Lexington, SC - Midlands Technical College (MTC) and its partner Richland School District Two's Institute of Innovation (R2i2) were awarded the Outstanding Continuing Education Cooperative Program by the South Carolina Association for Higher Continuing Education (SCAHCE). This award recognizes effective cooperative programs in continuing education among two or more educational institutions and/or state agencies; non-profits; public- or private-sector partners.
“Partnerships are a hallmark of Midlands Technical College,” said MTC President Ronald L. Rhames. “I’m especially proud to be a partner of Richland School District Two and proud to be a partner in R2i2. This partnership really is a creative way of anticipating the next generation of careers.”
The collaboration brought Richland Two high school students to the MTC Northeast Campus for an iOS App Development course. The students learned a new programming language called Swift and the Apple Software Development Kit (SDK), which they used to build apps on the iPhone, iPad, Macintosh, and the Apple Watch.
Eleven students successfully completed the 60-hour class.
“I’ve been impressed with the hard work, commitment, and creativity of these students,” said MTC President Dr. Ronald L. Rhames. “Learning how to develop apps makes students capable of solving real-world problems. This is just one example of Midlands Technical College’s successful partnerships with Richland School District Two. We are inventing the future of education together.“
Students attended courses outside of their normal high school schedules. Each student completed three apps. The most complicated was an app that described and rated the students’ favorite restaurants. One student wrote an app to help her classmates pass the cosmetology exam. Another student created an app that helped students with the college search process.
Established in 1977, SCAHCE strives to promote continuing education and respond to the needs of educators and administrators of continuing education in order to better serve students and other consumers of continuing education programs. Over the past two decades, the organization’s membership has grown to include representation from more than 40 public and private entities.
Photo caption: On stage at the podium, MTC President Ron Rhames congratulates education partners from Midlands Technical College and Richland School District Two for their award.
About Midlands Technical College Midlands Technical College (MTC) is a comprehensive, multi-campus, public, two-year college serving Richland, Lexington and Fairfield counties of South Carolina. The fifth-largest provider of higher education in South Carolina and the largest provider of transfer students to four-year colleges and universities in the state, MTC enrolls approximately 16,000 credit students annually. The college’s Corporate and Continuing Education program, one of the largest and most comprehensive in the Southeast, annually has 30,000 enrollments and provides continuing education to hundreds of area businesses each year. MIDLANDSTECH.EDU
