Tift and Turner counties were originally to have been part of the school's area, but opted out before it began.
It also expanded its machine shop curriculum through a co-op program with Robins Air Force Base in 1983.
The school changed its name to Ben Hill Irwin Technical Institute and established a joint degree program with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) in Tifton, which made it possible for ECTC students to earn an associate degree in applied science from ABAC in 1986.
Over the next few years, enrollment increased tremendously and the support of the community continued to grow.
The college continued to expand throughout the 1990s with the opening of the Charles Harris Learning Center in 1994, the Douglas satellite campus in 1997, on July 16, 1998 the opening of the Wilcox Lifelong Learning Center, and on April 28, 1999 the new campus in Turner County.