History, Mission & Values

Our Mission

The mission of Georgia Northwestern Technical College is to provide accessible, high quality technical education and workforce development opportunities that lead to careers in technology, business, health, and public services. Operating under the Technical College System of Georgia, both on-campus and distance education programs are offered that lead to certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees. The educational programs of the college focus on the development of technical competence and critical thinking skills as well as social, personal, and intellectual values. In addition, Georgia Northwestern Technical College supports the communities of the northwest Georgia service area by providing adult education and economic development services, customized business and industry training, and personal enrichment programs that meet the workforce needs of area citizens, communities, and companies.

Our Purpose

Georgia Northwestern Technical College exists to provide education and skills training for the benefit of our community.

Our Core Values

GNTC’s Core Values spell "ExCITE!"
Excellent Quality
Customer Service
Integrity
Teamwork
Everyone is Respected

Our Vision

Community Focus

GNTC is built upon a close relationship with the community and a commitment to be responsive to community needs. GNTC meets the unique needs of each community in Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Murray, Polk, Walker and Whitfield counties while helping citizens, companies, and communities benefit from working together. GNTC helps communities by providing skilled technical program graduates, training services for local companies and adult education services to develop literate families and workers. GNTC will reach out to all nine counties in the service area while working to enhance the larger community. GNTC’s purpose will continue to be community development through workforce development.

Quality Technical Programs and Services

GNTC will offer a comprehensive range of quality, high-demand associate of applied science degree, technical diploma, and technical certificate of credit programs to prepare students for careers. The college will provide leadership in three technical areas: the college will be recognized as the premiere manufacturing/industrial training center in Georgia, and the leading medical/healthcare and business/information technology training source in Northwest Georgia.

Student-Oriented Learning

Instruction and all other activities at GNTC are student centered. GNTC faculty will provide instruction that enables students to become proficient professionals in their chosen fields of study. Faculty will be highly qualified and will be real-world professionals who will help students to bridge the gap between classroom instruction and real-world applications.

Seamless and Accessible Education

A collaborative relationship among high schools, GNTC, and other colleges will provide students with opportunities to make seamless educational transitions. GNTC will place emphasis on dual enrollment of high school students in technical programs and on distance education to make instruction more accessible.

Business Partnerships

An active relationship between businesses and GNTC will continue to grow. Credit programs will be developed and offered to meet business and industry needs, and noncredit customized training, human resource development services, and technology transfer services will be specifically designed to meet the needs of individual companies and consortia of companies with similar needs.

History of Georgia Northwestern Technical College

On September 4, 2008, the State Board of Technical and Adult Education approved the merger of Coosa Valley Technical College and Northwestern Technical College became effective July 1, 2009. Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) has campuses in Floyd, Gordon, Polk, Walker and Whitfield counties. GNTC has the nine counties of Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Murray, Polk, Walker and Whitfield as its service area. The Floyd County Campus was designated as the home campus. The two colleges have individual long, meaningful histories. The following histories of the two technical colleges demonstrate the impact of the colleges and how important training and educational opportunities have been and will continue to be to the citizens of Northwest Georgia.

History of Coosa Valley Technical College

Coosa Valley Technical College began its history as Coosa Valley Tech on July 1, 1962. The school represented a combined investment by the City of Rome, Floyd County, and state and federal governments in providing postsecondary vocational education and employment opportunities to the citizens of Northwest Georgia. Prior to facilities being constructed for Coosa Valley Tech, vocational education courses were offered in an old fire hall on Shorter Avenue. The school offered academic training for over 800 veterans of World War II and the Korean Conflict. C. Maurice Culberson was the administrator and later became the first director of Coosa Valley Vocational- Technical School. Today, GNTC’s Floyd County Campus address, One Maurice Culberson Drive, is dedicated to Mr. Culberson.

Along with the academic training that was offered, the school also offered Practical Nursing. Programs like this were some of the first local, tax-supported programs for out-of-school adults in Rome and Floyd County. The veterans’ program was eliminated in 1961, and in 1962 two local bonds provided Coosa Valley Tech with $250,000, which was then matched by the state. The money went directly into purchasing a site and beginning construction on the school.

