Over 120 people showed up from all five of Georgia Highlands College’s locations on April 14^th for the seventh annual GHC Public Speaking Competition in Cartersville.

The event invites GHC students to prepare and deliver a persuasive speech to an audience of fellow students, faculty, family and friends. Many students learn basic public address theory and practice in GHC’s Human Communication courses or Public Speaking courses. It is an opportunity for students to demonstrate speech preparation, verbal style, physical delivery and to build experience in front of unfamiliar audiences.

The event has three rounds and student competitors give the same speech for different sets of judges to progress to the final round.

“This competition provides students with invaluable experience. The ability to write, practice, and deliver a strong public speech for an unfamiliar audience is crucial to succeeding in most career paths,” said Steve Stuglin, competition director and assistant professor of communication. “Additionally, this process helps students learn the value of research to a well-informed argument, and the importance of meeting an audience on common ground as a prerequisite of persuasion. These skills will serve the students in personal and civic life as well as in the workplace.”

The top five finalists were:

1 – Amanda Lewis (Cartersville) – Take the Road Less Traveled
2 – Jenee Smith (Marietta) – Puppy Mills: The Best Money Maker
3 – Tadd Steffner (Cartersville) – Eat Healthy and Exercise Regularly 
4 – Luke Keeney (Cartersville) – Maintain Censorship on Television
5 – Makenzie Allen (Cartersville) – Dog Breeders and Puppy Mills

Special recognition was given to the following students in the semifinal round who did not continue to the final round:

Shanna Salcedo (Douglasville) – Discrimination in the Media
Andrew Beard (Marietta) – End to Addiction
Aarod Dodd (Floyd) – Is Drug Testing for Welfare Beneficial?
April Hughes (Douglasville) – Free College Tuition
Gage Walker (Cartersville) – Perils and Positives of Multitasking

“Our top winner this year was Amanda Lewis, a Cartersville sophomore and Nursing major, with a speech about traveling to atypical destinations,” Stuglin noted.

The event was sponsored by the Rome Area Council for the Arts, Follett Bookstore Management, GHC Student Life, GHC Student Clubs and the GHC Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

To see the finalists in action, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw68trX4XFBCUqekT9gXv9htQsu2t6r2S

For more information on the speech competition: https://sites.highlands.edu/division-of-humanities/special-events/speech-competition-info/?ghc=communication-speech-competition

Making its return for the fourth consecutive year is the annual Veterans Family and Military Family Fun Day at Georgia Highlands College. The event is free and open to the public and hosts over 30 vendors and a 20-piece military band.

New this year is the Mobile Vet Center, which provides readjustment counseling and information resources to Veterans across the country. Like community-based Vet Centers, Mobile Vet Centers focus on services that help Veterans make the difficult transition between military and civilian life.

“GHC wants to show appreciation to military families at the college as well our military families in the community,” said Veterans Affairs Coordinator Amy Wise. “We want to connect military families with community resources and also provide a fun, free event for kids and adults.”

Each year, April is recognized as the month of the military child, which dates back to 1986. In honor of this time of year, GHC will be holding its annual Veterans and Military Family Fun Day event on the Floyd campus on April 29th from 10AM to 2PM.

The event is a partnership between GHC, Student Veterans of America, the GA Army National Guard Family Assistance Specialist and Month of the Military Child celebration.

Wise stated that military service, especially deployments, affects the whole family, and events like this are a perfect opportunity to show veterans and military students and their families as much support as possible.

The event—which includes free food, door prizes, a petting zoo, rock climbing wall, Bingo, a bounce house, canoeing on the lake, and much more—is also open to the public, Wise said.

“This is a fun, free opportunity for our military students to bring their families on campus. It is also an opportunity for GHC faculty, staff and students to bring their families out and show support to our military students,” she said. “There will be free food, games, door prizes and much more.”

For more information, please contact Amy Wise at 678-872-8005 or by email at awise@highlands.edu.

IF YOU GO:

WHO: Georgia Highlands College

WHAT: Veterans and Military Family Fun Day

WHEN: April 29 from 10AM to 2PM

WHERE: GHC Floyd Campus, ROME

Georgia Highlands College continues to grow with a consistent swell in enrollment. Spring enrollment is up 3.9 percent. This increase follows a 4.6 percent increase last fall, a 9.9 percent increase last summer and a 6.3 percent increase last spring.

