The University System of Georgia strategic plan FY 2009: an annual report on the University System's contributions to Georgia [Oct. 2009]

CHANCELLOR ERROLL B. DAVIS, JR. 270 WASHINGTON STREET, S.W. ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30334

October 23, 2009

Greetings: It is with pleasure that we provide the Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Report of the University System of Georgia. This report highlights progress in FY09 toward meeting the Board of Regents' six strategic goals, as well as significant activities occurring during the fiscal year. Do devote some attention to the "sidebar" stories in the report. These sidebars illustrate the effect of our strategies and programs on individuals. I hope you will enjoy the "up close and personal" nature of these short features. On behalf of the entire University System of Georgia family, we appreciate your interest and your support of public higher education in Georgia. Sincerely,
Erroll B. Davis Jr. Chancellor

"Creating A More Educated Georgia" www.usg.edu

the University System of Georgia
STRATEGIC PLAN
FY2009
An Annual Report on the University System's Contributions to Georgia

FY09 YEAR IN REVIEW
AN ANNUAL REPORT ON THE USG

Throughout its 77-year existence, the University System of Georgia (USG) has undergone periods of tremendous change and stress caused by economic and social conditions.
Change during the System's history has also been as a result of deliberate Board of Regents actions to strengthen the System to meet current and future state needs.
Persevering in difficult times is, indeed, part of the System's birthright, as witnessed by its creation in the depths of the Great Depression. Certainly the past year with its global economic recession falls in the realm of "significant adverse events" that have tested the System's board, chancellor, presidents, faculty, staff and students.
Fiscal Year 2009 (July 1, 2008-June 30, 2009) thus was extremely challenging for the USG with a significant drop in state revenues that resulted in a corresponding net reduction in the System's state appropriations. Despite receiving critical new funds for enrollment growth generated by the formula, the FY09 budget was $127.7 million less than the previous fiscal year budget, even as student enrollment continued to climb.
In response, the regents made the difficult decision to end the tuition guarantee for fall 2009 incoming freshmen and approved plans to furlough the USG's 40,000 administrators, faculty and staff.

But even in the midst of these challenging times, the University System continued to move forward on a number of fronts including academics, student support, facilities, and operations. During FY09, the System's 35 degreegranting institutions granted nearly 50,000 degrees, and a significant number of these graduates will help enrich the state for decades to come.
Beyond meeting its key missions of teaching, research, and service, the System continued to be an economic engine for the state, with its far-flung operations generating an estimated economic boost to the state of $12 billion in FY08.
Also during the year, several USG institutions underwent leadership changes, and the USG Foundation raised more than $1 million for student scholarships.
The continued growth in enrollment, tight budgets, and the mission to create Georgia's future through an educated workforce underscore the continued importance and central role the Board's Strategic Plan has in moving the System forward.
This Annual Report on the USG thus highlights some of the key actions and accomplishments of the past fiscal year as well as continued progress in all six goals of the Board's Strategic Plan.

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Budget Overview

The USG's budget for FY10, approved in April 2009, saw both an increase in state appropriations of $148 million and a continuation of cuts totaling $275 million for a net reduction over the FY09 budget of $127 million.
The University System has now weathered two years of budget reductions that cut fairly deeply, while at the same time, demand for its services has increased quite a bit 23,000 additional students have enrolled, the equivalent of adding another institution the size of Kennesaw State University.
The Board of Regents and the 35 USG institutions have managed the cuts to date through a number of cost-saving and efficiency measures, but these actions have affected USG employees, who are paying more for health insurance, will not be receiving raises and may be taking furlough days. [Editor's note: Early in FY10, furloughs became a reality.] The actions have affected USG students and their families directly as well, as they are paying a special fee to sustain excellence in the classroom. There are numerous other actions being taken on USG campuses that have an effect on students in terms of class availability and size, operating hours at libraries and labs, and fewer staff to help with advising and financial aid, for example.

USG students currently enrolled in the Board of Regents' guaranteed tuition plan will see no change in their tuition for the Fall 2009 semester, but the regents voted in April to end the tuition guarantee for incoming freshmen.
Fall 2009 freshmen students will pay tuition at the same per-credit-hour rate charged last year, but will be subject to future tuition increases. USG students who enrolled prior to the start of the guaranteed tuition plan in fall 2006 or who come off the guarantee this fall also will pay the Fall 2008 per-credit-hour rate.
All students, regardless of whether or not they have the tuition guarantee, will pay a mandatory institutional fee each semester $100 at the research universities and six state universities; $75 at the remaining state universities; and $50 at the state and two-year colleges to help offset budget reductions.
As the prospect of further budget reductions for FY10 loomed, the regents also gave USG presidents the authority to furlough employees, including faculty. The action, which required modifying faculty contracts to include the possibility of being furloughed for up to 10 days during FY10, gave presidents an additional tool to use in meeting any future budget reductions.

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Enrollment Up Nearly 5 Percent

Enrollment in the 35 colleges and universities of the University System of Georgia (USG) rose 4.8 percent to 283,000 students in Fall 2008, increasing the number of public college students in the state by nearly 13,000 over the previous fall. The number of first-time freshmen among them leapt up 9.6 percent.
An analysis of the enrollment data shows that the regents' strategic goal of increasing access to the System's eight state colleges and eight two-year colleges is producing results state college enrollment grew by 6.1 percent, while two-year college enrollment grew by 8.4 percent, both well above the System-wide average increase of 4.8 percent. Some of the biggest enrollment percentage gains made by institutions were in these categories (Atlanta Metropolitan College up 19 percent; Bainbridge College up 16 percent; East Georgia College up 29 percent; and Gainesville State College up 10 percent).
The increasing diversity of the USG student population is central to the board's strategic goal of building enrollment capacity, and the Fall 2008 enrollment report reflects progress in increasing access to the USG by underserved groups.
African-American enrollment increased by 7.5 percent, or nearly 4,900 additional students, from Fall 2007 to Fall 2008. African-American enrollment now stands at 69,800 students, or 24.7 percent of the total USG enrollment.
Likewise, the report shows Hispanic enrollment up 12 percent in Fall 2008 over the previous year, to a total of 9,900 students. Hispanics now represent 3.5 percent of all USG students.

The enrollment of Asian/Pacific Islander students increased by 6.5 percent, or 1,087 students, from fall 2007 to fall 2008, to a total of 17,805 students. This group represents 6.3 percent of all students.
The University System has been supported by its funding partners, the Governor and General Assembly. Gov. Sonny Perdue recommended funding of the University System's FY10 budget request to the General Assembly at the start of the 2009 legislative session, and months later legislators appropriated $2.17 billion in state funds, including $92.6 million in federal stimulus stabilization funds to offset reductions in state funds.

