North Georgia College and State University’s campus frames a gold-leaf covered roof in the city of Dahlonega nestled in the North Georgia mountains just a few hours drive from Chattanooga.ATLANTA – University System of Georgia Chancellor Henry “Hank” Huckaby said Thursday he is confident the state Board of Regents will vote next week to approve consolidating eight colleges into four.
The mergers, while not a popular idea with some, will reduce administrative costs at the institutions and help the university system recover some of the $1 billion in state funding cuts that have been made in the last four years, Huckaby said. He said he is unsure how much money could be saved with the changes.
“Our ultimate goal is to improve the quality of education,” Huckaby told The Associated Press. “This makes us, to some degree, a leaner, more efficient organization. We can focus our resources where they need to be focused.”
The proposed consolidations involve merging Waycross College with South Georgia College in Douglas, Augusta State College with the Georgia Health Sciences University, Middle Georgia College with Macon State College, and Gainesville State College with North Georgia College and State University. The board is scheduled to vote Tuesday.
Macon State President Martha Nesbitt said her college and Middle Georgia are operating a joint campus already and have a long history of collaboration.