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Forsyth Tech reports enrollment gains; Transportation Center complete, Learning Commons faces $12 million shortfall
Summary
Forsyth Tech President Janice Spriggs told commissioners June 2 that spring and summer enrollment rose, the Transportation Center reached practical completion, and the planned 45,000‑square‑foot Learning Commons is roughly $12 million short of needed funding.
Forsyth Tech Community College President Janice Spriggs told Forsyth County commissioners June 2 that the college posted enrollment gains this year, a county‑funded Transportation Center has reached practical completion and a planned 45,000‑square‑foot Learning Commons remains underfunded by about $12 million.
Spriggs said the college ended the spring semester with 5% growth from the prior spring, that summer enrollment is about 6.5% higher than last year, and that curriculum enrollments have grown roughly 24% since 2019. She reported continuing education enrollment up about 1.6% on an academic‑year basis and said basic‑skills enrollment rose “19.6 percentage points” between academic years 2023 and 2024.
The figures matter because Spriggs said Forsyth Tech balances degree pathways, workforce short‑term programs and basic‑skills instruction. “We’re not in the business of chasing FTE,” Spriggs said. “We do chase students because we know that the first part of our job is to get them there.”
Spriggs told the board the Transportation Center project — funded with county dollars — was essentially complete and that the contractor and designer had performed well. She said the project reached its scheduled completion date and that a certificate of completion was expected soon; a ribbon‑cutting is scheduled for June 14, coordinated with the college’s car‑show event.
On larger bond projects, Spriggs said the 45,000‑square‑foot Learning Commons, which was planned before 2016, cannot be built to its original scope with the bond dollars available in 2025 prices. “We’re about $12,000,000 short on what we needed,” she said, adding that she is working with state legislators and seeking State Capital Improvement Fund (SCIF) dollars. As interim options, she said the college and its construction manager at risk are discussing a phased approach that would shell in parts of the building and finish interior work later if additional funds become available.
Spriggs also reviewed recent completed work: an expanded maintenance facility now has state construction sign‑off, and a courtyard project funded by county bond dollars should finish later this summer. She described new equipment and program space at the Transportation Center, including a motorsports program simulator used during a recent visit by Governor Josh Stein.
Spriggs said athletics at Forsyth Tech are launching with private and donor support rather than county operating dollars. The college has an eSports team that completed its first season, plans to start volleyball in August at the West Campus and expects to add basketball in October. She said the college has recruited local high‑school athletes for those teams.
Spriggs closed by noting the May 7 commencement was the college’s largest ceremony to date: “We had over a thousand students who were there to walk across the stage,” she said, and added what she described as “1,618 total graduates.”
Spriggs invited commissioners to the Transportation Center ribbon cutting and said she will return with more detail on the Learning Commons funding options and timing.