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Leadership Changes for System and its Campuses

Two of the University System's senior administrators bid farewell to the System in April 2009. Ron Stark, chief audit officer and associate vice chancellor of Internal Audit since 1998, opted to take a similar position at the King Abdulla University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. Dr. Cathie Mayes Hudson, vice chancellor for research and policy analysis, retired after 21 years of service to the University System Office.
Nine USG campuses, including three of the System's four research institutions, experienced leadership transitions during FY09.
In late October 2008, the regents announced they were appointing Dr. Mark P. Becker, then executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, to serve as the seventh president of Georgia State University. Becker assumed the leadership of the university in January 2009, as Dr. Carl V. Patton, who had led Georgia State for the previous 16 years, retired.
In February 2009, the board appointed Dr. G.P. "Bud" Peterson, then chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder, to serve as the 11th president of Georgia Institute of Technology. Peterson, who assumed his new post in April 2009, replaced Dr. G. Wayne Clough, who stepped down in June 2008 to become the 12th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., after 14 years of leadership at Georgia Tech. Dr. Gary Schuster, Tech's provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, served as the institute's interim president.
In March 2009, Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. accepted the resignation of Medical College of Georgia President Dr. Daniel W. Rahn, who has accepted a position as chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Rahn had served as president of MCG since June 2001 and senior vice chancellor for health and

medical programs for the USG since July 2006.
Other presidential appointments during FY09 include:
g Dr. W. Michael Stoy, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty at Gainesville State College, who was named president of Middle Georgia College in July 2008, replacing Dr. Richard J. Federinko, who resigned at the end of 2007. Dr. Mary Ellen Wilson served as the college's interim president.
g Dr. Virginia Carson, vice president for academic affairs at Georgia Highlands College, was given a permanent appointment as president of South Georgia College in January 2009 after having served as interim president of the college since March 2008.
g Dr. Valerie Hepburn, assistant dean of the University of Georgia College of Public Health, was given a permanent appointment as president of the College of Coastal Georgia in January 2009 after having served as interim president of the college since July 2008.
g Dr. Linda Bleicken, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Georgia Southern University, who was named president of Armstrong Atlantic State University in May 2009, succeeding Dr. Thomas Z. Jones, who retired at the end of June after nine years as Armstrong State's president.
Several other USG presidents announced their departures during FY09, including:
g Dr. Bruce Grube in June 2009, retired after 10 years as president of Georgia Southern University.
g Dr. Thomas K. Harden in June 2009, after nine years as president of Clayton State University. Dr. Thomas J. (Tim) Hynes Jr., provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of West Georgia, was named to serve as Clayton State's interim president.

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Members of the Fiscal Year 2009 Board of Regents included: (seated left to right) Donald M. Leebern Jr., Doreen Stiles Poitevint, Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. (ex-officio), Richard L. Tucker (chair), Robert F. Hatcher (vice chair), James A. Bishop, Allan Vigil, (standing left to right) Mansfield Jennings Jr., Benjamin Tarbutton III, Kessel D. Stelling, Jr., James R. Jolly, William H, NeSmith, Jr., Willis J. Potts Jr., Hugh A. Carter Jr., William H. Cleveland, M.D., Wanda Yancey Rodwell, Kenneth Bernard Jr., Elridge W. McMillan, and Felton Jenkins.

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Economic Impact of USG Tops $12 Billion

USG Foundation Gives Governor Lifetime Achievement Award

An updated economic-impact report released in June 2009 confirmed that, even in the midst of a severe economic downturn, Georgia's public university system continues to be one of the state's key economic engines. Together, the 35 institutions of the University System of Georgia (USG) had a $12.1 billion economic impact on the state's economy during FY08, up from $11 billion in FY07.
Commissioned by the Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP), an initiative of the Board of Regents' Office of Economic Development, the Selig Center for Economic Growth in the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business updated its earlier work by analyzing data collected between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2008.
In addition to the $12.1 billion in total impact generated by the University System in FY08, the study determined that Georgia's public higher education system is responsible for 108,405 full- and part-time jobs 2.6 percent of all the jobs in the state. Approximately 39 percent of these positions are on-campus jobs, while the majority 61 percent are positions in the private or public sectors that exist because of the presence in the community of USG institutions, such as entrepreneurs, medical personnel and a broad range of services from banking and real estate to communications technology.

The leadership of the USG gathered in March with members of the USG Foundation to honor Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue with a "Lifetime Achievement Award" for his service to higher education in Georgia.
The occasion was the Fifth Annual Regents Awards for Excellence in Education Celebration, which also recognized four USG alumni: Lois Taylor Ellison, a graduate of the Medical College of Georgia; Bertie Mae Garrett, a graduate of Middle Georgia College; Mike Garrett, a graduate of Georgia College & State University; and M. Troy Woods, a graduate of Columbus State University. For a separate story on the five outstanding USG faculty members also honored, please see "Outstanding USG Faculty, Program Receive Regents Awards" on page 13.
Perdue's "Elridge McMillan Lifetime Achievement Award" is named for the longest-serving current member of the Board of Regents, Elridge McMillan [who stepped down from the Board in August, after serving since 1975].
The proceeds from this annual event fund President's Choice Scholarships at all 35 University System institutions. Each institution receives up to $10,000 annually. Thanks to the Regents' Foundation Scholarships, students with academic merit who are traditionally underserved by the System and face financial obstacles to attending college receive assistance in the form of full tuition and fees. The USG Foundation raised more than $1 million and awarded 38 President's Choice Scholarships and 12 Foundation Scholarships during FY09.

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Gov. Sonny Perdue (right) accepts the USG Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award from the award's namesake, Regent Elridge McMillan (center), and USG Foundation Chair James A. Bishop (left).

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THE STRATEGIC PLAN
TRANSFORMING THE SYSTEM CHANGING LIVES
STRENGTHENING THE STATE
In 2007, the Board of Regents approved a new strategic plan for the University System of Georgia (USG) comprising six goals that focus on building the System's capacity to meet the needs of the state and transform the lives of future generations of Georgians. This document represents the end of the second year of implementation of the USG Strategic Plan, and there is progress to report. On the pages that follow, you will find an accounting of the activity that has taken place during the past year to achieve these six goals.
1 STRATEGIC GOAL ONE Renew excellence in undergraduate education to meet students' 21st century educational needs.
2 STRATEGIC GOAL TWO Create enrollment capacity in the University System to meet the needs of 100,000 additional students by 2020.
3 STRATEGIC GOAL THREE Increase the USG's participation in research and economic development to the benefit of a global Georgia. Enhance and encourage the creation of new knowledge and basic research across all disciplines.
4 STRATEGIC GOAL FOUR Strengthen the USG's partnerships with the state's other education agencies.
5 STRATEGIC GOAL FIVE Maintain affordability so that money is not a barrier to participation in the benefits of higher education.
6 STRATEGIC GOAL SIX Increase efficiency, working as a System.

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STRATEGIC GOAL
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ONE

Renew excellence in undergraduate education to meet students' 21st century educational needs
Goal 1 is at the core of what the USG is all about providing an excellent undergraduate education for all students. This goal is transformative. It is about instruction, but it also is about the educational experience, how students move through college, how good the faculty are, how safe the campus is, how helpful staff are. As a result of its strategic actions, the University System will re-examine its general education curriculum, renew its commitment to liberal arts education for this century and improve the quality of undergraduate teaching and learning.

