Completion toolkit
Math Pathways
Math Pathway Recommendations by Program of Study or Major
Beyond Financial Aid
Beyond Financial Aid is a toolkit designed to help two- and four-year institutions close attainment gaps for low-income students.
Advising
Many students need help to identify an appropriate degree program and remain on track to complete their post-secondary credential. Proactive advising provide meaningful, credible, timely support to students on selecting a program that will meet a student’s academic and career goals and provide support when they become off track in their program. The role of advising with relation to student success cannot be underemphasized.
As a primary point of contact for students on campuses, academic advisors are responsible for developing lasting relationships with students to help them navigate college and graduate. Professional advisors, faculty, and even other students serve as advisors at USG institutions, working to provide accurate, appropriate, and timely information to students as they progress through programs of study. In recent years, changing needs among students and new technology have influenced the role of advisors and highlighted a need for additional skills within the profession.
Shortening Time to Degree
Among the goals of Complete College Georgia is shortening the time to degree through programs that allow students to earn college credit while still in high school and by awarding credit for prior learning that is verified by appropriate assessment.
15-to-Finish
15 to Finish is a Complete College Georgia initiative that emphasizes the fact that students need to take 15 (or more) credits per semester to finish degrees “on time.” “On time” means associate degrees are completed in two years and bachelor’s degrees are completed in four years.
Degree completion is important because students with bachelor’s degrees can expect to earn 84% more over a lifetime than students without bachelor’s degrees. Students with “some college, no degree” do not enjoy this advantage and may have incurred substantial educational debt with little or no increased earning power.
Associate Degree You Deserve
Within the USG, it is common for students to transfer out of associate degree institutions prior to completing the requirements for the degree. In some cases, students will be successful in earning bachelor's degrees.
Go Back, Move Ahead
"Go Back. Move Ahead" is a part of Governor Nathan Deal's Complete College Georgia initiative, which launched in 2011.
Guided Pathways to Success
Guided Pathways to Success is an initiative of Complete College America to ensure that students receive guidance to complete degree programs efficiently, without taking excessive courses that will not count toward degrees.
Transforming Remediation
Nationally, and in Georgia, relatively few students who begin college requiring remediation ever complete their degrees.
As part of Complete College Georgia, Georgia aims to change these statistics so that more students who enter in Learning Support are able to complete degrees. Across the nation and within the state of Georgia, dozens of pilot projects show that by transforming the way that we do remediation, we can dramatically increase success rates in collegiate gateway courses and beyond, without compromising the integrity of the content.
Shortening Time to Degree
Among the goals of Complete College Georgia is shortening the time to degree through programs that allow students to earn college credit while still in high school and by awarding credit for prior learning that is verified by appropriate assessment.
For many USG institutions across the state, Advanced Placement (AP) has long been an established part of their admissions and matriculation process, awarding credits for exemplary performance on the AP exams. As the International Baccalaureate (IB) program has matured in Georgia, campuses have established policies and procedures for recognizing this work as well.
Dual Enrollment (formerly called Move on When Ready) provides high school students opportunities to pursue college courses that will count toward their high school diploma as well as earn credit toward a post-secondary award. Courses may be offered at either a college campus, online, or at the student’s high school. The Dual Enrollment program provides an opportunity for eligible Georgia high school students to enroll in college coursework full time and receive credit toward both a high school diploma and a post-secondary award.
Early College represents a partnership between a local area high school and a USG institution that allows students to earn their high school diploma and credit toward a post-secondary degree. In 2016 there were nine early colleges in Georgia, serving students throughout the state. These specially structured programs support college readiness and success through aligned curricular work, rigorous instruction, and college-oriented environments for students.
In addition to these classroom based avenues for students to earn college credit, there exist programs to validate knowledge and skills through examinations and review. These include the American Council on Education’s Credit Recommendation Service (ACE), which evaluates training programs, certifications, apprenticeships and examinations for possible college credit, the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) of The College Board, which provides credit-by-examination with 33 exams in five discipline areas, and the DSST offered by Prometrics that offers 34 exams in six discipline areas. Finally, institutions may choose to grant credit to enrolling students based on portfolio review. All of these options for prior learning assessment provide students with a means to document what they already know, what they can do and place this information in the context of a post-secondary program.
