Members of the joint House and Senate appropriation committee spent a cold Tuesday listening to state agency heads highlight their FY17 budgets– including education leaders in the technical college and university system arenas. Chancellor Hank Huckaby and Gretchen Corbin, Commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia, took their turns at the podium, discussing issues relating to teacher pay, workforce development and partnerships among the agencies.
Huckaby urged legislators to support the Governor’s proposed funding for a 3 percent pay increase.
“This is needed to reverse the trend we are seeing in Georgia and across the nation,” said Huckaby. “At one time we were ranked No. 1 in the Southern Regional Education district. Today, we are ranked ninth behind Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. We are beginning to make some headway, and I urge you to support this.
“We can’t create a more educated Georgia without top-notch staff, and this funding will help us with that.”
Huckaby also explained that the University System of Georgia was well on it’s way to educating more Georgians, and is on track to reach its goal of 80,000 graduates in 2020. “We had 54,000 in 2014, and 60,000 last year.” he said.
The Chancellor said partnerships with the Technical College System of Georgia, and the State Department of Education are paying dividends for education in the state.
“We all understand that if we want to be responsive to the needs of the people in this state, particularly in the areas of academic achievement and job skills, we have to work together,” Huckaby said. He made special reference to the “Move On When Ready” initiative which “has had an immediate impact on enrollment in post-secondary institutions across the state.”
According to Huckaby, enrollment in the University System of Georgia has grown 18 percent.
He also stated that the USG and TCSG have partnered with the College Completion Alliance of America “to remain academically competitive.”
Veterans have also taken priority in the USG. Georgia is of the leading states that does not charge student fees to veterans. Last spring, more than 800 veterans graduated fro one of the USG institutions.
Corbin, Commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia, also spoke about new partnerships across the state that are aimed at increasing enrollment.
Corbin also credited the “Move On When Ready” initiative for bringing more students to the 22 campuses across the state.
“The number of students under the age of 21 have grown from 33 percent to 37 percent this year as a result of Move On When Ready.” According to Corbin, 12,252 MOWR students are enrolled in technical colleges across the state – a 39 percent increase from last fall. Student credit hours have also increased from 49,000 to 78,000 in the same time period, she said.