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PROGRESS REPORT
Strengthening Undergraduate Education Initiative
Recognizing that the core curriculum needs to be meaningful for today's students, the Core Curriculum Evaluation Committee researched higher education systems nationwide and quickly concluded that the USG's current core curriculum provides its students with an ease of transfer between system institutions that is almost unrivaled. That being said, there are areas of the curriculum that could be enhanced. The task force worked for more than a year to revise the core and will be presenting its revisions to the Board of Regents in October 2009. The new core will include learning outcomes and a global perspective, allow for more institutional flexibility (based on institutional missions), and ensure easy transferability between institutions. The committee's final recommendations, archived material and committee minutes can be found at: http://core.usg.edu/

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STRATEGIC GOAL ONE PROGRESS REPORT

Preparing Students to Function Effectively in a Global Society Initiative
Due to the statewide budget situation, USG administrators made the difficult decision to eliminate the Office of International Education in March 2009. However, knowing that evidence indicates that students who study abroad have significantly higher retention and graduation rates than students who do not, the USG's institutions continue to emphasize study abroad. The System's goal is to increase the number of students who graduate with a study abroad experience from 21 percent in 2008 to 25 percent in 2012. The USG is well on its way to meeting that goal.
Valuing and Rewarding Teaching Excellence Initiative
Beyond having an excellent curriculum and having good campus experiences, having great teachers is a big component of an excellent undergraduate education.
During the 2008-2009 academic year, the Office of Academic Affairs launched the inaugural USG Faculty Development Monthly Series at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center. Seven all-day workshops addressed critical topics such as effective online teaching, successful grant writing, student learning assessment, and enhancing campus teaching and learning centers. Nearly 300 USG faculty attended these sessions on-site, and more than 5,000 have visited the recorded and archived sessions online http:// www.usg.edu/faculty_affairs/workshops/.
To reward its most outstanding faculty, the Board of Regents bestowed five Regent's Teaching Excellence Awards (see separate story on next page).

Safety on Campus
The campus environment has a significant impact on a student's educational experience. Two presidential projects the Student Health and Behavioral Issues Initiative and the Emergency Operations Planning Initiative were brought under the leadership of President Everette Freeman of Albany State University in FY09. Combining the initiatives allowed crucial relationships to further develop among mental health workers, emergency preparedness planners, public safety staff and campus communities, bringing together all constituencies to support the health and safety of USG administrators, faculty, staff and students.
Enhanced Advising Processes (EAP) Initiative
Academic advising is known to be a key to success in keeping retention and graduation rates high. During the past year, the Enhanced Advising Processes (EAP) Implementation Team under the leadership of Kennesaw State University President Daniel Papp completed all institutional advising plans, developed a preliminary System-wide scorecard and confirmed institutional commitment to making two-year course schedules available on all USG institutional websites by Fall 2010.
The team also is moving forward with the System-wide implementation of technology-based advisement-enhancement systems, such as DegreeWorks. Currently, eight USG institutions are in various stages of implementing this advising system, with several others implementing similar systems for their students.

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Outstanding USG Faculty, Program Receive Regents Awards
Five University System of Georgia faculty members and one academic department were honored with Board of Regents' Teaching Excellence and Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Awards during Fiscal Year 2009.
The following faculty members received the Regents Award for Excellence in Teaching, which recognizes exemplary teaching that significantly improves student achievement:
Dr. Christy Price, professor of psychology, Division of Social Sciences, Dalton State College;
Dr. Carol Barnum, professor of information design/technical communication, Department of English, Technical Communication & Media Arts, Southern Polytechnic State University; and
Dr. Balasubramaniam Ramesh, Board of Advisors professor of computer information systems, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University.
The Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University won the Regents Award for Excellence in Teaching in the category of Department/Programs.
The following faculty members received the Regents Award for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, which recognizes research demonstrating innovative teaching techniques that enhance student learning:
Dr. Charles H. Atwood, professor of chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia; and
Dr. Matthew Laposata, associate professor of environmental science, Department of Biology and Physics, Kennesaw State University.
The winners' portfolios are available under Faculty Affairs at http://www.usg.edu/.

Retention and Graduation Rates Initiative
An institution's graduation rate is an important indication of its health. The USG's stated goal is to increase graduation rates by 1 percent each year, in order to exceed the national average by 2015. A System-wide project, led by President Bruce Grube of Georgia Southern University, established best practices to be explored by campuses to increase their rates. Despite much hard work, the System's graduation rates dipped during the past year from 50 percent to 49.3 percent. While budget cuts back in 2002-2003 are a likely contributor to this dip, the Board of Regents will be refocusing efforts on increasing these rates in the future.

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STRATEGIC GOAL

www.usg.edu/strategicplan/two

TWO

Create enrollment capacity to meet the needs of 100,000 additional students by 2020
In order to meet the needs of a growing Georgia, the University System of Georgia must expand its capacity by up to 40 percent to serve an additional 100,000 students by 2020. This is a unique opportunity to shape the USG for the new century, focusing on planned, targeted growth, the optimal use of facilities and other resources, and the proper alignment of resources with programmatic needs. As a result of its strategic actions, the University System will increase capacity to accommodate targeted, programmatic growth. Objectives of this goal include increasing the diversity of the USG's enrollment and closing enrollment gaps for underrepresented groups; increasing the USG's public relations outreach; increasing the use of access institutions to meet higher education needs in underserved areas; creating a more robust sector of comprehensive universities and further delineating their missions within the sector; increasing the joint use of facilities; and positioning the USG among leading systems in distance education.

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PROGRESS REPORT
University System enrollment increased by approximately 10,000 students in Fall 2007 and 13,000 in Fall 2008. The projected need for additional capacity remains on target. During the 2008-2009 fiscal year, this goal had two major areas of activity for meeting enrollment demand: 1) Increase capacity at two-year and state colleges to meet enrollment
demand, and 2) Increase access to University System programs through distance
learning.

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STRATEGIC GOAL TWO PROGRESS REPORT

Increasing Capacity at Two-Year and State Colleges to Meet Enrollment Demand
Enrollment in the two-year and state colleges has increased more rapidly than in the comprehensive or research university sectors. In Fall 2007, there was a 7.2 percent enrollment increase over Fall 2006 in the two-year and state college sectors, compared to a 3.2 percent and 2.3 percent increase in the comprehensive and research universities, respectively. In Fall 2008, there was a 7.3 percent enrollment increase over Fall 2007 in the two-year and state college sectors, compared to a 4.7 percent and 2.6 percent increase in the comprehensive and research universities, respectively.
Over the course of FY09, the Board of Regents focused its capacity-building activities on two geographic areas greater metropolitan Atlanta and southeast coastal Georgia. In an effort to make it easier for more Georgians to attend college and for USG institutions to accommodate them, the board guided several metro Atlanta colleges and universities in establishing satellite campuses, including:
g Atlanta Metropolitan College, which opened a new downtown Atlanta site, adjacent to Georgia State University in Spring 2009;
g Dalton State College, which opened a new site in Ellijay at about the same time;
g Georgia Highlands College and Kennesaw State University, which will use two buildings donated by Paulding County to begin offering classes in Paulding County in Fall 2009;
g Georgia Highlands College and University of West Georgia, which will begin offering classes at a joint facility in Douglasville in Fall 2009; and

g Gordon College and Clayton State University, which signed a memorandum of understanding with Henry County and will begin offering classes in Henry County in Fall 2009.
In southeast Georgia, College of Coastal Georgia entered the implementation phase of its new state college mission, which will greatly expand this institution's reach. The college's first three baccalaureate programs enrolled students for Fall 2009.
Increasing Access to University System Programs Through Distance Learning
Building upon the groundwork laid by the launch of Georgia ONmyLINE (GOML) in October 2007, the USG achieved its goal of increasing the number of semester credit hours attributed to distance education courses to 6.4 percent.
USG institutions continued to expand their offerings and to list them in the searchable online catalog of courses and programs (www.georgiaonmyline.org). This year, the number of courses grew to 2,866, representing offerings of 27 institutions, and the more than 150 programs expanded to include the full array of degree levels. The GOML website has received more than one million hits from more than 90,000 visitors worldwide.
The number of programs embracing the GOML coursedelivery model addressing areas of critical need in Georgia expanded from eight initial graduate education programs to 45 programs, ranging from associate level to education specialist degrees. Enrollment in the expanded teachereducation offerings reached 1,412 in Summer 2009. Fifteen institutions are implementing the new course-delivery model.
Additionally, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future featured the new Georgia ONmyLINE delivery model for graduate teacher education, naming Georgia its State of the Month in October 2008.

