Commercial Truck Driving Comes to Savannah Tech’s Liberty Campus


STC President Kathy Love addresses the crowd as the new STC truck is displayed in the background.
STC President Kathy Love addresses the crowd as the new STC truck is displayed in the background.

Top officials from Liberty County and Savannah Technical College gathered on the tarmac at the Liberty County Airport this afternoon to announce the arrival of Commercial Truck Driving instruction for Liberty County.

Savannah Technical College will provide the CDL program in a soon-tobe constructed classroom at the old airport site on space made available to the college by the Liberty County Commission. (TWO PHO

“We are very grateful to the County Commission for allowing us to offer this training at this location,” said College President Kathy S. Love. “It’s a continuation of a long and mutually beneficial partnership.” The county was instrumental over the past two decades in providing continuing support for the college through its local option sales tax and was an original partner in bringing the college to its current location on Airport Road.

The Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) program has been offered by Savannah Technical College for more than twenty years and its curriculum is a model for the state’s technical colleges. The program is a tenweek certificate program that includes 70 hours of classroom instruction and 240 hours of hands-on instruction. It is HOPE grant eligible, allowing students to take advantage of a state-funded grant program that covers tuition and most fees, greatly reducing students’ out-ofpocket costs. “This is a great value,” says Mike Patterson, Dean of Industry and Public Service programs. “Students can spend less than $400 and get an education valued at almost $3900.” Savannah Technical College owns and operates a fleet of 14 trucks and 14 trailers. At Liberty, STC will offer classes Monday – Thursday, initially during daytime hours, with an eye toward expanding to meet the community’s need. The number of faculty members and trucks dedicated to the Liberty instruction will be based on demand, according to Patterson. Classes will be offered at the airport site and the former runway will serve as a driving track.

Last year, the college graduated 171 students in truck driving with 98% of them passing the licensure exam on the first attempt. For additional information about the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) program, please contact the Liberty Campus at 912.408.3024×6000.

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