Current:Home > FinanceGeorgia’s governor says a program to ease college admission is boosting enrollment-LoTradeCoin
Georgia’s governor says a program to ease college admission is boosting enrollment
View Date:2024-12-24 07:42:22
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia college enrollment is up significantly and Gov. Brian Kemp is crediting a program that sends letters to high school seniors urging them apply for admission.
Preliminary numbers show enrollment rose 9% at technical colleges and 6% at state universities and colleges this fall compared to last year, the Republican governor said Friday at his annual workforce summit in Atlanta.
The Georgia Match program sent 132,000 letters promising high school seniors admission based on their grades and a streamlined application. Applications to technical colleges rose 26%, while those to public universities and colleges rose 10%, Kemp said.
Kemp and others say students can earn more and give the state a better-qualified workforce by continuing their education. The governor also said that making Georgia the “top state for talent” is key to driving economic growth.
“If we want to ensure companies continue to choose Georgia, we need to grow a whole army of new workers,” Kemp told attendees at the Georgia World Congress Center.
The Georgia Match program is part of a nationwide trend called direct admission. The idea is to reach students who haven’t been considering going to college. Kemp said more than half the students who received a letter applied for admission to a public Georgia college.
All Georgia high school graduates are eligible to apply to a technical college, and the letters indicate which state colleges and universities a student is eligible for, using grades the state already collects through its HOPE Scholarship program.
Georgia’s 22 technical colleges are participating, as well as 23 of 26 University System of Georgia institutions. The University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Georgia College and State University aren’t participating because they require a standardized test and consider additional factors before offering admission.
The Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education has projected, based on birth rates and migration, that the number of Georgia high school students graduating in 2037 will be 12% smaller than in 2025.
“We’ve got to figure out how to find more people,” Kemp said. “And so Georgia Match was designed to do that.”
Idaho pioneered direct admissions in 2015 and saw its population of new college students grow by more than 8%. In-state enrollment increased by almost 12% over two years.
Experts say many students don’t know if they’re qualified for college or how to apply.
“A lot of these individuals are first-time higher education students,” Kemp said. “Their families don’t know the opportunities that they have.”
Greg Dozier, commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia, said the program is helping increase student numbers after years of decline in his system.
“What that means for us is, is we’re actually seeing the workforce of the future coming in to us as a first choice,” Dozier said.
Letters will go out to high school seniors again this October, with most public colleges and universities waiving application fees in November, said Chris Green of the Georgia Student Finance Commission. More than 1,000 adults who recently completed a high school equivalency diploma will also get letters, he said.
This year, for the first time, students can send a transcript directly from the program’s GAfutures.org website to a college to speed their application, Green said.
veryGood! (16715)
Related
- Police capture Tennessee murder suspect accused of faking his own death on scenic highway
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, College Food
- R. Kelly's Daughter Joann Kelly to Share a Heartbreaking Secret in Upcoming Documentary
- Land Rover updates names, changes approach to new product lines
- 'Underbanked' households more likely to own crypto, FDIC report says
- Millie Bobby Brown and Jake Bongiovi Share Behind-the-Scenes Look at Italian Wedding Ceremony
- Bankruptcy judge issues new ruling in case of Colorado football player Shilo Sanders
- Second fan files lawsuit claiming ownership of Shohei Ohtani’s 50-50 baseball
- Taylor Swift Politely Corrects Security’s Etiquette at Travis Kelce’s Chiefs Game
- Mississippi’s forensic beds to double in 2025
Ranking
- Inside Dream Kardashian's Sporty 8th Birthday Party
- Timothée Chalamet's Sister Pauline Chalamet Supports Kylie Jenner at Paris Fashion Week
- Millie Bobby Brown and Jake Bongiovi Share Behind-the-Scenes Look at Italian Wedding Ceremony
- Harris and Biden are fanning out across the Southeast as devastation from Helene grows
- Black and Latino families displaced from Palm Springs neighborhood reach $27M tentative settlement
- These Are the Biggest Boot Trends You’ll See This Fall 2024
- Chemical smoke spewing from a Georgia factory is projected to spread toward Atlanta as winds shift
- ChatGPT maker OpenAI raises $6.6 billion in fresh funding as it moves away from its nonprofit roots
Recommendation
-
Federal judge orders Oakland airport to stop using ‘San Francisco’ in name amid lawsuit
-
FACT FOCUS: A look at false and misleading claims during the vice presidential debate
-
Why Love Is Blind’s Nick Dorka Regrets Comparing Himself to Henry Cavill in Pods With Hannah Jiles
-
Online voting in Alaska’s Fat Bear Week contest starts after an attack killed 1 contestant
-
Best fits for Corbin Burnes: 6 teams that could match up with Cy Young winner
-
Environmental group tries to rebuild sinking coastline with recycled oysters
-
Scammers are accessing Ticketmaster users' email accounts, stealing tickets, company says
-
'Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Season 2 finale: Release date, time, cast, where to watch