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For more about GOML, see the story "Students Happy to Have Georgia ONmyLINE" (below).

Students Happy to Have Georgia ONmyLINE
Georgia is in the midst of a critical shortage of qualified teachers. With Georgia ONmyLINE facilitating online learning in high-need areas such as teaching, the USG has significantly increased access to academic programs for all Georgians regardless of their location.
Wallace Landrum is a student enrolled in Valdosta State University's Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Middle Grades Math and Science program. Wallace almost enrolled in an out-of-state school that was geographically closer, but ultimately decided on Georgia ONmyLINE and is very happy with his decision.
Says Wallace, "I am from a rural part of Georgia the closest college is 70 miles away. I also like the flexibility that online courses afford. I can get my education from the comfort of my own living room."
And it's not just the accessibility that is attracting qualified students to Georgia ONmyLINE. Demetria Daniels, another M.Ed. student at Valdosta State (VSU), is very impressed with the academic excellence of the professors.
She says, "I chose Georgia ONmyLINE because I could pursue a higher degree while receiving instruction from some of the most prestigious professors in the University System of Georgia. I was excited when I found out that Valdosta State University was a part of Georgia ONmyLINE. I received my undergraduate degree from Valdosta State, so I was aware of this university's expectations for educators.

"After receiving my undergraduate degree in Middle Grades Education, I felt like I was well prepared to enter the education profession," Daniels added.
"The classes that I took for my Masters in Accomplished Teaching allowed me to be actively engaged in the learning process," she said. "The program required a lot of hands-on activities, which allowed me to incorporate what I was learning into my classroom. I have learned several strategies that will make me a better teacher while enhancing my students' achievement."
By offering convenience, flexibility, and a quality education, Georgia ONmyLINE is helping to meet the needs of increasing numbers of students who want to participate in distance-education programs.
Angela Baker, another M.Ed. student at VSU, is excited about her future teaching career. "I have certainly become a more informed educator as a result of this program. I have been able to reflect upon my practices as an educator and determine where my strengths and weaknesses exist. As a result of my studies, I am more confident in areas of education, such as curriculum development and assessment. I have also been challenged to become an advocate for my students and my peers and to share the knowledge that I have gained from the program."

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STRATEGIC GOAL
THREE www.usg.edu/strategicplan/three

Increase the System's participation in research and economic development to the benefit of a global Georgia. Enhance and encourage the creation of new knowledge and basic research across all disciplines.
In an open world with permeable borders, Georgia must increasingly compete not only with fifty states, but also with other countries. In a knowledge economy, creating and attracting intellectual resources is as vital as controlling and directing natural resources. Georgia cannot succeed without a strong University System, marked by prominent institutions and programs that develop Georgia's own human capital and draw the best talent from around the world. Objectives of Goal Three include increasing the USG's competitiveness for federal research funds, increasing the number of health-professions graduates, and creating a long-term, System-level academic plan for workforce development.

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PROGRESS REPORT
Leveraging the USG's Assets Through Research Collaboration
The USG's four research universities understand that collaboration is a powerful tool for leveraging their assets and excel in highly competitive regional and national environments. There are many ongoing/ recent collaborations between USG research universities and non-USG partners such as Emory University, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse School of Medicine and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
For example, in the arena of cancer research, the cancer centers at Medical College of Georgia (MCG) and the University of Georgia are collaborating to determine if targeted alterations to cell-surface glycans (complex sugar molecules) prevent or retard the growth of cancers in animal models an issue of great interest to the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Cancer Institute.
In another example, Georgia Tech, MCG and Emory recently received close to $10 million in funding from the NIH (matched by an additional $3 million from the Georgia Research Alliance) to establish a nano-medicine center. The center will develop nano-machines to repair disease-

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STRATEGIC GOAL THREE PROGRESS REPORT

causing damage to the genetic material, with the longterm goal of fostering preventive, less invasive medicine.
Also, Georgia State and Georgia Tech have jointly established a Center for Advanced Brain Imaging. The centerpiece of this state-of-the-art, interdisciplinary facility will be a Siemens 3.0 Tesla MRI full-body imaging system that will support research in human neuroscience and neuropsychology, as well as other non-neuroscience areas.
The collaborations and individual campus efforts have resulted in a 24 percent increase in research funding, from $605.5 million in FY07 to $748 million in FY09. The USG is on track to reach its goal of $825.7 million in research funding by 2012.
Increasing the Number of Health-Professions Graduates
First-year medical students: the USG made considerable progress during FY09 towards its goal of expanding the capacity of the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) to educate first-year medical students from 190 to 240 by 2010 via opening a campus in Athens in partnership with the University of Georgia (UGA) and expanding existing regional campuses in Savannah and Albany. For example:
g Dr. Barbara L. Schuster, an internist and seasoned medical educator and administrator, was appointed dean of the joint campus in October 2008 and began recruiting faculty and working with educators on the curriculum.
g In April 2009, the state Legislature appropriated $7.8 million in FY10 funds to support development of the residency programs in Athens, Savannah and Albany, in addition to $2.8 million in existing state funding.
g In June 2009, the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) ruled that MCG has adequate resources to move forward with the expansion plan and is on track to matriculate 40 medical students

at the Athens campus in August 2010. This nod from the LCME represents a major step forward for those involved with the effort, allowing MCG's School of Medicine to begin filling the 40 slots in the program for the Fall 2010 semester.
g UGA's renovation of the Interim Medical Partnership Building, a historic building on the banks of the North Oconee River in Athens, was completed by the end of FY09. This building will house the partnership program until the planned move in 2012 to a 58-acre campus in Athens currently occupied by the Navy Supply Corps School.
g Deans have been appointed to lead the development of the two regional MCG campuses in Savannah and Albany that will support expanded clinical clerkships. Over the next seven years, 60 third- and fourth-year medical students will be educated at the Southwest Georgia Clinical Campus, based at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, and the Southeast Georgia Clinical Campus, based at St. Joseph's/ Candler Health System in Savannah.
With the full implementation of the plan, the MCG School of Medicine, through its partnership with UGA, could expand to a total of 1,200 medical students by 2020 from its current level of 745, an increase of approximately 60 percent.
Georgia ranks ninth in the nation in both population and population growth, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, yet 44th in the number of physicians per capita, according to the American Medical Association. Increasing the number of physicians in Georgia is a critical state need.
Other health-professions: the core mission of the USG's new Center for Health Workforce Planning and Analysis (CHWPA) is to assist in aligning the state's education systems with the workforce needs of the healthcare industry