Coosa Valley Vocational Technical School became a reality in 1962 and was one of only 13 technical or vocational schools scattered throughout Georgia. It was born of a community plea to provide people with the skills and training necessary to succeed in a rapidly changing economy. Numerous requests began flooding in from local business and industry representatives for the school to offer more diverse types of training to meet the demand for local employment opportunities. In 1962, the following programs became operational: Electronic Technology, Automotive Mechanics, Electrical Appliance Servicing, Heating and Air Conditioning, Machine Shop, Business Education, and Practical Nursing. The staff consisted of only 13 full-time and 4 part-time instructors, to provide education for 166 full-time and 48 evening students. Enrollment, however, continued to grow, and as enrollment grew, so did the size of the faculty and facility. In 1969, J. D. Powell was appointed to succeed Maurice Culberson, as director of the school, followed by Charles E. Earle from 1982-1987. Then in 1987 the name changed to Coosa Valley Technical Institute. J.D. Powell became the first president of CVT from 1987-1994, followed by Dr. Ronald Swanson, 1994-1997.

Coosa Valley Tech continued to make a difference in the hearts and lives of the citizens of Northwest Georgia. In 1997, with continued enrollment growth, CVT added its first branch campus in Calhoun, the Gordon County Campus. In 1998, the year that Dr. Craig McDaniel became CVTC’s new president, the Polk County Campus was built. In 2000, the name of the school was changed to Coosa Valley Technical College, as a part of Governor Roy Barnes’ Education Reform Package. In 2000, the state approved almost $14 million dollars in designated funds for expansion of all three CVTC campuses. Then in 2000, CVTC made a commitment to increase its prominent role in the community’s economic development efforts by establishing a Business Expansion Center. This facility, located in North Rome, offers businesses of all types the opportunity to start, grow, and ultimately succeed. In just a short amount of time, CVTC became one of the fastest growing technical colleges in the state of Georgia. Through the tremendous growth and expansion of CVTC, there was always one constant as exemplified in President McDaniel’s statement as Coosa Valley Technical College celebrated her 40th Anniversary in 2002. "We are a workforce development college, here to help people learn new skills for the workplace and to improve their quality of life.

Coosa Valley Technical College went through many expansions, renovations, and additions throughout the years thanks to the strong support of the members of the General Assembly. In 2002, CVTC acquired more land at its Floyd County Campus, including the Woodlee Center property and the Springwood Center. In 2003, $2.4 million in improvement renovations were completed on the A, B, C, and D wings of the Floyd County Campus. CVTC completed the construction of a 54,000 square foot Health Occupations Education Center and Library in 2004. With 29 health technology programs housed in the Health Occupations Education Center, CVTC became one of the largest providers of health care occupational training in the state of Georgia. CVTC’s Polk County Campus added a new Economic Development Center in 2004. In 2006, Surgical Technology was added to CVTC’s program offerings and CVTC’s Business Technology programs moved into the newly renovated Springwood Center.

Following an overwhelmingly positive accreditation visit in December 2006, Coosa Valley Technical College became accredited through the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS-COC).

CVTC continued to add exciting new programs to meet the needs of the community by adding Environmental Horticulture on the grounds of the Woodlee Center property in 2006, Commercial Truck Driving in 2007 at the Richardson Road Truck Driving Facility in Calhoun, Georgia (Gordon County) and by adding Aviation Maintenance Technology in 2008 at the Aviation Training Center at the Richard B. Russell Regional Airport in Rome, Georgia (Floyd County).

In 2009, at the time of the merger with Northwestern Technical College, Coosa Valley Technical College was working on a Phase III facility addition at Gordon Campus and a Culinary Arts program addition to be located in the Woodlee Center facility. With three campuses in Floyd, Gordon, and Polk counties, other off-campus sites at Richardson Road and Russell Regional Airport, in addition to the Business Expansion Center located in Rome, CVTC’s yearly enrollment averaged 10,000 students with 250 supporting faculty and staff. CVTC was offering over 100 programs of study in credit, continuing education, adult education, learning support, and general education classes. A strong indicator that technical education was moving in the right direction was CVTC’s growth in numbers. In 2002, Coosa Valley Technical College hit an all time high record enrollment, and current enrollment numbers continued to be steady. Since its beginning, over 100,000 people had enrolled in CVTC. CVTC service helped to explain credit given to the college in April 2007 by Forbes magazine. The article, "Hail Rome," credited Coosa Valley Technical College with playing a major role in helping draw international companies to Rome, Georgia. More and more people are discovering how technical education can help them in their current jobs or prepare them for a better future.

