ATHENS -- Georgia college students delivered a clear message to faculty and administrators Monday: Help us succeed.
Students said they need more advisers, flexible scheduling and academic support if they are to stay in college and earn a degree. Older students encouraged college leaders to find a way to give them credit for life and work experiences. Traditional students warned they often start college without a specific plan and need to be exposed to different areas of study.
These suggestions come as college leaders in Georgia and across the country are looking at eliminating the roadblocks that prevent many students from succeeding. Gov. Nathan Deal said the state's economic survival depends on more adults earning a degree. Projections show about 60 percent of all jobs will require education after high school by 2020, but only 42 percent of Georgia's adults have postsecondary education.
The students kicked off a two-day summit at the University of Georgia where teams from the 60 colleges in the university and technical college systems are developing ways to improve graduation rates on their campuses. About 20 students spoke at the summit so representatives of the colleges could see life through their eyes.
About 55 percent of University System students earn a four-year degree within six years, according to 2011 graduation rates. Rates vary widely, with more than 80 percent graduating within six years from the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech, compared with less than one-third at Augusta State and Clayton State universities.
College presidents have until September to deliver their plans to Deal. These plans are just one part of Deal's "Complete College Georgia" initiative, which has a goal of increasing the number of college graduates in the state by 250,000 by the year 2020. This includes people who earn a one-year certificate, an associate's degree or a bachelor’s degree.
To reach that goal, colleges must dramatically change the way people go to school in Georgia, said Stan Jones, president of Complete College America, the national group under which Georgia and other states are working.
"This is a system redesign," Jones said. "It needs to be bold."
Georgia's two public college systems already submitted a plan that would allow students to earn a degree faster by taking more courses online.
That's exactly the kind of thinking Cotina Howard suggested. She is studying welding at Georgia Piedmont Technical College, but the single mom said it would be difficult for her to attend college if not for the flexibility of online courses. She took her core English and math classes online, so that her in-person classroom hours could be devoted to hands-on lessons from her teachers.
Students also said they want more guarantees their credits will transfer when they move from a college in the Technical College System to one in the University System. Colleges are already working on this, noting that when credits don't transfer, students waste time and money by taking the same courses twice.
Matthew Mitrovich recently graduated from Georgia Gwinnett College and hopes to go to law school. Mitrovich said he never liked school, but succeeded because of the attention and support he received from professors. For example, after he missed a class twice, the professor called to see where he was. He said he overslept and would be there tomorrow.
"She said, ‘No, you'll be here in 20 minutes,'" he said, "and I was."
While colleges strive to provide this type of support, they also must maintain high standards for what students are expected to learn for a degree, said David Morgan, interim chief academic officer for the University System. The goal is to design programs that get more students through the pipeline while preparing them for life and the workforce, he said.
Jones suggested colleges create a "road map" that specifies exactly which courses students must take to earn specific degrees. This guarantees students take the correct classes in the right order, instead of just selecting one because of a friend's recommendation, he said. If students want to take different courses outside of what is needed for their degree, they'd be required to meet with an adviser or faculty members first.
If students are to graduate in four years, they must take 15 credits a semester. To encourage them to follow this path, some states have created incentives such as preferred parking on campus, he said.
Georgia and the nation have "won the battle of providing access" to college, but now Jones said colleges must take more responsibility for the success of these students.
"It’s a huge task and an important one," he said.
Graduation rates
The University System of Georgia is working to improve graduation rates at its campuses. The rates at these colleges -- which are popular with metro Atlanta students -- are based on what percentage of students earn a four-year degree within six years. The information below looks at first-time freshmen who started in fall 2005 and graduated by 2011.
College ... Graduation rate
University of Georgia ... 83%
Georgia Tech ... 82%
Georgia College & State ... 56%
Georgia State ... 56%
Georgia Southern ... 50%
Kennesaw State ... 48%
Southern Poly ... 44%
West Georgia ... 44%
Clayton State ... 31%
Source: University System of Georgia
NOTE: Figures are rounded.
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