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and to inform policy and law to ensure that Georgia's health workforce is meeting the needs of its citizens.
The USG's Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP) finds innovative ways to connect the System's resources with the needs of the state's business community. The USG is addressing the challenges of increasing the number of healthcare graduates, with CHWPA providing policy and strategic guidance and ICAPP implementing targeted health professions education through strategic funding.
As a result, the USG was able to make substantial progress during FY09 in three health professions areas: behavioral health, allied health and nursing.
Behavioral Health
During FY09, collaboration among CHWPA and ICAPP and key employers such as the Georgia Department of Corrections and the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities helped establish new program concentrations in mental health for masterslevel social work students, psychologists and baccalaureate-level nurses.
ICAPP funding helped Valdosta State University to launch an accelerated program in which students who have already earned a bachelor's degree in a behavioral health-related field can earn a bachelor's degree in the science of nursing with a concentration in psychiatric nursing in only 15 months. These graduates are guaranteed employment in the mental health field and will likely fill positions in Georgia's mental health hospitals.
CHWPA also is working to improve the social work pipeline. Fifteen master of social work (MSW) students from Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, Savannah State University, the University of Georgia and Valdosta State University completed the selection of their mental-health electives, special training and a month-long internship with a mental-health provider before beginning work with one of Georgia's public mental health service providers, supervised by a licensed clinical social worker.
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Allied Health
With the support of the CHWPA staff, ICAPP also funded a program to increase the numbers of allied-health professionals in north Georgia and metropolitan Atlanta.
Students in this program may complete the core curriculum and pre-requisite courses at one of four USG institutions, then complete allied health courses online from Medical College of Georgia and clinical lab requirements at the partnering employer.
The pilot project will produce an additional 53 graduates in allied health professions, including clinical laboratory science, diagnostic medical sonography, nuclear medicine technology, health-information administration and respiratory therapy. The program is expected to yield many more graduates statewide as it expands.
In addition, the ICAPP-funded expansion of Medical College of Georgia's Physician Assistant Program through a new satellite location located at Athens Technical College will produce an additional 20 physician assistants for the Athens/Northeast Georgia workforce. This accelerated program uses distance learning.
Nursing
CHWPA's initial measurements indicate that the USG's efforts to expand nursing education capacity are paying off data show that, after bottoming out in 2002 at 1,240 graduates, the System has increased its production to roughly 2,300 graduates in FY09. This represents an increase of more than1,000 graduates over the past seven years. The USG now produces more than 80 percent of all new registered nurses in the state.
Many qualified students are turned away from nursing programs due to a shortage of nursing faculty to educate them. Since FY07, the USG has been slowly increasing the number of nursing faculty it employs (from 489 to 507, to date, with the goal being 550).

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Workforce Development
Displaced Workers: through ICAPP, the University System is helping unemployed Georgia workers with computer-literacy classes that teach the skills needed to search and apply for jobs online and classes to help these workers prepare to resume their educations.
During FY09, the continuing education departments of Clayton State University, College of Coastal Georgia, Dalton State, Medical College of Georgia, and the University of West Georgia launched a pilot computer literacy program that may be expanded to other USG institutions.
The computer skills classes are offered at no cost to the participants. ICAPP funded the pilot, but in FY10, the Governor's Office of Workforce Development and local workforce-investment boards will fund the program at statewide USG and technical college sites.
Fort Benning: the U.S. Army's plan to relocate its Armor School which trains armor and cavalry soldiers in contemporary combat tactics involving computer modeling and simulation from Fort Knox, Ky., to Fort Benning in 2011 has led to exploding demand in the greater Columbus area for employees with computer-modeling skills.
ICAPP has stepped in to help fund Columbus State University's new, online graduate certificate in Computer Modeling and Simulation. Many industries, including life sciences, also need employees with skills in computer modeling and simulation.
Columbus State faculty members are working with the Aerospace and Logistics Centers of Innovation to develop a master's-level program to meet the needs of those industries. Five students graduated from the certificate program in FY09, and Columbus State anticipates that number will grow to 2030 per class in the near future.
Life Sciences Industry: the USG also is involved with the workforce needs of the life sciences industry. During FY09, thanks to ICAPP funding, the first class of 23 employees from Merial Select, which produces vaccines for the

poultry industry at its plant in Gainesville, completed a new certificate program at Gainesville State College (GSC).
The program gives employees a basic foundation in the science behind the processes that they use daily to produce the vaccines and will improve productivity and product quality, which will lower costs. All poultry industry employees can benefit from the majority of this program, so it was designed to be easily adapted for other employers.
In addition, components of the program, such as sterile manufacturing and environmental health and safety, can apply to employees of pharmaceutical manufacturers. Southern Polytechnic State University and University of Georgia faculty also provide instruction.
NCR: University System offerings were an important part of the state's incentive package that led NCR to relocate its headquarters to Georgia and also expand its ATM-manufacturing facility in Columbus.
Through ICAPP, the USG assisted the state in recruiting NCR, which promises to bring to Georgia more than 2,000 high-paying jobs.
With the assistance of business schools at Georgia Tech, Georgia State and UGA, ICAPP will provide NCR with an executive-leadership program. Georgia Tech is providing

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free "landing space" in campus offices for NCR's advance team.
The USG also is lending the expertise of Georgia Tech faculty in retrofitting an existing manufacturing facility for NCR, and providing assistance with talent acquisition (new hires, interns and co-op students).

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USG, State Could Benefit from Redevelopment of Fort McPherson
Board of Regents staff members have been working with state officials to plan future uses for Fort McPherson, an Army base located in southwest Atlanta that will close in 2011. The vision includes a new research park focused on bioscience and healthcare in which the USG's four research universities would have a strong presence.
The Board of Regents have authorized the Chancellor to move forward with planning for the park, and vice presidents for research at Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, the Medical College of Georgia and the University of Georgia are working with representatives of the Georgia Research Alliance, the state's departments of Economic Development and Community Affairs, the GeorgiaBio industry and the Governor's Office to bring these plans to fruition.

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FOUR www.usg.edu/strategicplan/four

Strengthen the USG's partnerships with the state's other education agencies
Goal Four emphasizes the partnership between the USG and the Alliance of Education Agency Heads (AEAH) and focuses the USG's strategic efforts on the following areas: increasing the high school graduation rate, decreasing the high school drop-out rate and increase post-secondary enrollment rates; improving workforce readiness skills; strengthening teacher quality, recruitment and retention; and developing strong educational leaders.
Recognizing that all levels of Georgia's educational system need to work together to produce a more educated population, Gov. Sonny Perdue created the AEAH, which is made up of Georgia's seven education agencies: the Department of Early Care and Learning, the Department of Education, the Technical College System of Georgia, the University System of Georgia, the Georgia Student Finance Commission, the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, and the Office of Student Achievement.
The Board of Regents' Strategic Plan includes major strategies of the Alliance, and the USG has been designated by the AEAH as the lead collaborative partner for work done in several areas.

