A renewed agreement between Georgia Southern University (GS) and East Georgia State College (EGSC) streamlines the path to success for students who want to keep advancing their education while also taking advantage of comprehensive student life experiences.

The presidents of GS and EGSC formalized a history of collaboration between the two institutions dating back to 1997 by signing a new memorandum of understanding this week. The institutions are partnering to make it easier for students who start at EGSC to progress into academic opportunities on the GS Statesboro Campus that serve the region and enhance the workforce of southeast Georgia. The effort will support student educational goals, student success, and increase degree retention and degree retention rates for both institutions.

“As we look to the future, we realize we need to more intentional about how we recruit and retain students, in order to graduate more students,” said Shelley C. Nickel, president of Georgia Southern University. “This is one step in that direction. We hope to build similar relationships with our partners throughout the region, to provide the best possible opportunities for the citizens of our region.”

To assist students, EGSC will move its administrative, faculty and academic support offices to the Nessmith-Lane building on the GS Statesboro Campus. Georgia Southern will provide public safety, information technology and other infrastructure services.

“East Georgia State College appreciates and highly values its partnership with Georgia Southern University,” said Robert G. Boehmer, president of East Georgia State College. “This new memorandum of understanding will enhance our ability to create direct pathways without loss of time or credits, enabling students to move from an associate degree at East Georgia State College to a bachelor’s degree at Georgia Southern and then to employment in this great region.  Thank you to President Nickel and her team at Georgia Southern for the vision to make these enhanced opportunities available to the deserving students we serve together.”

The formalization of a Cooperative Academic Program brings together EGSC’s mission to offer learning support and associate degree core courses with opportunities for transfer to bachelor degree programs at GS. The program utilizes the unique strengths of both institutions to improve access to higher education and contribute to regional economic development by providing students with the needed skills to make an impact when they enter the workforce.

The program promotes the Complete College Georgia goals by providing students who are not fully prepared for admission to GS with a convenient and affordable access point and enables them to participate in courses and programs of study designed to specifically prepare them to transfer to GS to earn a bachelor’s degree while still earning an associate degree at EGSC. In turn, it also creates an access point for reverse transfer to EGSC in order to earn an associate degree when needed.

This new agreement will improve administrative efficiency for both institutions and help both universities serve students more effectively. EGSC courses taught by the college’s faculty will be offered on the GS Statesboro Campus. The courses offered will be primarily those that enable students to complete an associate of arts and/or sciences degree and to successfully transfer to GS without loss of academic credit. Georgia Southern will provide additional administrative spaces needed for these courses to be delivered.