"The challenges of living in a global community require men and women of character who can anticipate and respond effectively to an uncertain and changing world."
-Dr. Dan Kaufman, President
Georgia Gwinnett College is a premier 21st century liberal arts college where learning takes place continuously and beyond the confines of the traditional classroom. The college is built on the cornerstones of the innovative use of educational technology and the commitment to an integrated experience that develops the whole person. Georgia Gwinnett was created by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia as “a true 21st century higher education institution,” with a principal responsibility for developing innovative approaches to higher education.
GGC’s focus is on a face-to-face classroom experience with portable technology solutions allowing students to learn, study, and work both on and off campus.
The Campus of Tomorrow
Georgia Gwinnett College is the first public four-year liberal arts college to be founded in the United States in the 21st century according to the American Council on Education. It is also the first four-year college to be founded in Georgia in more than 100 years.
For more than 15 years prior to the formation of GGC, community leaders pressed for a four-year college in Gwinnett. As the county grew rapidly, it was evident that the expanding business community needed a source of qualified candidates for its workforce and it desired to enjoy the benefits involved with a community-based institution of higher education. A resolution was passed by the Board of Regents in October 2004, and the college was established by the Georgia General Assembly in March 2005. It will serve as the USG’s model campus for innovative approaches to highly-efficient student, facility, and administrative services.
- Noted by USG Chancellor Erroll Davis, “GGC will be a campus that students will flock to as a means of taking advantage of its high tech learning environment; and that educators from around the nation will examine and embrace for its unique and important advanced learning methodology.”
Lawrenceville, Georgia. A Place to Call Home.
GGC is located in Lawrenceville, Georgia, in the heart of Gwinnett County. Gwinnett is a vibrant community 30 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta where a mixture of quiet postcard neighborhoods and bustling commercial districts blend the past with the present. Here, progress and quality of life connect so that everyone enjoys the small town ambience with all the amenities of the big city. Businesses and residents alike enjoy safe neighborhoods, good schools, modern infrastructure, and a thriving economy.
Gwinnett County remains one of the most dynamic regions in the South to live and work with a current population of 614,500, and a population of 1.2 million projected by the year 2025.
Degree Programs
GGC currently offers junior-level courses through the 2006-2007 academic year with three degree programs: business, biology, information technology and psychology. In following years, degrees in education and nursing will be created as a part of the curriculum.
Engaging the Student
GGC’s degree programs emphasize face-to-face teaching and learning, supported by technology that makes learning enjoyable and transferable between classroom, home and work – wherever a laptop can go.
Technology-based teaching methods engage students more actively in their own learning experience. Teachers can control a variety of tools while lecturing – the Internet, DVD players, overhead digital projectors, for example. A built-in recorder can capture the lecture and save it to a website or email. This gives students more options for acquiring, reviewing and retaining lecture content.
The Campus Today
The Gwinnett campus currently consists of three buildings on 200 wooded acres. These facilities, built within the last four years, were designed and constructed with an infrastructure that supports GGC’s educational technology requirements. Each classroom has the same level of technology available, allowing any class to be taught in any classroom to maximum efficiency.
With no legacy systems present, retrofitting outdated equipment to accommodate new technologies is not an issue. Without ties to any past practices, GGC is positioned to implement best practices and cutting-edge innovations.
Until the fall of 2008, GGC will share the campus with four other partner institutions of higher education. Collectively, there are more than 8,000 students on campus. The partner institutions will be phased out as their students graduate or transfer. GGC expects to enroll a freshman class of 3,000 in fall 2008.
Building for Tomorrow
GGC’s master plan is being developed by Sasaki Associates Inc., a noted architectural design firm based in Boston. The firm has worked with other schools in the University System of Georgia and takes an environmentally friendly approach to design and construction.
Overlapping the master plan is a five-year plan already set in motion. It includes Phase II construction of an existing classroom building which is currently underway, followed by a 1,500-space parking deck. A $28.3 million library was recently approved by the Board of Regents, and a student housing project is under consideration.
Working in tandem with the college, the Georgia Gwinnett College Foundation has been established to develop private funding for projects such as student centers, bookstores and athletic facilities. The Foundation plans to develop partnerships with area businesses and a collaborative center where companies can share their projected workforce needs and see firsthand the advantages of the college’s commitment to technology.
Mission
Georgia Gwinnett College provides access to targeted baccalaureate level degrees that meet the economic development needs of the growing and diverse population of the northeast Atlanta metropolitan region. It emphasizes the innovative use of technology and active-learning environments to provide its students enhanced learning experiences, practical opportunities to apply knowledge, increased scheduling flexibility, and a variety of course delivery options.
Georgia Gwinnett's outstanding faculty and staff actively engage students in various learning environments, serve as mentors and advisors, and assist students through programs designed to enhance their academic, social, and personal development.
GGC produces contributing citizens and future leaders for Georgia and the nation. Its graduates are inspired to contribute to the local, state, national, and international communities and are prepared to anticipate and respond effectively to an uncertain and changing world.
“The opportunity for students here is unlike any other. Our graduates will become the trendsetters and leaders of the next several generations. Students attending GGC will be making history.”
-Dr. Dan Kaufman, President