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During FY09, the University System led four major strategies pursuant to AEAH's goal to increase the high school graduation rate, decrease the high school dropout rate, and increase postsecondary enrollment rates:
College Access: in FY09, the USG launched the College Access Challenge Grant, a statewide collaborative of the USG, the Georgia Student Finance Commission, the Georgia Department of Education and the Technical College System of Georgia, funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
The $2 million grant targets students traditionally underrepresented in higher education low income youth and adults with some college, but no degree.
Within a year of receiving the College Access Challenge Grant, the collective efforts of the Alliance agencies had provided information to approximately 500,000 Georgians promoting the importance of pursuing higher education beyond high school by applying and preparing to attend college. These activities led to significant spikes in the number of accounts created by students and parents seeking information on

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applying to and paying for college via www.GACollege411. org, as well as applications for student loans and college admission.
During Georgia's first Apply for College Week, more than 870 students from the eight pilot high schools submitted applications through GAcollege411 web site (for more information on Georgia Apply to College Day and GAcollege411, see Goal Five progress report). The number of college applications increased 16.2 percent during FY09 over the previous year. The number of Free Applications for Student Aid (FAFSAs) increased 55 percent.
The American Diploma Project (ADP) College and Career Ready Policy Institute (CCRPI): the USG, the Georgia Department of Education and the Technical College System of Georgia have aligned Georgia Performance Standards for high school with the performance level needed for college and career readiness in English/Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics. In addition to aligning the curriculum, the agencies have agreed to use existing high school exit tests to assess college readiness.
Early College: the Early College program includes secondary school and the first two years of college for students meeting at least one of the following characteristics: minority, high poverty or first-generation college students.
Carver Early College, the first of 12 Georgia Early Colleges established by the USG, graduated its first cohort of seniors in Spring 2009:
The class achieved a 100 percent passage rate on all portions of the High School Graduation Test and a 100 percent graduation rate. Additionally, Carver Early College reported that 100 percent of the graduating class had been accepted into at least one two- or four-year college.
These accomplishments are particularly significant as the demographics of the students involved minority, high poverty and/or first-generation college reduce their likelihood of high school completion and college enrollment.

Further program successes were achieved through the expansion of the program from six to 12 schools in FY09, many of which outperformed schools with similar demographics on end-of-course tests and high school-graduation tests.
African-American Male Initiative: the USG's AfricanAmerican Male Initiative (AAMI) works to increase the enrollment, retention and graduation of black males enrolled in USG institutions by eliminating barriers to college matriculation.
The number of USG campuses participating in AAMI continues to grow, with 25 AAMI programs presently operating at 23 USG institutions.
Between Fall 2002 and Fall 2008, African-American male enrollment in the USG has increased by 36 percent, from 17,068 to 23,225. The largest single-year percentage increase in AAMI's seven-year history was the one most recently reported a 9.3 percent increase from Fall 2007 (21,249) to Fall 2008 (23,225).
The System-wide one-year retention rate for black male first-time, full-time freshmen who entered the USG in Fall 2002 (1,740 students) was 79.43 percent. A much larger group of black male freshmen (2,336 students) entered the System in Fall 2007, and their retention rate increased to 81.08 percent, a jump of 1.65 percentage points.

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Recognizing that the national benchmark for graduation is now six years, the six-year, System-wide graduation rate for first-time, full-time African-American male freshmen who entered the USG in Fall 1997 was 28.95 percent. That figure rose 8.18 percent to 37.13 percent for those who entered in Fall 2002, the year AAMI was launched.
In January 2009, AAMI received a $500,000 grant to expand its programs from the Lumina Foundation for Education the second grant Lumina has awarded AAMI since 2006.
Eleven USG institutions were awarded $300,000 in Lumina funds to expand existing AAMI programs or to implement new initiatives. These programs provide a wide range of activities and experiences designed to ensure the college matriculation and graduation of African-American male students.
Lumina is also enabling AAMI to partner with the Student African-American Brotherhood (SAAB) to launch SAAB chapters at eight USG institutions. SAAB is a national organization that aims to increase the number of AfricanAmerican and Latino males who graduate from college by creating positive peer communities.
AAMI and the Early College Program also launched a partnership to increase the retention and graduation of black males enrolled in Early College programs (see above).
In May 2009, three pilot grants were awarded to support participating middle school and high school students' visits to college campuses, their participation in summer bridge programs, mentoring activities and leadership development.
Teacher Education
During FY09, the USG led the following major strategy in support of AEAH's goal to strengthen teacher quality, recruitment and retention:

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Meeting the State's Need for Teachers: the USG launched the 20,000 by 2020 Initiative as a concerted, cross-institutional effort to meet 80 percent (20,000) of the state's need for new teachers by the year 2020.
At a basic level, the number of USG institutions that prepare teachers was expanded from 19 to 21 (with three more under development), and work has accelerated on developing innovative programs to meet regional and critical need subject areas and attract an expanded market of potential teachers, such as career changers.
Progress made on new-teacher production is impressive. From a baseline of 2,660 teachers prepared in 2002, the University System has increased new-teacher production by 73.9 percent to 4,626 teachers.
New-teacher retention and the yield rate (the number of new USG teachers hired by Georgia public schools after receiving their degrees) also are being monitored closely.
In addition, two USG institutions Georgia State University and Albany State University continue to rank among the top 20 universities nationally in terms of the number of minority teachers prepared, another USG goal.
During FY09, the University System led three major strategies in support of AEAH's goals to improve workforcereadiness skills and develop strong educational leaders, particularly at the school level:
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Initiative: the STEM Initiative (http://www.usg. edu/educator_prep/preparation/stem/) is a System-wide project that seeks to increase the number of college graduates in STEM fields, and to increase the number of highly qualified middle- and high-school STEM teachers prepared by USG institutions.
In 2009, 11 USG institutions began to implement STEM plans. Overall, $3.6 million dollars of funding were used to hire 44 new faculty members, implement Mathematics,

Retired Military Man Earns College Credit for Life Lessons Learned
Mark Smith has experienced a great deal over the past 30 years as a military airman, jet-engine mechanic and Christian minister, experience he is now using to earn his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Valdosta State University.
"I intended to retire from the military and work in aircraft maintenance, but a shift in the economy changed my plans. Instead, I am going back to college to become a school counselor, and it's the smartest thing I've ever done," Smith explains.
The retired Air Force master sergeant says he was slightly apprehensive about returning to school, but his two college-graduate daughters encouraged him to enroll. Once on campus, he discovered that his age and experience allowed him to interact easily with fellow students and faculty. He was especially pleased to find out that he could also use his knowledge and experience to earn college credit.
Smith enrolled in Prior Learning Assessment (PLA), a program that evaluates what you've learned in class and in the workplace to determine if this knowledge can be used for college credit (for more about PLA, see "Targeted Education of Adult Learners" on page 30).
"Through PLA, I was able to look at what I learned in the military and my work as a pastor, put together a portfolio and presentation [detailing that education] and earn four hours of college credit. I'm really proud of what I've accomplished," he says.
Prior Learning Assessment is one of the strategiessupported by the College Access Challenge Grant, a collaborative grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education to improve services for adult students returning to college and expand programs that focus on strategic regional workforce needs.

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Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) Programs, and conduct a state-level Institute on the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics.
Additionally, the funding supported: the implementation of Academies for Future Teachers for 180 high school students; 80 STEM Faculty Fellowship Grant awards to support the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning and Professional K-16 Learning Communities; the development of Service Learning Courses for STEM majors; and the establishment of STEM Centers, Math and Science Teaching and Learning Centers, and STEM Tutoring Centers. Through these efforts, student enrollment in the STEM majors increased 11 percent in one year, strengthening the pipeline for future STEM teachers.
Companion Work to the STEM Initiative: in an effort to increase awareness on the part of educators of the importance of the STEM initiative, the USG's Partnership for Reform In Science and Mathematics (PRISM), a National Science Foundation grantee, hosted a national conference on science and mathematics education, and produced a book, "Increasing the Competitive Advantage in Science and Math," published in February 2009.

