Atlanta — March 13, 2002

The focus of the Board of Regents strategic planning process turned today shaping strategic goals and recommendations for new policies and procedures which address students (Goal #1), programs (Goal #3), and educational partnerships (Goal #10).

Goals #1, #3 and #9 were covered in a presentation to the Board that included Dr. Daniel Papp, senior vice chancellor for Academics and Fiscal Affairs, Dr. Frank Butler, vice chancellor for Academic Faculty & Student Affairs, Dr. Becky Rutherfoord, professor of computer science at Southern Polytechnic State University, and Dr. Mark Smith, professor of electrical engineering at Georgia Tech.

“These goals go to the heart and soul of what we are about,” said Butler, “creating a more educated Georgia.”

Goal #1 deals with the skills and knowledge expected of University System graduates. Closely related to this, Goal #3 focuses on improvements to the System’s curriculum, research and international programs. The regents will be exploring a number of options related to these two goals, including:

• expanding opportunities for internships and co-op programs;
• increasing the number of students who participate in service learning;
• implementing best practices to strengthen all aspects of instruction, research and service;
• limiting the percentage of courses taught by part-time faculty; and
• expanding mentoring programs for faculty and staff.

Goal #9 addresses the issue of cooperation between the state’s educational agencies, with the objective being the removal of unnecessary barriers that impede a student’s ability to move from K-12 through either Georgia’s technical colleges and/or the public colleges and universities.

“Georgia’s three educational systems –the Department of Education, the Department of Technical and Adult Education (DTAE), and the University System – are making good progress on removing unnecessary barriers so students can – when appropriate – transition from one system to the other more easily,” Papp said. “There has been significant progress toward achieving seamlessness in the last few years.”

In this area, the regents will be exploring options that will expand current programs aimed at moving students seamlessly through the educational system, structuring and maintaining policies to ensure that curriculum between K-12 and higher education is aligned, and defining areas of responsibility among the University System, DTAE and K-12.

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