The system supplement: a report of the Georgia Board of Regents, Vol. 43, no. 1 (Jan. 2006)

The
System Supplement
A report of the Georgia Board of Regents 8 Vol. 43, No. 1 8 January 2006
"Creating a Mo re Educated Georgia"

Interim Chancellor Delivers `State of the System' Address

The selection of Erroll B. Davis, Jr. as the new chancellor and the creation of Georgia Gwinnett College topped the milestones achieved during 2005 by the University System of Georgia, according to Interim Chancellor Corlis C. Cummings. Cummings recapped the highlights of 2005 as part of the annual "State of the System" address at the January Board of Regents meeting.
"We have a strong system. We have a system of excellence. We have a system that is responsive," said Cummings in her remarks. "We also have a system that is not afraid to tackle the important issues and devise solutions that serve the state well." Cummings told the 18-member board their work and actions are having a positive impact on public higher education in Georgia.
The strong support of Gov. Sonny Perdue and the General Assembly in appropriating a record $1.8 billion appropriation in Fiscal Year 2006 has "put the System on a course that will have even greater impact in the future," Cummings stated in appreciation of the support.
"We are putting the dreams of thousands of individuals in motion through higher education."
Interim Chancellor Corlis P. Cummings
The responsibility of the Board of Regents, she said, is to use state dollars wisely to enable the 35 campuses to build upon a growing national reputation for academic excellence.
She cited the presence of both Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia on U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of top public universities for the

sixth consecutive year as an indication of this strong national standing. Tech currently ranks 9th and UGA 19th in the current rankings, and Georgia is one of only four states with two or more public universities in the top 20.
In addition to the selection of Davis as the System's chancellordesignate and the creation of Georgia Gwinnett College, other major accomplishments during 2005 cited by Cummings included:
Record-setting student enrollment (253,552 students in fall 2005) and extramural funding ($980.6 million in FY04);
The launching of a new $7 million public/private partnership to add more than 300 nurses and technologists to the Georgia workforce over the next two years under the System's Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP);
The awarding of grants to ten USG institutions under the African-American Male Initiative, designed to increase Black male participation in college;
The launch of a year-long push to increase retention and graduation rates with a goal of attaining national averages in these two areas;
The elimination of the use of the SAT and ACT scores at twoyear colleges to expand access to public higher education;
The celebration of the 10th anniversary of GALILEO, Georgia's electronic library, available to all Georgians; and
The quick response of the System's institutions in meeting the needs of Georgia students and Gulf Coast citizens displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Interim USG Chancellor Corlis P. Cummings
Cummings said that all of these accomplishments taken together would have a significant long-term impact on the state in terms of employment opportunities. She added that the Bureau of Labor Statistics' December 2005 report reflects a growing trend employment prospects are harsher for high-school dropouts than those with a college degree.
While the System has a record number of students, Cummings cautioned that the state needs many more Georgians to pursue higher education.
She said that encouraging more Georgians to attend college reflects not just the University System's goal of "Creating A More Educated Georgia," but also the state's new slogan, "put your dreams in motion."
"I don't think any other organization does that more effectively than public higher education," Cummings said. "It is the essence of what we are about. We're putting the dreams of thousands of individuals in motion through higher education." Q

Total Impact Task Force:
State Reaps 15:1 Return
on Investment in USG
Georgia's public colleges and universities have a combined economic impact of more than $23 billion a year on the state's economy and are responsible for the creation of more than 130,000 jobs in Georgia, according to the final report of a task force appointed by Board of Regents Chair J. Timothy Shelnut to determine the University System of Georgia's total impact on Georgia.
The report was presented to the regents at their January meeting.
"The University System of Georgia truly is Georgia's best investment," said Georgia Tech President Wayne Clough, who chaired the Total Impact Task Force. "What other appropriation of state funding gives you this kind of a return?" Clough asked, noting that the $23.3 billion overall economic impact of the University System on the state during Fiscal Year 2004 was 15 times more than the state's appropriation of $1.6 billion for higher education that year.
The task force determined that during FY04 more than 107,000
The USG's combined annual impact on the state of Georgia:
$23.3 Billion

G. Wayne Clough, chair of the USG Total Impact Task Force

Georgians were employed because of the USG's presence, either on-campus or off-campus positions in the public and private sector, as a result of the University System. An additional 23,000 Georgians were employed in FY04 in jobs created by the University System's work in commercializing new technologies and in jobs created or saved by the University System's economic-outreach efforts.
"The state's investment in the University System in FY04 led to the creation of more than 130,000 jobs in Georgia and a combined impact of $23.3 billion on the Georgia economy," Shelnut said on receipt of the task force's report. "I call that an excellent return on taxpayer dollars and a sound investment in Georgia's future."
Clough noted that the University System's total impact on Georgia must be measured in more than numbers. For example,

