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Savannah Tech sets furlough
School also notes record enrollment
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SAVANNAH — Savannah Technical College will close for business and furlough employees this fall in keeping with Gov. Sonny Perdue’s directive that state agencies cut budgets. The college will be closed on Sept. 4, Nov. 25 and Dec. 23.
“As a state agency, we are doing our part to address the state’s budget woes,” college President Kathy S. Love said. “Our primary concern is that we minimize the impact on instruction as much as possible.”
Only one date (Nov. 25, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving) is a scheduled instructional day and faculty will issue out-of-class assignments as appropriate for that day.
The furloughs are expected to save more than $104,000. Savannah Tech. has been told to expect another 4 percent cut and is planning for cuts of 6 percent and 8 percent this fiscal year; last year’s budget cuts represented a $1.7 million loss in state funding.
Despite the cuts, STC set an enrollment record this spring with 4,635 students attending, up from 16.3 percent from the previous year.  

Summer enrollment
The school, which has a campus in Hinesville, also recently reported continued growth in enrollment. Recent data from the Technical College System of Georgia, summer enrollment is up by 10.7 percent above last summer, with 3,732 enrolled at Savannah Tech campuses in Savannah, Liberty and Effingham. And, the number is likely to continue to rise with the start of public school as dual enrollment students are added to the rolls, as well as other classes that begin later in the quarter.  
“We’re delighted to see this kind of continuing enrollment growth,” Love said. “It’s an upward trend across the state as more and more, people are appreciating what technical college can offer them and their families.”
Contributing to the increase are the college’s new evening programs in culinary arts and cosmetology.  Both popular programs, many students are finding they can continue to work their day jobs and come to school in the evening to build their skills in new career areas.
“We will be offering more of our programs in the evening,” Love said. “It’s one of the ways we can help create more opportunities for students to get the classes they need.” The college has just begun enrolling for fall quarter which starts September 30.
Savannah Tech is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia and is a accredited. Visit www.savannahtech.edu or call 912.443.5517 for admission information.
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