The University System of Georgia discussed a plan Tuesday to educate more adults online who are seeking a new job or improving their career prospects.
The proposed eight-week courses would initially be for students pursuing bachelor’s degrees. The plan, if approved, is to serve students seeking other higher educational degrees as well. The Georgia Board of Regents may vote on the proposal in September, officials said.
“We need to find ways for higher education to be more adaptable to their needs and their lives,” Tristan Denley, the system’s chief academic officer, said in a telephone interview.
Although Denley said system officials began working on this plan before the coronavirus pandemic began impacting Georgia in March, the courses could be beneficial to many adults now seeking employment. The state’s unemployment rate quadrupled from 3.1% in February to 12.6% by April. The most recent unemployment rate, in June, was 7.6%.
The system is currently not reaching enough of these workers, Denley said during a board presentation. Denley said there are nearly 95,000 adult learners in Georgia, but less than 30,000 of them are taking courses through the University System. Most of them are taking classes at online schools or for-profit colleges. USG officials did not discuss Tuesday how much the courses will cost.
Other Georgia colleges unaffiliated with the system have also tried to increase their online education efforts. Morehouse College, for example, started an online coding bootcamp in May. Students who successfully complete its program receive certificates. Mercer University on Tuesday announced several courses, such as an online Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt certificate program, to increase workplace skills.
Denley said the University System’s colleges and universities will market their courses to get more of those adult learners.
