Feb. 29, 2008

GSW, Atlanta Metropolitan sign transfer agreement

AMERICUS—Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) President Kendall A. Blanchard signed a Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) Friday, Feb. 29 with Atlanta Metropolitan College (AMC) President Gary McGaha on the GSW campus. This is the fifth TAG agreement that Georgia Southwestern has signed since August 2007, the first of which signed in Americus.

Through the agreement, AMC students who maintain a 2.0 grade point average and earn an associate’s degree, or who complete 60 transferable credits (30 of which must be earned at Atlanta Metropolitan), can seamlessly transfer to Georgia Southwestern. As a result, AMC students interested in a bachelor’s degree at Georgia Southwestern can plan a transfer well before graduation. 

Founded in 1974, Atlanta Metropolitan College is a two-year institution positioned, as labeled, within metro Atlanta. Its student population currently stands at approximately 2000 after an 11.8% increase in Fall 2007 and an 11.1% increase in Spring 2008. Having signed TAG agreements with other two-year colleges throughout the University System of Georgia, GSW plans to significantly enhance its enrollment, as well.

"We must grow,” said Blanchard. “We have decided that one of the means by which we grow is by becoming a place recognized for its ability to serve the needs of transfer students. Atlanta is an important area to us, and AMC is our window for that part of the state."

“This is a good thing for us,” said McGaha. “We have a lot of students who desire to find someplace outside of Atlanta to complete their bachelor’s degree. We need to break the traditional mold of where we send our students. We would love to send some of those students to Georgia Southwestern.”

Georgia Southwestern had 233 transfer students enrolled entering the Fall 2007 semester. The agreement with AMC was signed in hopes that this number would increase considerably boosting enrollment campus-wide.

The guarantee is effective immediately.

PHOTO AVAILABLE

            Signed and delivered—GSW President Kendall Blanchard and AMC President Gary McGaha sign a Transfer Admission Guarantee.

 - GSW -