By Sharon Omahen
University of Georgia
The University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved the
University of Georgia’s offering of two undergraduate majors on
its Griffin, Ga., campus during its monthly meeting April 20 in
Savannah, Ga. at Armstrong Atlantic State University.
Starting in August 2005, UGA will offer the two degrees on its
Griffin campus. A biological science major will lead to a
Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. An environmental resource
science major will lead to a Bachelor of Science in Environmental
Sciences.
The new majors will be convenient for south-metro Atlanta
students. They’re expected to be very popular, said Gerald Arkin,
assistant dean of the UGA Griffin campus.
Faculty traditionally teach graduate students
For more than a century, the UGA Griffin campus has housed
members of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences research faculty.
“Griffin campus faculty have traditionally taught undergraduate
classes,” Arkin said. “Over the years, many Griffin faculty have
traveled to Athens to teach. And in some cases (they) provided
instruction from Griffin to Athens via distance education.
Griffin campus faculty also engage in graduate education for
masters and Ph.D. students, many of whom do all or part of their
research here in Griffin.”
The UGA Griffin campus degrees are designed to work in
partnership with area two-year colleges. Students must have 60
hours of transferable college credit before enrolling in the
degree programs.
Two-plus-two design
“Partnering with Gordon College in a ‘two-plus-two program,’
students will take their freshman and sophomore classes on the
Gordon campus and their junior and senior classes on the
University of Georgia Griffin campus,” Arkin said.
“Gordon College’s close proximity and course offerings make the
partnership an attractive one for students and institutions
alike,” he said. “I look forward to working with Gordon’s
President (Larry) Weill and his staff in this new venture.”
Weill is equally supportive. “We’re glad to have the opportunity
to help a sister institution with their program,” he said. “This
is also an opportunity to keep local students attending school in
the area.”
Many Gordon students seem to like the idea.
“More than 70 percent of the Gordon students we polled expressed
interest in earning an undergraduate degree from UGA if the
junior and senior years were offered on the Griffin campus,” said
Marilyn Johnson, coordinator of Griffin campus academic programs.
Of those students, she said, 49 percent said they’d be interested
in these two majors.
Area high school students expressed interest
Johnson polled students at the two largest high schools in
Griffin and Spalding County, too. At Spalding High, 71 percent
showed an interest in getting a UGA undergraduate degree in
Griffin. At Griffin High, 68 percent were interested. Asked
specifically about the new degrees, 36 percent of Spalding
students and 46 percent of Griffin students found them appealing.
In the past, students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in the
Griffin-Spalding County area have had to travel to Clayton or
Bibb County, Arkin said.
“Offering UGA undergraduate degree programs on the Griffin campus
is a major step in making higher education ever more accessible
to students,” he said.
“The University of Georgia Griffin campus undergraduate degree
programs are intended to offer convenience and accessibility,” he
said, “for students who cannot go to Athens for their degrees
because of jobs, family, or other commitments.”
The new majors require students to meet UGA’s transferring
student requirements of at least 60 hours of credit and at least
a 2.5 grade point average. Once accepted, students can attend
classes in Griffin and still be an official UGA student.
“After they meet all the university standards, our Griffin
students will become bona fide, I.D.-carrying UGA students,”
Johnson said.
UGA will offer the first six upper-level Griffin campus courses
this fall from 8 a.m. until noon on weekdays. For more
information on the new UGA degrees in Griffin, see the program’s
Web site www.uga.edu/griffin.
