# Midlands Technical College

Midlands Technical College is a public technical college with multiple locations in the Richland, Lexington, and Fairfield counties of South Carolina. With a student body of approximately 22,500, the college is the second largest technical college in South Carolina. It offers approximately 150 associate degree programs, diplomas, and certificate programs of study and is the largest source of transfer students to the University of South Carolina-Columbia.

## History

In 1947, the South Carolina Area Trade Schools (SCATS) Act established the South Carolina Area Trade School Columbia Campus to provide skilled and educated workers to meet the expanding labor needs of the community. In 1969, the school's name was changed to Columbia Technical Education Center (TEC), and it became part of the State Committee for Technical Education, which was responsible for guiding the state's technical programs. The site of the Columbia Technical Education Center is now the Airport Campus of Midlands Technical College.
Richland Technical Education Center (Richland TEC) was established to provide specialized training for industrial growth, and the first students were enrolled in the fall of 1963. By 1969, the school's enrollment expanded to 1,200 students, and Lexington County officials joined forces with Richland County to form the Richland-Lexington Counties Commission for Technical Education. With this partnership, the name of the school was changed to Midlands Technical Education Center (TEC).
Approximately 15,500 students were enrolled in Midlands Technical Education Center between the years 1969 and 1974. Major programs of study were offered in engineering technologies, business, and allied health. The site of the Midlands Technical Education Center is now the Beltline Campus of Midlands Technical College.
Palmer College in Columbia, a private business college, joined the State Tech Board in 1973. At that time, Palmer College annually enrolled 1,000 students in 16 associate degree and diploma programs. On March 21, 1973, the Columbia Technical Education Center, Midlands Technical Education Center, and Palmer College in Columbia merged to form a single, multi-campus college. This new college operated as three separate entities governed by one local commission through June 1974. On July 1 of that year, the three separate institutions merged to form Midlands Technical College under the guidance of the Richland-Lexington Counties Commission for Technical Education.

## Campuses

Midlands Technical College has six campuses:
* Airport Campus, located at 1260 Lexington Dr., West Columbia, SC, is spread out over 65 acres (26.3 ha), consisting of 15 buildings, including library facilities and an Academic Success Center.
* Beltline Campus, located at 316 South Beltline Blvd. Columbia, SC, consists of 12 buildings, library facilities, and an Academic Success Center. It is currently the only campus where both industrial and engineering technology classes are offered.
* Fairfield Campus, located at 1674 Hwy 321 North Business, Winnsboro, SC.
* Harbison Campus, located at 7300 College St., Irmo, SC, has seven buildings.
* Northeast Campus is the site of MTC's Enterprise Campus and the MTC Center of Excellence for Technology. The campus consists of 100 acres (40.5 ha) developable adjacent to the MTC Center of Excellence for Technology and offers proximity to the Carolina Research Park, major interstate highways, and shared technology-specific spaces.
* Batesburg-Leesville Campus is the newest campus and opened in the fall of 2007.
* In addition, a center is located at Fort Jackson, on the Fort Jackson military base, which offers classes primarily for service personnel.