Provost Jean Bartels will be attending a summit in Athens, Ga. to learn more about the Complete College Georgia plan and its effect on Georgia Southern University’s funding.

“Hopefully once they go to this summit in mid-February, they’ll come back with some answers as far as where Georgia Southern goes with this plan so that we can start increasing our graduation-retention rates and not only keep the funding we currently have, but maybe get a little more than usual,” Chad Harmon, Student Government Association vice president of Academic Affairs, said.

The purpose of the summit is to gain more information and clarity about what the Complete College Georgia plan means for the university’s future, Harmon said.

Four GSU professors of the Complete College Georgia committee and members of the Statesboro area will accompany Bartels, Harmon said.

“(Bartels and the professors) must also bring someone who’s involved in economic development, so the economic developer for Bulloch County is attending, and they also want someone from K through 12 education to be there as well,” Harmon said.

The Complete College Georgia plan is based on formula funding and focuses on increasing the number of college graduates in order to fill the new jobs that are readily becoming available, Harmon said.

Patrice Jackson, dean of students, said, “Formula funding means that the funding that Georgia Southern would receive from the state would be based on our retention and our graduation rates if (Complete College Georgia) is the way we go.  It will depend on those rates, and that will decide what cuts we would get or what increases we would get to operate here at Georgia Southern University.”