PRISM partners authored three additional books and eight articles in various journals, and made 50 presentations across the United States.
In addition, during FY09, PRISM staff placed an increased emphasis on improving teacher retention by developing and implementing a Master Teacher Leader Program designed to provide support for current teachers of science and/or mathematics in the regions of the state served by PRISM.
Twenty-five teachers in seven school districts will be helping to improve teacher retention rates in their districts, having learned through this program how to organize and facilitate professional learning communities for science/ math teachers; design professional learning in science/ math that is standards-based and results-driven; serve as mentors for fellow teachers of science/math; and assist in the development of the school improvement plan in the content areas of science and mathematics.
Targeted education of adult learners: USG campuses expanded their efforts to reach "career changers" and provide innovative and expanded programs that focus on strategic workforce needs in their regions.
In FY09, five USG institutions formed the Adult Learning Consortium. Each institution received $25,000 in Challenge Grant funds to work together to improve services for adult students returning to college, with programs such as Prior Learning Assessments testing, a rigorous process that awards adult students college credit for learning acquired through experience. All best practices will be passed along to the entire USG.
In support of AEAH's goal to develop strong educational leaders, the University System of Georgia led the following major strategy during FY09:
Georgia's Leadership Institute for School Improvement (GLISI): GLISI is a public/private initiative that has been

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STEM Online Master's Program Helping Student Fulfill a Dream
Amy Jenson graduated from Duke University in 1990 with a major in accounting and minor in mathematics, which she parlayed into a successful business career as a senior manager with PriceWaterhouse Coopers Management Consulting.
Yet, she has long harbored a dream of becoming a high-school math teacher. Now, almost 20 years after graduating, she is one step closer to fulfilling
that dream as a student enrolled in the STEM Masters of Arts in Teaching program, a new collaborative and innovative online program offered by Columbus State University through GeorgiaONmyLINE (for more information on the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Initiative, see section on STEM that begins on page 29).
"There were a number of times I considered going back to school to become a teacher, but I encountered so many barriers that I would give up and continue working in business. I have three children and a husband who travels, so I could not commit to a traditional degree program," Jenson says in explaining why she didn't answer the call to teach until recently.
Besides the convenience of taking classes online, Jenson says she selected the USG collaborative program because of the quality of the courses and degree. For example, she wanted the on-site classroom teaching experience required by the program. "I've talked with principals who said that they were reluctant to hire graduates of online teacher programs, but that they had confidence in the USG online programs because they know the USG produces teachers who have in-class experience and are prepared to teach."

helping education leaders achieve the desired results of organizational improvement and student success for their district.
Since its inception in 2002, 93 percent of Georgia's 181 public school districts and 14,000 individual participants have made use of GLISI. In FY09, approximately 3,500 school leaders attended GLISI programs, including 546 who enrolled in the intensive Core Leadership Development Program, bringing that program's participation to 2,949.
A total of 713 senior district and school leaders participated in the Executive Development Program and learning communities during the year, with a focus on better planning, managing and monitoring of local performance.
The institute also trained more than 150 Leadership Performance Coaches during FY2009 and worked with 200 school districts to plan and manage leader development and progression. GLISI also began a new multi-year-development pilot experience for 100 school leaders and their supervisors that focuses on ensuring leadership "bench strength" and leveraging the power of learning communities to increase student achievement.

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FIVE

Maintain affordability so that money is not a barrier to participation in the benefits of higher education
Through the HOPE Scholarship Program, Georgia is a national leader in providing merit-based financial aid to students; however, the total cost of attending college remains a challenge to some students and their families. As a result of its strategic actions, University System institutions will remain affordable for students and assist economically disadvantaged students in meeting the cost of college. Objectives of this goal include increasing private fundraising, improving the financial-aid process, educating students and families on how to pay for college, and funding for need-based aid.

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Increasing Alternative Sources of Funding
The System-wide Task Force on Philanthropy, led by North Georgia College & State University President David Potter, was a major area of focus for FY09.
As state revenues shrink, increasing other revenue sources to support academic excellence becomes more critical. Aware of the impact of the economy on students, the Board of Regents is promoting use of these additional resources to support scholarships for low-income students.
The final report of the Task Force on Philanthropy, presented to the regents at the January 2009 board meeting, proposed an agenda to be implemented by each USG president that includes setting three-year targets for fundraising. Progress toward those goals will be monitored by the sector heads and reported to the board on an annual basis.
To assist the campuses in setting fundraising (and other) targets, the University System Office revisited the need for comparator peers, last updated almost 10 years ago. A comparator peer is a non-USG institution that matches up with a USG institution in mission, size, and types of programs offered.

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In consultation with the System Office, the presidents chose comparator peers who participate in the Voluntary Support of Education (VSE) survey each year.
The VSE reports philanthropic giving at all U.S. institutions that participate in the survey. The USG institutions will assess their comparator peers' VSE data in establishing reasonable targets for themselves, in consultation with their sector heads.
It is expected that this initiative will revive or reinvigorate fundraising efforts at all USG institutions for the immediate future. Total philanthropic support to the USG institutions in FY07 was $287.6 million. This is a baseline figure against which the System can be evaluated in future years.
Improving the Financial-Aid Process
The board provided $400,000 in targeted enhancement funds to 12 USG institutions to improve the financial aid process on their campuses.
As a result of the economic downturn and budget reductions, two colleges chose to delay their financial-aid projects. The remaining 10 focused on projects to increase students' knowledge of the array of financial-aid products available to them. To achieve this, campuses conducted workshops and established one-stop shops for all student services.
Other projects focused on reducing processing time by providing more on-line services and creating new ways to answer students' questions, such as Instant Messaging.
Educating Students and Families on Paying for College
The College Access Grant awarded to Georgia by the U.S. Department of Education provided the USG with funds to increase low-income high-school students' knowledge of financial-aid opportunities to assist with college costs. More information about the two-year, $2 million grant is in the Goal Four report.

The first year of the grant funded "Apply to College Day" workshops attended by 870 high school students in eight high schools.
In coordination with USG financial-aid counselors from 18 institutions, high school counselors, the Georgia Student Finance Commission and others, "Apply to College Day" made the often-mystifying financial-aid process more understandable by introducing participants to GAcollege411, the state's one-stop shop for students and their parents to "Plan, Apply and Pay for College."
The website showed a spike in the number of accounts created during the period of the workshops, validating the College Access Grant's contributions.