President Don Green stated the value of a GHC education continues to contribute to the enrollment increases at the college and each of its five locations across Northwest Georgia.

“Maintaining quality two-year and four-year degree programs that are affordable for students across Northwest Georgia remains one of GHC’s highest priorities,” Green said. “I’m glad we can continue to offer a full associate degree for less than $8,000 and a four-year bachelor’s degree for less than $16,000. Not only is this a great return on investment for our students, it also fuels a growing Georgia economy with much-needed college graduates who will become career-ready with little to no debt upon completion.”

According to the University System of Georgia, there was a 0.5 percent increase system wide. Despite overall negative enrollment growth for state colleges collectively, GHC’s enrollment continues to climb.

GHC continues to hold the second highest enrollment for state colleges in Georgia.

For the full USG enrollment report for spring 2017, please visit: http://www.usg.edu/assets/research/documents/enrollment_reports/SER_Spring_2017_Final.pdf

Georgia Highlands College will be holding a special groundbreaking event at its Cartersville site on April 26 at 11AM for its new academic building.

After holding the third highest enrollment increase in the state in 2015 and witnessing a consistent swell in enrollment, GHC pursued funding for the construction of a new academic building with a focus on STEAM-based (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) areas of study at the Cartersville site.

GHC was approved for funding under the fiscal year 2017 state budget which was approved by Legislature and signed by Governor Deal.

GHC President Don Green explained that with this addition, which received design funding in 2013, GHC students will be able to complete almost 15 degree programs without the need to travel to another campus location. Having this option, as well as the close proximity to I-75, Green added, gives students the access they need to complete a college degree, which continues to grow GHC enrollment and continues to foster the need for an affordable, accessible college degree in Northwest Georgia.

“The addition of this new academic building will include spaces for laboratories, classrooms, a lecture hall, study rooms and more,” he said. “This increases GHC’s ability to directly impact and support the community workforce through STEAM-based degrees, and it allows GHC to better serve as the University System of Georgia’s primary access institution in the region.”

Green added that the building will also contribute to raising GHC’s current $132 million economic impact in Northwest Georgia. GHC has five locations across Northwest Georgia in Rome, Cartersville, Marietta, Dallas and Douglasville. He stated that the building also strengthens and broadens GHC’s ability to maintain a strong relationship with K-12 school systems across Northwest Georgia.

“We would like to especially thank our legislators for all they do to support GHC, the USG and education in the state,” said Vice President for Advancement Mary Transue, who also serves in GHC’s Government Relations role. “Without their tireless support and dedication, this venture would not have been possible.”

The April 26^th groundbreaking event recognizes the start of construction on the $17.7 million project. The 52,000 square foot building is anticipated to be open for Fall 2018. It has been designed by the Stanley Beaman & Sears architecture firm and will be constructed by Juneau.

If you would like to attend the event, please RSVP at: groundbreaking.highlands.edu

Georgia Highlands College is working to educate about and promote the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) this year with the introduction of a series of workshops called “First Friday FAFSA.” The workshops are free and open to the public.

Workshops will take place the first Friday of each month at each GHC location until the end of the year: April 7, May 5, June 2, July 7, August 4, September 1, October 6, November 3 and December 1.

Attendees will learn more about Federal Student Aid, which is responsible for managing the student financial assistance programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. These programs provide grants, loans and work-study funds to students attending college or career school.

Director of Financial Aid Melinda King stated these workshops are open to the public and available to anyone, regardless of where they go to college.

“This event is to provide one-on-one assistance to current and new students with the FAFSA process so that we can get more students to complete their FAFSA early to secure their aid award before the payment deadlines,” she said.

During the workshop, attendees can work with GHC financial aid experts to complete their FAFSA in person.

Independent students should bring the following documents if they wish to complete the FAFSA application in-person: Student Social Security Number, Student 2015 1040 Tax form, Parent(s) 2015 1040 Tax form, Student 2015 W-2 if worked but did not file taxes for 2015, Parent(s) 2015 w-2 if they worked but did not file.

Dependent students should bring the following documents if they wish to complete the FAFSA application in-person: Student Social Security Number, Student 2015 1040 Tax form, Student 2015 W-2 if worked but did not file taxes for 2015.

