NGCSU, GSC merger approved by Board of Regents

ATLANTA (AP) The state Board of Regents has approved the unprecedented merger of eight colleges to reduce costs, shrinking the university system from 35 to 31 institutions for the first time ever.

The plan approved Tuesday will consolidate 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 & State University.

University system Chancellor Hank Huckaby announced the move last week after visiting each campus to talk with administrators face-to-face.

The university system began a study this fall to determine whether 35-campus system should shrink the number of institutions it runs to help cut administrative costs. Officials said it could be another year before any changes are made.

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 has said.

"Our ultimate goal is to improve the quality of education," Huckaby said previously. "This makes us, to some degree, a leaner, more efficient organization. We can focus our resources where they need to be focused."

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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