Pierpont Community and Technical College

About Pierpont

Founded in 1974, Pierpont Community and Technical College (Pierpont) has the second largest enrollment of the 10 Community and Technical Colleges that make up the West Virginia Community and Technical College System.^[2] The college serves 13 counties in North Central West Virginia (Barbour, Braxton, Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Harrison, Lewis, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, Randolph, Taylor and Upshur) with classes offered at more than 15 locations throughout the region.^[3] Its headquarters is located in Fairmont, West Virginia. The student/faculty ratio is 17:1.

Pierpont is part of the state’s growing high technology corridor with a metro area of about 50,000 residents.^[4] With an enrollment of more than 3,000, Pierpont offers more than 50 associate degree programs, skill sets and one-year certificates. It specializes in preparing students in two years or less for practical hands-on careers and provides non-credit enrichment courses for individuals and customized workplace trainings for local employers. Examples of courses and training offered at Pierpont:

• Skill Set Training includes classes that help students develop specific professional competencies, such as Computer Aided Design, Accounting, Paraprofessional, Office Technology or Phlebotomy.
• Certificate Training includes one-year programs that lead to professional certification in specific areas, such as American Sign Language Communication, Emergency Medical Services, Events Management, or Power Plant Technology.
• Technical Studies Training includes collaborative partnerships with regional career technical education centers where general education curriculum provided by Pierpont is “wrapped around” the technical training provided by the career technical centers. Studies in these programs, such as Agriculture and Agribusiness, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Automotive Technology, and Welding Technology result in an associate degree.
• Occupational Development Training includes collaborative partnerships with regional employers or trade unions where students participate in work-based apprenticeships, on-the-job training, and general studies classes, culminating in an associate degree.
• Associate Degrees include two-year programs that prepare students for direct entry into the workforce or provide seamless entry into four-year-degree programs or graduate studies.
• Board of Governors Degree is a flexible program that allows students who have prior college credits, work experience, training, or a combination thereof, to customize their curriculum by leveraging previous experience, training or college credits towards completion of an associate degree.
• Non-credit Training includes diverse programs designed to meet specific workforce needs, such as 40-hour Underground Mining Certification (Red Hat Training), Federal Acquisition Management and Project Management Certification.

Through its mission of providing opportunities for learning, training and education to enrich the lives of individuals and promote economic growth in its service region and state, Pierpont strives to enhance the quality of life for all who live and work in North Central West Virginia.

Campus

Pierpont is headquartered on a 120-acre main campus in Fairmont, West Virginia, which it shares with its partner institution, Fairmont State University. Fairmont, the seat of government for Marion County, is located approximately 90 miles south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has a population of about 19,000.^[4]

Pierpont offers a variety of courses at more than 15 sites in North Central West Virginia, including the Braxton County Center in Flatwoods, West Virginia and the Lewis County Center in Weston, West Virginia. Through its Center for Workforce Education in downtown Fairmont, the college provides workforce training and community education for its 13-county region. Pierpont operates the Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center in Bridgeport, West Virginia which offers programs in flight and aviation maintenance. It also offers classes at the Gaston Caperton Center, a satellite campus in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

In 2011, construction began on the North Central West Virginia Advanced Technology Center (ATC), located at the I-79 Technology Park. The ATC will be a 55,000+ square foot facility housing such Pierpont programs as IT/Security/Convergent Technologies, Automated Systems/Mechatronics, Power Plant Technology, Advanced Welding, Electrical Technologies, Health Information Technology and Respiratory Care.

History

• Formed in 1974 under the name Fairmont State Community & Technical College, a component of Fairmont State College.
• Renamed Pierpont Community & Technical College in 2006 after Francis H. Pierpont and became a division of Fairmont State University.
• In July, 2007 Pierpont was placed under the direction of its own Board of Governors, independent of Fairmont State University

Address & Contact

1201 Locust Avenue, Fairmont, WV 26554 Tel: 304-367-4892 Toll Free: 1-800-641-5678 TDD: 304-367-4200

References

External links

• Pierpont Community and Technical College - official site