Georgia's public colleges and universities are supplying qualified teachers for classrooms all over the state; health-care professionals for Georgia hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and medical offices; and law-enforcement officers for Georgia communities, he said. Clough also pointed out that each college and university contributes to the quality of community life by offering cultural and athletic events, facilities for public use, continuing-education courses, lifelong-learning opportunities such as Elder Hostel, and community services performed by students and faculty.
In addition, he noted that a wealth of valuable research is underway in Georgia's public colleges and universities, including work on treating sickle-cell anemia, understanding Alzheimer's Disease, preventing infectious diseases and the engineering of tools with which to diagnose and fight cancer. Q

Regents Updated on Increasing Retention, Progression and Graduation

The Board of Regents received an update in January on a major initiative to increase student success by boosting the University System's retention, progression and graduation (RPG) rates.
Dr. Daniel S. Papp, senior vice chancellor for Academics and Fiscal Affairs, told the regents that the complexity of the issues impacting academic success has led those tackling the initiative to divide their work into six different areas or "dimensions," which include:
Institutional Targets and Plans: All USG institutions

have developed their own targets for increasing retention, progression and graduation rates and have submitted plans for reaching these goals. University System Office officials now are reviewing these plans and will provide feedback on them to campus officials by April.
RPG Best Practices: A group of 72 RPG campus "liaisons" appointed by USG presidents held a System-wide workshop in October 2005. They discussed issues involved in increasing retention, progres-

sion and graduation rates and they shared institutional "best practices" impacting these performance measures. A follow-up workshop will be conducted in February 2006.
Financial and Economic Impacts: A committee composed of USG chief business officers, vice presidents for academic affairs, vice presidents for student affairs and legal officers has developed a set of possible financial and economic incentives that could boost retention, progres-
See "RPG Update," Page 4 ...

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USG in the News
Dr. Betty L. Siegel, who is winding down a career of nearly 25 years as president of Kennesaw State University, recently received the Howard Washington Thurman Ecumenical Award from the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel. This honor is reserved for individuals who have made significant contributions to humanity in interfaith, interdenominational and interracial spiritual and ethical development. Howard Thurman, a 1923 Morehouse College graduate, was a pastor, poet, critic and educator identified by Life magazine as one of the 12 greatest preachers of the 21st Century.
Former president George H.W. Bush will speak at the dedication of the University of Georgia's Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences on April 7. The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. in front of the Coverdell Center, which is the centerpiece of UGA's growing presence in the field of biomedical and health research. UGA President Michael F. Adams said that Bush "very much wants to be a part of honoring the memory of a great Georgian who was both his professional colleague and his close, personal friend." The Coverdell Center is a memorial to Sen. Coverdell, who served Georgia in the U.S. Senate from 1993 until his death in 2000.
Dr. John Swinton, director of the Center for Economic Education at Georgia College & State University and an assistant professor in GCSU's J.Whitney Bunting School of Business,has been selected to receive a Leavey Award for Private Enterprise Education from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, for his work on GCSU's Black Youth and Business Program. The award honors innovative teaching. Q
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System Supplement
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John Millsaps
ASSISTANT VICE CHANCELLOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS
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PUBLICATIONS DIRECTOR
To Provide Feedback
write to: diane.payne@usg.edu

ON CAMPUS

West Georgia's New Mascot is a Howl!

Athletic teams at the University of West Georgia will be known as the West Georgia Wolves beginning this fall, Athletic Director Ed Murphy announced at a Jan. 12 press conference.

"West Georgia Athletics is moving into an entirely new era and as we go down the road toward the future of our athletics program, this move is part of it," Murphy said. "The timing is right for this change and our student-athletes are particularly excited about representing the university community as the West Georgia Wolves!"

Photo courtesy of the University of West Georgia Communications & Marketing Department
UWG cheerleaders (left to right) Dana Jones, Megan Johnson, Anice Moore and Ashley Zimmerman celebrate news of their new mascot with paw-print cookies.

