Change Starts Here

Carrying a full load of classes can be very stressful for students. This is especially true if they are balancing a job, family and other day-to-day responsibilities, like many students at Trident Tech.  That's why the college is implementing a new 7-week compressed schedule or TTC's  New Schedule for Success. Starting the Fall Semester, which begins on August 25, TTC will offer most courses in this 7-week compressed format. In a compressed format, the semester is divided into 2 shorter terms within the semester. For example, instead of taking four semester-long courses, a student would take two 7-week courses at a time. That student still would complete four courses in a semester but would be juggling only two in each term. There is much research that shows that students are more successful in compressed courses than in courses taught across a full semester. This means that a higher  percentage of students finish with grades of A, B, C or SC (satisfactory)....

Chris (left) with colleague Sherri Carter Christine Solomon is not only the department chair of accounting at Trident Tech, but she is also an alumna of the college. Her TTC story began in 1991 when, as she notes, “I decided I really needed to figure out how to help my children with their homework. They were A LOT smarter than I was!”  Chris found her passion in accounting and this calling propelled her through her associate’s, bachelor's and master’s degrees in accounting. With feet firmly set upon her career path, she earned her C.P.A. license.  One milestone on her journey was her involvement in Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, first as a student member then later as an honored advisor. Recently Chris was appointed as one of five community college instructors from around the country to PTK Honors Program Council and previously served as a faculty scholar. Under her guidance, PTK continues to thrive and win awards both from TTC and regionally. Like many TT...

Trident Technical College was well-represented last week at the Charleston Regional Business Journal’s 2014 Influential Women in Business awards luncheon. TTC President Mary Thornley and TTC Foundation Trustee, Andrea Limehouse, were on the list of 12 CEOs, executives, volunteers and rising stars honored at the luncheon.  Thornley, who won in the executive division, has her teachers to thank for helping her to become a leader in Charleston area’s education.  “Teachers inspired me,” she said.  “A daughter of factory mill workers, I attended a mill village school.  Yet I had caring, dedicated teachers, all of whom I can still name to this day.” It is under Mary Thornley’s leadership that TTC has grown to become the second-largest provider of undergraduate education in the state.  “That growth, I believe, is the logical result of meeting our mission,” says Thornley.  “That growth is essential to the economic vitality of our three counties...