If you have questions about your dependency status or need more information, please visit: https://www.highlands.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/5-c91d8525d792cfa-fafsa-dependency.pdf

To reserve your space in one of the upcoming free FAFSA workshops, please visit: http://forms.highlands.edu/registration/

Mecole Ledbetter has joined Georgia Highlands College as its new bachelor’s in business coordinator to work with students, faculty and the community as GHC launches two new bachelor’s degrees in healthcare management and logistics and supply chain management for fall 2017.

Ledbetter is a GHC alumna who was born in Pennsylvania, but was raised in Columbus, Georgia.

She received her associate degree in business administration from Georgia Highlands College, and then went on to earn her Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from Kennesaw State University.

Ledbetter has worked for a number of companies, including Total System Services (TSYS), Synovus Financial Corporation, Cartersville Medical Center and Chattahoochee Technical College.

She said she can’t wait to get the new bachelor’s programs up and running at GHC just in time for fall semester.

“These programs will be important to our students, because it offers students a high quality, affordable four-year degree option in two of the most rapidly growing fields,” she said. “Having both programs housed in a geographic area with an existing and rapidly increasing job market is also beneficial to our students.”

Another benefit, Ledbetter noted, was the fact that the programs offered are in diverse industries with a wide variety of sectors.

“What this means is that students will have several career or occupational options to choose from within each field and will not feel confined to just one specific area,” she said.

Ledbetter says she hopes to build an effective, agile and relevant program that helps to meet the educational needs of students, as well as the professional needs of local industries.

“My goal is to ensure that both programs equip students with the critical thinking, analytical and leadership skills needed for the test they will face in the workforce,” she said. “We also want to ensure that we staff and retain quality faculty members to teach our new bachelor’s courses, which will ensure that our students are fully equipped with the foundational knowledge and practical skills needed for success in the industry they choose.”

Ledbetter said she is also working to build and maintain positive relationships with community businesses and corporations who are interested in hiring graduates from these programs to both supply the needed workforce, as well as give students opportunities to work in internships related to the industry and career they choose.

The new Business Administration in Healthcare Management and the Bachelor of Business in Logistics and Supply Chain Management will begin this fall.

To learn more about these programs or to apply, please visit: https://www.highlands.edu/2016/09/20/frequently-asked-questions-bachelor-business-administration/

UPDATE: The Georgia Highlands College PTK chapter won big at the international conference held in Nashville, winning the Distinguished Honors in Action Theme Award for Theme 6-Natural and Engineered, the Distinguished Honors in Action Project Award and the Distinguished Chapter Award. Mykayla Jeter won a Distinguished Chapter Officer Award and Bryce Pitts won the Prepared Speech Competition held at the conference and won a $500 scholarship. Additionally, GHC’s PTK was also recognized as a Top 100 Chapter.

PREVIOUSLY: Georgia Highlands College’s Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) chapter’s stellar year reached a new height this month when the team brought home more honors than any other college in attendance at the All-Georgia Academic Team Awards luncheon in Atlanta.

Mykayla Jeter, from the Paulding site, was selected as a Coca-Cola Academic Team Gold Scholar, winning a $1,500 scholarship, and Mary-Kate Billings, from the Cartersville site, and Elle Summers, from the Marietta site, were both selected as Coca-Cola Academic Team Bronze Scholars, winning a $1,000 scholarship each.

Only 50 students from across the nation are chosen as Coca-Cola Academic Team Gold, Silver or Bronze scholars each year.

Six PTK officers and members were selected as GHC’s All-Academic Team at the luncheon, as well. Those students are: Mykayla Jeter, Bryce Pitts, from the Floyd campus, Mary-Kate Billings, Elle Summers, Amanda Lewis, from the Cartersville site, and Lacey Turner, from the Douglasville site.

In addition to these honors, GHC’s PTK also served as the 2016-2017 Regional Presidential Chapter and hosted the PTK Regional Spring Conference this month.

The team earned multiple awards and top regional honors: the Distinguished Officer Award and the Hall of Honor Award went to Mykayla Jeter; the Sarah Anne Staples Award was given to Bryce Pitts; Mary-Kate Billings took home the Janet Walker award; and Assistant Professor Karen Huggin was recognized as this year’s Distinguished Advisor. Together, the team brought home the Distinguished Officer Team Award, Distinguished Honors in Action Theme Award, Distinguished Honors in Action Award overall, Distinguished College Project Award and the Distinguished Top Regional Chapter Award. This is the second year in a row the chapter was honored with the Distinguished Top Regional Chapter Award.

