University newspaper says Gwinnett
"more than outpost" for students
By Cindy Sprouse
Reprinted from The Red and Black

(Editor's Note: The following story appeared in the independent student newspaper at the University of Georgia, The Red and Black, and concerns Gwinnett County.)

ATHENS, Ga., July 11 - - Some of the more than 12,000 metro Atlanta students attending the University may now decide to complete their degree a little closer to home.

Beginning this fall, the University's Gwinnett University Center in Lawrenceville will offer three undergraduate degree programs: business, science and education.

The GUC is in a partnership with Georgia Perimeter College and the University, said Bob Boehmer, associate provost for institutional effectiveness and senior administrator for the Gwinnett programs.

The University's graduate program in Gwinnett has an enrollment of about 500 students, Boehmer said.

He said planned enrollment for fall 2002 programs include:

• 150 students for the B.B.A. in general business program, offered by the Terry College of Business.
  
  
• 60 students for the B.S. in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis on general science program, offered by the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
  
  
• 40 students for the B.S.Ed. in instructional psychology, training and technology program, offered by the College of Education.

"This isn't just an outpost," Boehmer said. "Students can take all classes, including electives, plus have access to student services."

GUC relocated to Collins Hill Road and Ga. Highway 316 in January, according to its Web site .

A second classroom building is scheduled to open in fall, said Martha Winslow, office manager at GUC.

"The Signature Building is high- tech," Winslow said. "It has the latest technology, including computers and distance-learning labs."

The new undergraduate programs are expected to have many more non-traditional students than a typical class entering the University, Boehmer said. Also, a lot of traditional students may take their first two years at Georgia Perimeter College and then finish their degrees at GUC.

Degree completion programs are targeted at students who cannot come to Athens and want a quality education, he said.

Applicants must be new transfer students (not currently enrolled at the University) with 60 hours of transferable course work with a GPA of at least 2.5, or they must already have a bachelor's degree, according to the Web site.

To be admitted, students must apply to GUC and meet transfer student requirements and admission standards for the program they are entering. These standards are the same for both Athens and Gwinnett students.

The degree earned is a University degree, even though the coursework is completed at the Gwinnett campus.

The University has been offering classes in Gwinnett County since 1984, according to the Web site.

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UGA IN GWINNETT. New University System Chancellor Tom Meredith (left) tours the new Gwinnett University Center campus with Kirk Bertram, UGA's CIO for information technology. The Gwinnett center is the subject of a story in The Red and Black, the independent student newspaper, in Today's Issue. Photo by Paul Efland.

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