News-Record.com

GREENSBORO - GTCC will add two new programs this fall to meet the rising demand for law enforcement and health care professionals.

The school has received approval from the N.C. Community College System to add cyber crime technology and health care management technology to its degree offerings. Cyber crime technology will enroll 24 students in the first year and 50 slots are planned for health care management.

Col. Randy Powers, of the Guilford County Sheriff's Office, said the addition of the cyber crime program should be a big help to local and state law enforcement agencies as digital technology becomes more common in criminal investigations. He said trained officers remain hard to find.

"We were at a point a few years ago where you had to go hunt for them," he said.

The sheriff's office was among the first in the state to train and devote personnel to computer technology investigations. The office has one full-time cyber crimes investigator and a part-time position. Last year they investigated more than 40 cases involving computers, cell phones and other digital technology.

Powers said he hopes the program will include training on how to properly handle and investigate technology at the crime scene, something difficult to do and becoming more important as more digital evidence is entered in court.

"That's why these courses are so important, if they don't handle the evidence properly it can't be submitted," he said.

The program will require 70 credit hours to graduate and is housed in the Criminal Justice Department.

GTCC also continues to expand its health care related degrees this fall with the addition of the health care management technology. The program will train students for executive positions within health care, focusing on planning, organizing and directing health care businesses and offices.

Shelia May, chairwoman for the Department of Healthcare and Office Administration, said a survey commissioned by GTCC predicts a 6 percent increase in demand for these professionals over the next seven years.

"The facilities that are out there, they need the executives to run these institutions," she said. Those facilities include home health care companies, hospitals and nursing homes.

The survey also found locally there is demand for about 56 health care manager positions each year. The program will prepare students for several certifications, May said.

A degree from the program will require five semesters and 71 credit hours. Enrollment for the fall semester is under way.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com