GNTC forms partnerships to increase retention, graduation in Ga.

Estimates are that by 2020 more than 60 percent of the job openings in Georgia will require a college certificate, diploma, associate degree, or bachelor’s degree.

To address this need, Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) is part of a statewide project that seeks to increase retention and graduation rates among students.

This initiative, called Complete College Georgia, is a joint effort between the University System of Georgia (USG) and the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG). The plan seeks to shift the focus of Georgia Colleges from access to completion.

Under the direction of Gov. Nathan Deal, the two college systems have outlined a collaborative process to reach the goal of 60 percent of young adults holding a college degree, diploma, or certificate by the year 2025.

The Technical College System of Georgia’s goal is to produce 85,064 more graduates than the 2008 baseline, which is 18,223. In order to achieve this by 2025, all the colleges combined in the TCSG system need a 2.6 percent increase in graduates each year over the previous year.

A major focus that colleges and universities have adopted to increase graduation rates, while maintaining quality, is the “Six Core Principals.” These principals are being adopted by each college in the TCSG system to serve as a guide to help students succeed and complete their programs of study at their college.

The Six Principals are:

Core

Every student’s postsecondary education begins with an intake process to choose an academic direction and identity the support needed to pass relevant credit-bearing gateway courses in the first year.

Enrollment in collegelevel math and English courses or course sequences aligned with the student’s program of study is the default placement for the vast majority of students.

Academic and nonacademic support is provided in conjunction with gateway courses in the student’s academic or career area of interest through co-requisite or other models with evidence of success in which supports are embedded in curricula and instructional strategies.

Students for whom the default college-level course placement is not appropriate, even with additional mandatory support, are enrolled in rigorous, streamlined remediation options that align with the knowledge and skills required for success in gateway courses in their academic or career area of interest.

Every student is engaged with content of required gateway courses that is aligned with his or her academic program of study – especially in math.

Every student is supported to stay on track to a college credential, from intake forward, through the institution’s use of effective mechanisms to generate, share, and act on academic performance and progressive data.

Georgia Northwestern Technical College pro- vides quality workforce education to the citizens of Northwest Georgia. Students have the opportunity to earn an associate degree, diploma, or a certificate in business, health, industrial, or public service career paths.

This past year, 13,734 people benefited from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs. With an annual credit enrollment of 7,876 students, GNTC is the largest college in Northwest Ga.. GNTC has an additional enrollment of 5,858 people through adult education, continuing education, business and industry training.