News from the University System of Georgia: region 4

NEWS

FROM

The University System of Georgia

Two USG Universities Rank Among Nation's Top 20 Public Institutions
Georgia has two institutions ranked among the top 20 public national universities in the United States in U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges 2003."
Georgia Tech is No. 9 on the coveted list, while the University of Georgia is No. 18.
The 2003 "Best Colleges" report, released in September 2002, and the magazine's 2003 edition of "Best Graduate Schools," released in April 2002, also contain a variety of other rankings.
The reports rank Georgia Tech: First among the nation's graduate and undergraduate schools
of industrial and systems engineering; Second among undergraduate programs in aerospace/aero-
nautical/ engineering; Third among undergraduate programs in civil engineering; Fourth among undergraduate programs in mechanical engi-
neering; and Fourth among graduate engineering programs overall.
The reports rank UGA: Among the top three public law schools in the South; Third among graduate programs in public management/
administration and public finance; Fourth among graduate programs in vocational/ technical
education; and Fourth in terms of "best value" among national public uni-
versities.
The reports rank Georgia State University: First among the nation's public universities with part-time
MBA programs and fifth overall; and Second among undergraduate business programs in insur-
ance/risk management.
The reports rank the Medical College of Georgia: Sixth among the nation's graduate programs in nursing anes-
thesia (a ranking held since 1998).
Facts About the USG Institutions Represented at This Luncheon:
I Clayton College & State University has partnered with the telecommunications giant AT&T in offering many information-technology-related programs, including the development of the Information Technology Career Ladder (ITCL), the first comprehensive, three-tiered (certificate, associate and baccalaureate degrees) IT program in the nation. The content of this program is updated continually to reflect the telecommunications industry's current skill standards, in keeping with the constant change that characterizes the field.
I Every single 2002 graduate of Gordon College's nursing program passed the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), a state-required and state-administered test that nursing graduates must pass in order to register to practice.
I The State University of West Georgia's Department of Continuing Education is the first in the southeastern United States to offer a management and development curriculum to tourism professionals through its Tourism Management and Development Institute.

Did You Know?
N The Board of Regents is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. The original 11 regents developed a plan in 1932 that for the first time centralized governance of the state's higher education institutions.
N Gordon College recently celebrated 150 years of educating and enriching Georgians.
N According to a recent economic-impact study coordinated by the Board of Regents' Office of Economic Development, Clayton College and State University, Gordon College and the State University of West Georgia collectively generated a combined total of approximately 5,200 jobs and infused approximately $430 million into the local economy during Fiscal Year 2001.
N The State University of West Georgia's Small Business Development Center serves five counties and has been involved in the formation of 20 business loans to date this year, supporting such projects as the establishment of a technology-based incubator and assisting in the development of businesses by veterans, women and minorities. The university's Center for New Business Ventures has offered consultation services to the owners of more than 30 businesses and potential start-up firms so far in 2002. The center also sponsored an Entrepreneurship Forum showcasing 16 local business experts in the spring.
Gordon College to Add 4-Year IT Degree
Beginning in the spring of 2003, Gordon College will offer students the opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree in information technology without leaving the Barnesville, Ga., campus.
The degree will be offered in cooperation with Macon State College, which recently received a grant of $150,000 for this purpose -- part of the University System of Georgia's effort to expand access to undergraduate higher education statewide.
Faculty members from Macon State will teach the courses leading to the IT degree on the Gordon College campus.
Students can take these courses regardless of their major and are eligible as soon as they have completed an introductory course in business computer systems. They will be jointly enrolled at both institutions and will receive the IT degree from Macon State.

NEWS

FROM

The University System of Georgia

USG, Private Partners Combat Nursing Shortage
Clayton College and State University (CCSU) and the State University of West Georgia (UWG) have joined forces with corporate partners to address the severe shortage of nurses in Georgia.
Clayton State has entered into an agreement with Fayette Community Hospital, Grady Health System and Southern Regional Medical Center to supply these facilities with more than 60 nursing graduates.
Meanwhile, Kaiser Permanente of Georgia recently announced that it will give CCSU $125,000 over five years to fund nursing scholarships.
West Georgia is collaborating with Tanner Health System in sharing a Nursing Resource Center coordinator who helps sharpen the skills of both nursing students and staff nurses.
Pairing of National, State Archives is a First
Clayton College and State University (CCSU) played a role in bringing the nation's first pairing of state and national and archives facilities to Morrow, Ga.
The new facility -- which marries the Georgia State Archives to the National Archives and Records Administration's Southeast Archives Center -- is taking shape adjacent to the Clayton State campus.
Part of the reason this location was chosen is the wealth of expertise in information technology -- the backbone of a modern archives -- that the university will lend the project. Also, Clayton State's new history major -- which has a strong archival history component -- is sure to produce eager interns, research and faculty expertise.
The new facility will house a wealth of historical -- and especially genealogical -- documentation. It is estimated that 50,000 historians and genealogists will visit the new archive complex annually.
Did You Know?
N Clayton College & State University and the State University of West Georgia are two of 15 universities in Georgia participating in a new fast-track teacher-training program called "Georgia Responds: Creating Teacher Opportunities," offering unemployed professionals a new career in teaching, which is helping to ease the severe shortage of qualified teachers in Georgia classrooms.
N Gordon College in Barnesville, Ga., is the fastest growing two-year residential college in the University System of Georgia.

USG Resume Database Helping Employers to Recruit
FusionPoint Technology Solutions of Macon is one of the latest Georgia businesses to benefit from the University System of Georgia's online statewide database of college students and alumni seeking consideration as job candidates.
The consulting firm recently hired three Georgia Tech graduates located through GeorgiaHire.com, which provides cost-effective one-stop shopping for businesses in need of qualified job candidates. Students and alumni can post their resumes on the web site free of charge. It costs nothing for potential employers to search the database for job candidates and only a nominal fee to post job openings and company profiles.
More than 150,700 students and alumni have posted their resumes for review since February 2000, and more than 12,800 employers have searched the database during that period.
UWG is Leading the Way in Distance Learning
The State University of West Georgia (UWG) is one of five USG institutions accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business offering the WebMBA, a web-based program leading to a master of business administration degree. This program is designed to suit working professionals who are unable to participate in traditional on-campus MBA programs.
SmartStart Program Recruits New Vets for Industry
The SmartStart program at Clayton State College & University recruits, trains and places junior enlisted military men and women in well-paying careers as they are released into civilian life.
Through a partnership with Georgia Power, the university is placing newly released vets with the corporation's subsidiary, the Southern Company.
UWG, President Riding Tide of Community Support
The State University of West Georgia (UWG) has had such an impact on the lives of residents of Carroll County, Ga., that the campus recently was able to raise $2.4 million -- more than double the amount of money raised last year -- during its "A Day for West Georgia" event.
On a separate note, the university and its president, Beheruz Sethna, topped the Times-Georgian's inaugural list of the most influential people and things. Published on Oct. 20, the list of "Carroll County's Movers, Shakers and News Makers" called UWG the "social and economic strength of the city and the county."