The Gloucester
County Institute of Technology plans a $16 million expansion that
will grow the academics-and-trade school's student body by almost
56 percent. The school's adult education enrollment also would come
close to doubling, according to school and county officials.
Last week, the
county freeholders approved a $16 million bond ordinance, $6.8 million
of which is proposed to be reimbursed by the state, to pay for a 60,000-square-foot
expansion. The work includes additional classrooms, a gymnasium and
a cafeteria expansion as designed by Garrison Architects of Mt. Laurel.
Officials hope it will be complete for fall 2010.
The expansion will enable GCIT's secondary school to expand from 900
to more than 1,400. Adult education will advance to 1,000 students.The
high demand at GCIT goes hand-in-hand with the county's population
growth. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission projects
that between 1990 and 2010, Gloucester County will see a 27 percent
increase, to 292,486 residents.
School officials anticipate no problems filling the new slots."We
have a large pool of applicants," said Eileen Shute, GCIT's director
of admission. "This is to address their needs." With four
people applying for each opening, Shute said GCIT turned away about
750 prospective secondary students this school year alone.
Shute said the expansion would focus on the areas in most demand -
slots in the Academy of Allied Health and Medical Science and in GCIT's
four career-technical programs. Those include cosmetology, culinary
arts, construction, and transportation technology.
GCIT secondary students can choose one of those four vocational education
programs and opt for a college preparation or general academic track.
In addition, the school has four college-preparatory academies. Besides
health and medical science, there are finance and business management,
information technology and digital communications, and performing
arts.
GCIT also has a program for seniors at high schools to come get training
for careers in emergency response, fire science and law enforcement.
GCIT students already can earn college credits at Gloucester County
College. School and county officials say they are working on a more
formal program that will enable GCIT students to start to earn their
associate's degrees in their junior year of high school and complete
it in their first year at community college.