Murphy pointed out that the selection process was open, well organized and fair. Following an eight-month process lead by a 12-member Athletics Marketing Identity Task Force, input into the new mascot was sought through a variety of methods such as online polls, focus groups and open forums including students, alumni, athletic fans, faculty, staff and community members.
"We sought advice and opinions from every part of the West Georgia family and those views were respectfully considered," Murphy noted. "Although the poll results were just one factor in the process, the polls rated `Wolves' among the top three choices overall."
The task force recommended three possible names Wolves,

Patriots and RedHawks to the President's Advisory Council, and UWG President Beheruz N. Sethna accepted the council's recommendation of the Wolves.
"I congratulate and thank the committees on their great work and choice," Sethna said. "There are many outstanding aspects of the Wolves: the alliteration, the fact that many of our students like the name, the fact that only four colleges or universities (none in this area) use the Wolves, and the opportunities for use in other aspects of campus life.
"I have this vision of 10,000 fans in our new stadium or arena letting out a huge howl every time there is a touchdown or a three-pointer or a game win," Sethna added. Q

Honored for Teaching Excellence

The departments and programs

earning FY 2005 Regents'

Teaching Excellence Awards

were recognized during the

January meeting of the Board

of Regents. Interim

Chancellor Corlis P.

Cummings (second from

left) congratulated (left to

right): Dr. Margaret Erhlich, chair of the

Photo by Bil Roa, Georgia Perimeter Colege Marketing & Public Relations

Mathematics, Computer Scicnce and Engineering Department on the Clarkston Campus of Georgia Perimeter

College; Joyce Y. Johnson, dean of the College of Health Professions at Albany State University;

Sherry Ward, director of Albany State's Family Nurse Practitioner concentration; and William T. Trotter, chair of the School

of Mathematics at Georgia Tech, which won an award for its Mathematics Teaching Assistant Development Program. Q

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RPG Update
Continued from P. 2 ...
sion and graduation rates. The options under discussion include, but are not limited to, deferred tuition payment, premium tuition for excess credit hours, guaranteed tuition rates for making specified progress toward a degree, need-based aid, a policy revision on mandatory fees, discounted summer tuition, and limiting the number of withdrawals.
Impact of General Education on RPG: A task force composed of faculty and academic administrators has been charged with reviewing the USG's general education and core curriculum. The review is aimed at assessing how effectively the curriculum provides students with the opportunity to gain the necessary 21st century knowledge and skills. The task force also has been asked to assess the impact of the general education and core curriculum on RPG rates and to make policy and curricular recommendations to the board. The group is scheduled to present a preliminary report to the regents at the June 2006 board meeting.
Impact of Student Engagement: A committee of faculty and academic administrators has been assessing the results of the 2005 National Survey of Student Engagement and Community College Survey of Student Engagement. The group will present a report to the Board of Regents in February. The committee's ultimate goal is to develop a set of recommendations on campus-based, studentrelated practices that improve

retention, progression and graduation rates.
RPG Data Development and Mining: Papp also told the regents that every first-time, full-time freshman who entered the University System in Fall 2004 but did not return as a full-time student in Fall 2005 will be surveyed regarding why they did not return. A recent study of the University System's graduation rates showed a direct correlation between graduation rates and high-school GPAs, as well as between graduation rates and SAT performance. It also showed six-year graduation rates to be higher (48 percent) for first-time, full-time freshmen who attend college immediately after high school than for those who delay their entry into college (27 percent).
"As you can see, many factors impact and influence retention, progression and graduation rates ranging from family income to student behavior and policy decisions," Papp said. "We are making good progress in identifying several measures that will enable us to improve our performance in these areas, thereby improving the overall quality of education in the University System of Georgia." Q
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B O A R D OF REGENTS
J. Timothy Shelnut Augusta CHAIR
Patrick S. Pittard Lakemont VICE CHAIR
Hugh A. Carter, Jr. Atlanta
William H. Cleveland, M.D. Atlanta
Michael J. Coles Kennesaw
Joe Frank Harris Cartersville
Robert F. Hatcher Macon
Julie Ewing Hunt Tifton
A. Felton Jenkins, Jr. Madison
W. Mansfield Jennings, Jr. Hawkinsville
James R. Jolly Dalton
Donald M. Leebern, Jr. Columbus
Elridge W. McMillan Atlanta
Doreen Stiles Poitevint Bainbridge
Wanda Yancey Rodwell Stone Mountain
Benjamin Tarbutton III Sandersville
Richard L. Tucker Lawrenceville
M. Allan Vigil Fayetteville
O F F I C E R S
Corlis P. Cummings INTERIM CHANCELLOR
Gail S. Weber SECRETARY TO THE BOARD
William R. Bowes TREASURER

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