of their official high school transcripts or their score report from the GED. Students who have foreign credentials for their educational background will submit their records for evaluation.
All students must take the ACCUPLACER test for the purposes of class placement or provide scores from the SAT, ACT, or the ASSET test. Applicants who want to qualify for in-state tuition must provide proof of residency at the time of their application. The college also has a requirement that students are lawfully present in the United States, which means providing a document like a birth certificate to qualify for in-state tuition.
Tuition and Financial Aid
For Georgia residents, the tuition rate is $100 per semester credit hour. The rate for non-citizens from international locations is $400 per credit hour. Tuition fees for students who live outside Georgia are $200 per semester credit hour. Other fees that students may need to pay include a $5.00 transportation fee, a $7.50 transcript fee, and a $105 technology support fee.
Other costs associated with attending Georgia Piedmont Technical College include a $6 insurance fee per semester credit and a $35 student activity fee for on-campus students enrolled in half-time or greater credit loads. Some of the college’s specialty programs have additional fees associated with enrollment. Students will pay an extra fee of $132.00 per semester for the Commercial Truck Driving Certificate.
Students who need financial assistance to attend Georgia Piedmont Technical College may receive federal and state grants when they apply, as well as offers of student employment or scholarships. Students who want to participate in the bulk of the college’s aid programs must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is available on October 1st each year.
The college shares that it has more than two dozen internal scholarships available for students who qualify. The school uses a service called AwardSpring that helps match students with various scholarships. Some of the awards students may receive when they attend Georgia Piedmont Technical College include the Barrow Single Parent Scholarship, the GPTC Achievement Scholarship, and the Georgia United Credit Union Scholarship.
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