About Us

Laurel Institutes’ are dedicated to providing career focused education and professional certifications for individuals seeking employment in various careers in response to the need of the regional employer community.

We will be the first choice for students and employers for quality career education.

We are a family-oriented organization committed to making a difference in the lives of our students and employees by treating everyone with love, dignity, and respect.

Founded in 1985, the Laurel family of schools, including Laurel College of Technology, Laurel Institute of Technology (Fort Mill, SC), Laurel Business Institute (LBI), and Laurel Technical Institute (LTI), is a well-known post-secondary technical school that offers hands-on training and small class sizes, taught by highly skilled and experienced instructors. Laurel convenes annual program advisory committees comprised of local employer and community stakeholders to evaluate and review the curriculum as well as guide the institution’s development. In addition to the new Fort Mill, South Carolina school, Laurel has three other locations throughout Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, including Hermitage, Morgantown, and Uniontown. Laurel is licensed by the Pennsylvania State Board of Private Licensed Schools under the Pennsylvania Department of Education, South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, and the State of West Virginia. Students are eligible to participate in federal and state financial aid programs as the school is accredited nationally by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges.The school’s distance education programs are approved nationally through NC-SARA. Laurel Institutes maintains programmatic accreditation where necessary. Current programmatic accreditation includes the Accrediting Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), and the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC).

Laurel Business Institute was the first of the family of schools to be established in 1985 in the Gallatin Bank Building on Main Street in downtown Uniontown to meet the employment and training needs of this community by preparing individuals for jobs that do and will exist. Meeting these workforce needs led to the growth into a wide variety of specialized associate degree programs that correspond with the employment needs of the regional business community. Each of our programs was developed with significant input from regional employers. In addition to continually updating our programs and developing new ones, we support our students by staying abreast of future employment trends and by developing our facilities in a way that supports their professional development. Since the days of Sears and West Penn Railways, both of which were housed in our Uniontown campus buildings early in the last century, these two historic structures have evolved into what is today LBI. We have seen more than 5,500 graduates pass through our doors and many dreams realized. And, it is no accident that the school is housed in historical buildings. After all, we believe that capitalizing on the existing strengths of the region – its people, its brick and steel buildings, and its underlying resourcefulness – are the best way to generate positive energy and create successful career opportunities for our graduates.

The latest expansion for Laurel is in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The school’s planned expansion to a newly built 9500-square-foot educational facility is slated for Summer 2024. The new space will accommodate the medical classrooms, clinical and simulation labs, and offices for the faculty. Conveniently located in Fort Mill, SC, Laurel Institute of Technology is a short drive from Interstate I-77 (Exits 88 or 85) off of Highway 160 in the new One Sixty West II Medical Building. “We opened a school in Ft. Mill because we learned that healthcare providers in the area are specifically in need of more trained allied health professionals,” said Nancy Decker, president of Laurel Institutes. “We’re excited about the York County regions because the healthcare system is rapidly expanding, but they need skilled technicians so they can continue to grow and service the community’s residents. Currently, they can’t find enough qualified employees to fill all of their openings. Laurel has a long history of providing quality healthcare training and wants to be part of the solution and provide individuals with the skills, training, and certifications that are needed to help grow the economy in the region. Furthermore, there is a strong connection in the Charlotte area to Western Pennsylvania so we felt this community was the perfect fit for us.”

In addition to the new Ft. Mill school, Laurel has another location in Northwest Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, based in Hermitage and Morgantown.

Laurel Technical Institute, with locations in Hermitage and a satellite building in Sharon, PA was founded in 1926 as the Shenango Valley School of Commerce. Its mission was to serve Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio by supplying well-trained and qualified employees to businesses in the region. In 1977, Richard and Patricia McMahon purchased the school and instituted several changes to improve the school’s standing and its ability to benefit students and employers. Among these changes were national accreditation, the development of a financial aid department, and community involvement. They adopted the name Business Institute of Pennsylvania in 1996.

On September 4, 2007, Christopher and Nancy Decker, founders of Laurel Business Institute in Uniontown, PA, purchased the Business Institute of Pennsylvania and began to operate under the name Laurel Technical Institute to better reflect the programs offered at the school. They quickly continued the work started by the McMahons and made significant improvements to facilities and programs. These included a new school in Sharon, expanded and renovated space in Meadville, equipment modernization, curriculum updates, several new programs, and additional student services.

In 2013 Laurel expanded to Morgantown, West Virginia as Laurel College of Technology. Originally locating the Wes Mon plaza in Westover with the Cosmetology and Electrical programs, the school soon grew to its present location at 200 Wedgewood Drive in Morgantown, WV. New facility allowed the expansion of Laurel College to now host an ACEN Accredited Associate Degree of Nursing program as well as LPN to RN Transition program, Cardiovascular Technology and HVAC. The Morgantown facility is in a beautifully renovated 5-acre campus overlooking downtown Morgantown.

Other specialized associate degree programs are offered online through Laurel College of Technology, LBI, and LTI, including Medical Lab Technician, Medical Billing and Coding, Accounting and Business Administration, Cloud Computing, Culinary Arts, and Early Childhood Education. On-ground programs offered at various Laurel schools include Nursing, Respiratory Therapy, Skilled Trades such as Electrical and Welding, Cosmetology, Computer Networking, and Culinary Arts. The school has plans to add more programs to the area in the future.

Our growing network of Laurel campuses are dedicated to providing career-focused education and professional certifications for individuals seeking employment in various careers in response to the needs of the regional employer community.