State lawmakers, students, and university officials across Georgia were buzzing on Wednesday about the possible impact of college mergers after a state lawmaker listed eight campuses that he said the University System of Georgia was considering consolidating into four, the Associated Press reported. The system chancellor, Hank Huckaby, announced in September that the system would explore consolidating some of its 35 campuses, and the regents in November approved guidelines for considering mergers. But no one was mentioning specific campuses until Wednesday, when the lawmaker, State Rep. Mark Hatfield, told the AP that Mr. Huckaby had disclosed the eight targeted institutions to him. A system spokesman and several regents contacted by the AP declined to comment. The system’s regents are scheduled to meet next week and could discuss the proposals then.
In Augusta, officials of two institutions said to be on the list, Augusta State University and Georgia Health Sciences University, have been talking about the consequences of a possible merger for months, The Augusta Chronicle reported, and opinions vary on what it would mean for students. Even if the regents approved merger proposals, however, actual consolidations could not happen immediately. A spokeswoman for the organization that accredits the Augusta institutions, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges, told the newspaper that such a change would have to be approved by the commission, and that the agency had not yet seen a request to make such a change. Merger proposals are also likely to face opposition from legislators with targeted institutions in their districts.
