Augusta Technical College is a two-year public institution in Georgia. The college has campus locations in Augusta, Thomson, and Waynesboro, and serves a five-county (Burke, Columbia, Lincoln, McDuffie, and Richmond counties) area in east-central Georgia. The college was originally Augusta Area Technical School, formed by combining two local schools — the Augusta Area Vocational-Technical School (opened in 1961) and the Richmond Area Vocational School (1963). In 1987, the technical school became a state school under the supervision of the Georgia State Board of Technical and Adult Education, and the State Board changed the name to Augusta Technical Institute. Later in 2000, Technical Institute became the Augusta Technical College. Accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the college offers associate-degree programs, diplomas and technical certificates of credit. Allied Health and Nursing, Industrial Technology, Business and Personal Services, Information and Engineering Technology, and General Education and Learning Support are the major academic divisions. Quarterly non-credit courses are provided through the Continuing Education Divisions at various campuses. As a part of adult literacy, the college offers day and evening classes in General Educational Development (GED) preparation, English Literacy Program (ELP), health literacy, and workplace literacy at various locations.