The Adult Education program at Columbus Technical College has some incredible news it wants to shout from the rooftops - it has officially been ranked the number one Adult Ed program in the State of Georgia! Columbus Technical College’s Adult Education division provides GED classes and tests, as well as ESL/ELL (English as a Second Language/English Language Learners) classes.

The ranking stems from rigorus monitoring from the state over the course of one year - from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017.

Of the nearly 1,400 students enrolled in the 2016-2017 year, some of the benchmarks met and exceeded by the Columbus Technical College Adult Ed program include: 

• Exceeding the overall state results by 12%

• Upon exiting the program, 45% of GED graduates entered employment while 56% of those retained their employment for at least six months after.

• The largest population served (49.1%) is 25-44 year olds.

• A 90% college entrance rate within three (3) months of completing GED

With the exception of the GED tests themselves, all other services come at no cost to the student.

“Many people don’t realize that this is a free service. All classes, tutoring, materials, etc. are paid for,” said Columbus Technical College’s Director of Adult Education April Hopson. “The only fee involved is the $40 for each of the four GED tests themselves.”

Hopson says she encourages all of her students to take their GED to the next level.

“I have a saying: ‘Come for your GED and get your two-year degree.’ You’re already on the campus of a college. We will transition you into a college student and even waive the application fee,” Hopson said. “As soon as you finish your testing, we will provide your graduation regalia at no cost. I let our students know they need to keep their cap and gown for when they cross the stage as a college grad.”

“It’s not unusual for people to be scared, nervous, or even embarrased to come to our office,” Hopson said. “We just want them to know that if they walk through my doors, we’ll figure it out. Whether its financial issues, transportation, child care or just fear of failing, we have all the resources you need.”

Unfortunately the stigma associated with obtaining a GED versus a traditional high school diploma is still alive and well but the tests are black and white proof that getting a GED is serious business.

Here are just a few sample questions:

Pythagorean Relationship

1. If John places a 13-foot ladder 3 feed from the base of a wall, how far up the wall will the ladder reach to the nearest tenth of a foot?

Systems of Linear Equations

1. Find the solution for the two equations by substitution.  Express as an ordered pair in the form (x, y).

7x – y = 22

4x + 2y = 10

Algebra Expressions & Polynomials

1. What is the value of the expression 6(x-y) – 8x when x = -2 and        y = 5?

1. -58

2. -26

3.    2

4.  34

Hopson says her graduates are so prepared for college that when they take the Columbus Technical College Accuplacer entrance/placement exam, every one of her students scores high enough to go directly into college level English and Algebra. Unlike many others, they do not have to take learning support-type classes.

The results have been so impressive that Hopson’s program recently was awarded additional grant money to help fund three full time faculty positions. To date, the Adult Ed program has 31 staff which includes both full and part time faculty as well as administrative positions.

This ranking is particularly note-worthy since the College has only been providing it’s six-county service area with Adult Education programs for four years. In 2013, the program was ranked 16^th out of 33 adult ed programs in the state. At the time, services were provided in only seven locations. Today, there are 22 sites serving the community; each one is like a mini