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USG Financial Aid Offices Positioning Themselves to Deliver Better Customer Service
Several USG institutions have improved their financial-aid processes with targeted enhancement funds from the Board of Regents in accordance with their campus Customer Service Improvement Plans, which promote faster, friendlier and more efficient services for all customers, including students. Here are a few examples of the projects undertaken:
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
The USG Office of Customer Service and the USG Strategic Planning Office selected Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College as the only USG institution to participate in the Governor's Office of Customer Service LEAN Rapid-Process-Improvement (RPI) Initiative to improve student-financial-aid services.
As a result, ABAC has reduced the time it takes for a student to navigate the average financial-aid-application cycle by 65 percent. The college staff shortened the time it takes to verify an application from 20 minutes to seven minutes and the time needed to process financial-aid non-verified institutional Student Information Record System data from seven minutes to two minutes a reduction of 71 percent.
The nine-month, employee-driven RPI initiative has resulted in the development of a new model for ABAC student services encompassing financial, enrollment and registration services that will serve students from their initial contact with a college recruiter until they graduate.
Georgia Perimeter College
Georgia Perimeter College (GPC) established a college-wide Financial Aid Outreach program consisting of a Default-Prevention Manager and two full-time Default-Prevention Counselors. The outreach program strongly supports the efforts of the GPC Recruitment team, the Student Services deans and the Enrollment and Registration departments by offering financial-aid components during recruitment events and student programs. This is Phase One of GPC's project.
Kennesaw State University
The Financial Aid Office of Kennesaw State University developed a task force of faculty, staff and students that reviewed all practices within the Financial Aid Office. As a result, improvements have been made in all aspects of customer service, including relocating the office to an area of campus more conducive to excellent service; redesigning the call

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SIX

Increase efficiency, working as a System
The University System is fortunate to enjoy strong financial support from state leaders. The USG must continue to earn that support by demonstrating accountability for the use of its resources, by maximizing non-state revenues, and by increasing the efficiency of its business operations. The USG must work with state leaders to develop an appropriate business model for current economic trends and conditions. As a result of its strategic actions, the University System will increase its efficiency while increasing academic quality. Objectives of this goal include increasing the efficiency of business functions, developing a leadership culture and engaging the workforce in process improvement, and establishing accountability metrics for the System.

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Increasing the Efficiency of Business Functions the Shared Services Strategy
In June 2008, the Board of Regents approved a shared-services strategy to unify and consolidate some of the business functions now being conducted independently by 32 of the University System colleges and universities. The first phase focused on payroll operations. In preparation to "go live" with a consolidated payroll system in August 2009, the USG: g Selected ADP as the host provider; g Established a steering committee made up of eight USG chief
business officers; g Selected a core-project team of institutional staff for the functional
areas human resources, payroll and benefits, information technology, general ledger, and faculty information, and had each institution identify a campus coordinator; and g Chose Sandersville, Ga., as the location of the USG Shared Services Center.

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The second phase of the shared-services strategy involved consolidating financial-systems databases across 31 USG institutions/units participating in the GeorgiaFIRST Financials project.
Begun in fall 2008, this project went live on June 29, 2009. The benefits of this move include increased standardization of accounting across institutions; reduced risk through the increase of financial controls at institutions; faster access to system-wide information; faster, less-expensive upgrades to financial systems in the future; and the creation of a consolidated environment that positions the USG well for future shared-services projects.
The services that will be the focus of the third phase of the shared-services strategy will be determined in Fall 2009.
Engaging the Workforce in Process Improvement
More than 800 University System of Georgia administrators, faculty and staff have been awarded white, yellow and green belts in Lean Six Sigma a process-improvement technique that provides tools for maximizing performance results, effectiveness and efficiencies via courses at Southern Polytechnic State University. The Office of Fiscal Affairs will collect and maintain a repository of resulting process-improvement projects across the University System.
Establishing Accountability Metrics for the System
The Office of Fiscal Affairs began work on a project with an outside vendor to implement a technology tool that will enhance transparency and accountability in the University System's financial data and metrics.
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Kennesaw State University will serve as the pilot institutions before the tool is rolled out to the other institutions.

USG Ethics Policy
In November 2008, the Board of Regents implemented a unified Ethics Policy for the USG. Developed with the leadership of the Office of Internal Audit, the Ethics Policy is part of a three-pronged approach the University System is taking to enhance compliance with state and federal regulations and minimize the potential for misconduct by USG faculty, staff, administrators, vendors, contractors and members of the Board of Regents.

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The other two elements of this effort involve the development of enterprise risk-management and compliance programs. The former is designed to identify and mitigate significant financial, operational and compliance risks, and the latter helps to prevent and detect non-compliance with laws, rules and regulations through education, a hotline and other measures.
The University System Office, with the assistance of Georgia Tech, developed an online Ethics Policy training and certification program. All members of the Board of Regents and all USG institutions and employees are participating in the online training as part of the annual certification required by the Ethics Policy.
Leadership Development Initiative
In Fiscal Year 2009, the USG's human resources leadership established regional training hubs strategically located throughout the state to help offset the imbalance of training resources across USG colleges and universities

and to ensure that there is uniform training and leadership-development programming throughout the System.
Human resources staff formed a Leadership Development Executive Steering Committee that began meeting in October 2008. Human resources leadership and the Steering Committee worked with institutional and University System Office staff to design a System-wide leadership-development program The Executive Leadership Institute (ELI) to be launched early in FY2010.
Targeting high-potential leaders around the System with titles such as executive director, chair, dean and vice president, the program will further develop leadership capabilities in such critical competency areas as strategy, execution, collaboration and engagement.
The ELI will build and sustain System-wide leadership excellence by continuously developing talent within the USG, thereby assuring the availability of a talented and capable pool of executives and administrators who are prepared to assume leadership roles within the University System.
Sustainable Energy Management Initiative
Specific tasks completed in FY09 included:
g Development of draft guidelines for energy efficiency for new buildings and a draft sustainable-energymanagement plan template for the USG institutions.
g Georgia College & State University staff agreed to pilot the above effort by using the template to draft a sustainable-energy-management plan for their campus.
g The Office of Real Estate & Facilities (OREF) participated in the Energy Efficient and Sustainable Construction Task Force convened by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to develop design requirements and standards for all state facilities construction projects.

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g Ten energy audits were completed for USG institutions in conjunction with Georgia Power and the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, and a training session on energy audits was conducted for USG facilities staff and other state agencies.
g A web-based project support site and collaborative discussion area was established to facilitate sharing of best practices and ideas.
g USG staff quantified what exactly is "best-in-class" and used this to complete initial benchmark comparisons with peer institutions, based on institution size and mission.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Published by: Office of Media & Publications



John Millsaps Associate Vice Chancellor, Media & Publications



Diane Payne Annual Report Editor



Shelley Nickel Associate Editor



Sonja Roberts Design/Layout

Writers/Contributors:



Kris Biesinger



Terry Durden



Catherine Finnegan



John Fuchko



Wayne Guthrie



Susan Herbst



Bruce Holmes



Debbie Lasher



Sandra Neuse



Linda Noble



Arlethia Perry-Johnson



Usha Ramachandran



Ben R. Robinson



Deborah Scott



Candace Sommer



Melinda Spencer



John Vanchella



Rob E. Watts



Lynne Weisenbach

Photography: Courtesy of University System of Georgia



institutions

The University System of Georgia is committed to equal opportunity for all persons in its educational programs, activities and employment practices. Inquiries concerning the Board of Regents' policies in these areas may be directed to:
Office of Legal Affairs Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia 270 Washington Street, SW Atlanta, GA 30334-9007 Phone: (404) 656-2221

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"Creating a More Educated Georgia" www.usg.edu
Published by the Office of Media and Publications Board of Regents 270 Washington Street, SW Atlanta, Georgia 30334 (404) 656-2250