"Many in our student leadership were enthusiastic when I told them that semesters will give students additional time to master some of the more challenging subjects that they sometimes feel rushed to complete under the quarter system," said NGTC President Steve Dougherty.
"This will be a carefully planned conversion. We have patterns to follow from previous conversions - and lessons that have been learned from them as well," said NGTC Vice President of Academic Affairs Vicki Nichols. "Furthermore, while doing the conversion, we are actually able to make some significant improvements in programs. In fact, for the last year our faculty and staff have been actively involved in the curriculum review process for their programs. Just as we teach with a hands-on approach, we're taking that same approach with this project."
Frequent updates on the progress of the implementation will be communicated in the coming months from both TCSG and NGTC in a variety of ways including press releases, speaking engagements, and web portals. "A fundamental, systemic change such as this can lead to a lot of confusion and misinformation so open communications during the transition period are a must," noted Dougherty. "Even if the question seems simple or superficial, bring it forward to us. If one person is asking a question, many more will be interested in the answer."
The coordinated system-wide conversion effort is being spearheaded by the central office of the TCSG and each technical college is actively participating in the plans for implementation. The quarter to semester conversion offers many benefits for students, communities and colleges. For example, it advances seamless education in Georgia for TCSG students by aligning academic calendars with Georgia's primary and secondary schools as well as the colleges and universities. This conversion will provide enhanced instructional opportunities for our students and will smooth transfer and matriculation between institutions, both for those dual-enrolled high school students as well as for technical college students who choose to pursue advanced degrees.
The Technical College System of Georgia is a unified system of technical education, custom business and industry training and adult education. The programs use the best available technology and offer easy access to lifelong learning for all Georgians. This system is part of a seamless education process for Georgia in which students can transfer credits efficiently as they advance from secondary schools to technical colleges and to the university system.
For more information on programs of study at NGTC, please contact 706-754-7700 or visit the website at www.northgatech.edu.
"Many in our student leadership were enthusiastic when I told them that semesters will give students additional time to master some of the more challenging subjects that they sometimes feel rushed to complete under the quarter system," said NGTC Pres
http://accesswdun.com/article/2010/5/229085