Georgia colleges test new ways to help students

What if Georgia colleges could make degrees more affordable by reducing textbook costs? Or if counselors knew as much about students’ financial needs as their academic struggles? Or if classes meant to offer students extra help could even better meet individual needs?

These are just some of the challenges that colleges will tackle as they test new programs designed to increase the number of Georgians with degrees.

Gov. Nathan Deal launched the Complete College Georgia initiative in 2011, saying economic success depends on producing an educated workforce that attracts and keeps employers.

All 31 colleges in the University System of Georgia have developed detailed plans to meet the governor’s goal. The system then created an incubator to support projects that could eliminate the common road blocks students face. The incubator awarded nine grants to eight schools last week.

The projects aim to use data to make better decisions and operate more efficiently, said Art Seavey, a director in the system’s office of educational access and success. If successful, the projects could be implemented at other colleges, he said.

Some schools, including the University of Georgia, Bainbridge State College and South Georgia State College, will take advantage of the free material available on the Internet and through online courses to reduce — and possibly eliminate — textbooks and other course materials students buy.

While much of the debate on college affordability centers on tuition, others costs quickly add up. The average student pays $1,168 a year for books and other materials, according to the College Board.

Georgia State also received a grant to look at financial needs. The university will mine the data it already collects to spot financial factors that make it difficult for students to stay in school and graduate. Possible triggers could be if students are at risk of losing the state’s HOPE scholarship, which covers most of tuition, or they are close to the maximum amount they can receive through the federal Pell Grant, said Tim Renick, associate provost.

The college does similar data analysis for academic programs and the goal is to meld the two and offer students more comprehensive counseling, Renick said. If a student wants to switch majors, a counselor would be able to review academic and financial records to see how easy or difficult it would be and then review how to make it happen, he said.

Other grant winners will look at academic support. University of North Georgia will require students to swipe their identification cards when they show up for tutoring, workshops and other extra help. The college will use check-ins to determine if students are participating and whether the programs work.

The nine grants will cost the system about $200,000, Seavey said. It’s too soon to say whether the system will be able to afford these grants next year, he said.