GSC, Clayton County Schools Sign Partnership, Develop Gordon at Night in Clayton County Program
By Karolina Philmon, GSC Marketing Manager
Gordon State College signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Clayton County Schools and established the Gordon at Night in Clayton County (GANCC) program. Effective fall of 2022, classes will be offered at Riverdale High School.
"We are fortunate to establish this partnership with Clayton County Schools to provide opportunities for high school students and recent graduates to further their education,” said GSC President, Dr. Kirk A. Nooks. "The strategic partnerships we are nurturing and building with relationships like this one reinforce the pipeline from our education ecosystem. This empowers and promotes academic rigor, which in turn benefits our region with stronger workforce leaders."
GANCC will be based on a cohort model of 30 students who will take courses together and serve as a built-in support structure. Students will be a mixture of high school juniors and seniors seeking dual enrollment credit. Recent Clayton County graduates will have a convenient access point opportunity to a college degree.
“I’m excited that we can extend our campus again to give Clayton County students an opportunity to access dual enrollment courses,” said Assistant Vice President of Innovative Education and Strategic Initiatives Dr. Ric Calhoun. “Dual enrollment in the state of Georgia is such a great opportunity for students to challenge themselves in high school as well as providing preparation for when they attend college full time in the future.”
The program will be composed of five courses offered in the fall semester and five courses offered in the spring semester. Three courses will be offered in-person while two courses will be offered fully online within each semester. Instructors for all the courses in the program will be provided by GSC. Should there be a need, GSC will collaborate with Clayton County to identify high school teachers qualified to teach in the GANCC program.
“Clayton County Public Schools is excited to house our first Gordon State College instructional site right here at Riverdale High School,” said Superintendent/CEO of CCP Schools Dr. Morcease J. Beasley. “This is a great opportunity for our students and community as it provides them local seamless access to one of the premier colleges in the state of Georgia in a convenient location. Our partnership with Gordon State College and President Dr. Nooks is one that will continue to strengthen as we work together to establish unique opportunities for this community, the students, and the families we serve.”
All students in the GANCC program will have access to GSC resources on the main campus in Barnesville and on the McDonough campus. Students will have the ability to experience the GSC campus and culture.
“We are very excited about our Gordon at Night partnership with Clayton County. As an access institution, and important part of our mission is to ensure that every student who wants to avail themselves of a college education should have the opportunity to do so. This new program with Clayton County is a great example of the innovative ways we are working to realize this mission,” said GSC Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. C. Jeffery Knighton.
All program participants will be identified as GANCC students at GSC. Clayton County students who complete all 10 courses will have guaranteed general admission to GSC and the application fee waived.