Q&A With President Mark Becker
President Mark Becker provided the following answers to the questions about the consolidation’s affect on Georgia State.
In addition, this consolidation is consistent with the growth and rising profiles of large, public research universities in metro areas. For example, Arizona State University (Phoenix metro area) and the University of Central Florida (Orlando metro region), have enrollments well exceeding 50,000 and have greatly increased their national profiles and the value of their degrees as they have grown. The consolidated Georgia State University is on a similar trajectory.
This also is an opportunity to expand Georgia State’s programs throughout the metro area. Georgia State now offers programs downtown, in Buckhead and Alpharetta. Georgia Perimeter offers courses at five campuses in Newton, Clarkston, Decatur, Dunwoody and the Alpharetta campus adjacent to Georgia State’s Alpharetta campus. The consolidation will give Georgia State students more opportunities to access the university’s high-quality programs at additional locations.
No. Georgia State will continue to be ranked as a top-tier public research university. Because of its distinct mission, Georgia Perimeter’s academic enterprise will be evaluated and measured separately from Georgia State’s bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs by organizations that rank institutions.
Georgia State will continue to admit students into its bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs by the highly selective standards of a top-tier national research university. The Georgia Perimeter portion of the newly consolidated Georgia State University will continue to admit students into its associate’s and certificate programs by standards consistent with its access mission. Georgia Perimeter students who wish to enroll in bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral programs offered at the downtown campus will have to apply and be admitted into these programs, just as Georgia State bachelor’s students who wish to enroll in a master’s or doctoral program at the downtown campus must apply and be admitted to their program of interest.