During his first visit to Dalton State College on Wednesday, Chancellor Davis commented that students have been told that it’s acceptable to take only 12 hours of credit courses per semester, but that that rate is not compatible with graduating within four years.

“We have been sending mixed signals to students,” Chancellor Davis said. “Among institutions, particularly private schools, where tuition is astronomical, people are not staying for a fifth year.

“The guaranteed tuition rate will keep tuition level for four years for beginning freshmen who attend University System of Georgia schools. It’s a win/win situation that takes the ambiguity of tuition costs out of college planning.”

Chancellor Davis noted that students can certainly take more than four years to complete a bachelor’s degree, but that “If you stay a fifth year, it will cost you more, sometimes substantially more,” because the fifth and succeeding years will be based on a higher tuition rate.

“I think that students will find that they can do all the discovering, all the reinventing themselves that students do in college, and still complete their degree in four years,” he said.

Chancellor Davis acknowledged that non-traditional students, those who have been out of high school for six years or more, may need more time to complete their degrees as many have the added responsibilities of jobs and families.

“Non-traditional students often take multiple years to finish school. We have to make sure that we don’t penalize them in the process.”

His presence on the Dalton State campus marked his thirty-second (out of 36) institutional visit during his tours of colleges and universities, which began in February when he assumed the duties of Chancellor of the University System of Georgia. While on the Dalton campus, Mr. Davis met with students, faculty, staff and administrators and had lunch with DSC Foundation Trustees and area legislators.

“Everywhere I have visited has been unique,” he said, noting that he has “learned something at every institution,” and has been impressed with the varying styles of architecture, the diversity of the student populations, and the variety of weather patterns and geographical landscapes he’s encountered across the state.

“One of my goals on these visits is to try to understand what impact our Central Office staff is having on the individual institutions,” he said, noting that “our job is to act as facilitators, and to make sure that those who work for our colleges and universities have the resources they need to get their jobs done.”

Chancellor Davis, who was a first generation college student when he enrolled in Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, praised “institutions like Dalton State, which often serve as an entry point into higher education” for a growing and “vibrant middle class.”

Images from Chancellor's visit >>