History of Northwestern Technical College

From its beginnings as a one building campus off of Highway 27 in Walker County, Georgia, Northwestern Technical College has changed and grown with the communities of Northwest Georgia over the past five decades. Originally named the Walker County Area Vocational-Technical School, NTC enrolled 150 students in one of eight programs of study.
Like other technical colleges within the Technical College System of Georgia, Northwestern Technical College was founded by an Act of the Georgia General Assembly in 1964. Our goal of offering our businesses trained workers and our neighbors the training to master those professions is the foundation of 45 years of education within the walls of NTC.
When NTC first opened its doors in October of 1966, the college fell under the domain of the Walker County Board of Education. In 1988, NTC left the Walker County Board Of Education system to work within the Technical College System of Georgia; a relationship which is now in its 22nd year.

Now retired and living in Mississippi, NTC’s first Director, Dea Pounders, made the mission of the college clear from the very beginning. In the first college catalog in 1966, Mr. Pounders wrote, "The skilled and technical courses at our college are designed to fill the needs of youth and adults and prepare them for a modern world of work." That statement still holds true in the 21st century as we train today’s students for tomorrow’s careers.

The first programs at NTC consisted of Appliance Servicing, Auto Mechanics, Business Education, Drafting and Design, Electronic Technology, Heating and Air Conditioning, Machine Shop, Marketing and Management, Radio and Television, and Welding. At the time, these were the programs training NTC students for tomorrow’s jobs. Today, there are new programs which are headed into the NTC classrooms to prepare students of all ages for a career opportunity of a lifetime.

In the 1980’s, new job demand called for new programs. Among the selections added to the curriculum as we headed into the 80’s were Cosmetology, Data Processing, and Practical Nursing. In the 1990’s, NTC students saw additions to their educational arsenal such as Computer Programming and Microcomputer Specialist. At the turn of the century, programs such as Surgical Technology, Occupational Therapy Assisting, and Electrical Controls came on board to add to the more than 100 program options currently available at NTC.

In 1988, the Northwestern Technical College Foundation was established to assist the development of Northwestern Technical College as a vital community center and to encourage private contributions to achieve this goal. Through private donations, the NTC Foundation has built and maintains outstanding academic support programs. Among those programs is an annual student scholarship program which gives awards to one deserving student at each of the nine public high schools in the college’s four-county service area.

Now, as we head into a venture to make us part of the largest college in Northwest Georgia, programs such as Mechatronics and Cardiovascular Technology will be among more than 200 available at the new Georgia Northwestern Technical College. An educational arena which has a reputation of generating the best and the brightest in some career fields which are currently in high demand, as well as some which haven’t even been created yet.

Today’s campus lies on nearly seventy acres in Rock Spring, Georgia. The college operates at full capacity on 34 of those acres. The remaining 36 are part of a land purchase made in 2006. The plans for using that land to improve the educational opportunities available at NTC are still in the works.

In 2007, the Technical College System of Georgia formed the TCSG Athletic Association. NTC was one of a several colleges to launch an athletic program on its campus. The first two athletic programs were Men’s Basketball and Women’s Volleyball. During faculty, staff, and student surveying in 2007, NTC adopted the "Mustangs" as their official mascot of all athletic ventures.
Today, our neighbors in Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, and Walker County serve as the focus of our recruitment efforts at Northwestern Technical College. Students of all ages come from all walks of life to become a college student at NTC. From online, to hybrid, to traditional on-campus classes, we offer you a schedule that meets your needs.

The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools initially accredited Northwestern Technical College in 1997; then, reaffirming the accreditation in 2002. Serving as a Level I Institution, the 70-acre Northwestern Technical College campus enrolls more than 2,300 students per semester and will serve as Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s Walker Campus, the largest campus at Northwest Georgia’s largest college.

At countless student, faculty, and community functions over the years, the goal of Northwestern Technical College was often summed up best by long-time Northwestern Technical College President, Dr. Ray Brooks. "Our admissions director once told me our job at Northwestern is to meet the students where they are and take them where they want to be."

And at Georgia Northwestern Technical College, the tradition continues…