The chapter also won two scholarships to the Honors Institute this summer at Loyola University in Chicago and was additionally elected for another regional office of secretary for 2017-2018.

The GHC All-Academic Team and Gold and Bronze scholars will be honored again at GHC’s Honors Night on April 20th.

PICTURE: Left-Right: Mykayla Jeter, Bryce Pitts, Lacey Turner, Elle Summers, Mary-Kate Billings, Amanda Lewis

Georgia Highlands College has saved students $3.8 million over the past five semesters by eliminating the cost of textbooks in specific courses.

GHC’s faculty have been working since Fall 2015 to expand Open Education Resources (OER) courses each semester. Almost half a million dollars’ worth of student savings was yielded the first semester alone.

To date, GHC has saved students $3,843,664 in textbook costs.

OER course conversions are aided by the University System of Georgia’s Affordable Learning Georgia (ALG) initiative which promotes student success by providing cost-free alternatives to expensive textbooks.

The new OERs don’t just provide free textbooks either. Students also get video resources, software, labs and an enhanced textbook experience with hyperlinks to many other resources.

Vice President for Academic Affairs Renva Watterson stated it is imperative that students have access to these free OER textbook alternatives.

“There are several reasons why many college students do not buy recommended and required textbooks, but one fundamental reason is they can’t afford them,” she said. “When you have students sitting in class and they don’t have a text, which is often an essential learning tool, then you put students at academic risk.”

According to a survey by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, 65 percent of students said they had not purchased a textbook at least once because they had found the price too high. The group surveyed 2,000 students from across 150 campuses.

The average textbook cost for each class is between $200 and $300.

“GHC is saving our students a great deal of money,” Watterson added. “We are here to educate, and we want to know all the ways we can best keep money in our students’ pockets, so they can continue to go to school and complete.”

The increased savings for students has also promoted higher retention and graduation rates.

“When you compare the pass and fail rates of students in one of our science courses who were taught using Open Education Resources in the spring of 2016 and students who were taught using a traditional textbook in the fall of 2015, you will see an increase in the pass rate among those who were provided a cost-free alternative,” said Dean of Natural Sciences and Physical Education Greg Ford.

Ford stated the pass rate rose 13 percent when students were provided OERs.

GHC’s total cost savings is based on the cost of a new textbook multiplied by the total number of non-Move On When Ready (MOWR) students enrolled in courses offering OERs. Textbooks are already included in the MOWR program and provided to MOWR students at no cost.

Since OER is open to anyone for free, students, potential students or even the public can view these resources at any time. OER textbooks can be downloaded to any smart device, phone or tablet. To view, please visit: affordablelearninggeorgia.org

GHC plans to continue to offer OERs and expand into as many areas and courses as possible moving forward.

Georgia Highlands College has appointed Michelle Boyce as the new dean of Health Sciences. Boyce will oversee the Division of Health Sciences, which includes nursing and dental hygiene. GHC currently offers an associate and bachelor’s in both nursing and dental hygiene.

Boyce is a Registered Dental Hygienist with an Associate of Science Applied Technology in Dental Hygiene, Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene, a Graduate Certificate in Public Health, a Master of Health Science and a Doctor of Health. She is currently enrolled in the PhD in Health Science program at Nova Southeastern University and her research interests include “Interprofessional Education and Collaboration.”

Boyce started teaching at GHC in 2011.

Before this position, she served as assistant professor of dental hygiene.

She is also an active member of the Georgia Dental Hygienists’ Association and the Vice-Chair for the Georgia Oral Health Coalition. Prior to becoming an educator, she practiced clinically full-time at both general and periodontal practices. She has a passion for community health promotion and disease prevention and has volunteered her time to help organize and attend many health fairs and screening events. She has also traveled abroad on numerous occasions for dental mission trips.

“I love that GHC is my large extended family,” Boyce said. “We support and help each other to be successful. And this continues beyond graduation. I’ve had people mentor me and I’ve been able to do the same for students. It is such a great feeling when a graduate contacts me and says, ‘Thank you for providing me the best education at GHC.’”

Boyce stated that as dean of Health Sciences she would like to continue the interprofessional collaboration between the health science programs at GHC, as well as eventually add new programs.

“I would also like to work with local health care organizations to determine the need for and expansion of health science offerings and programs at GHC,” she said.

Boyce is from Austell, Georgia, where she graduated from South Cobb High School. She currently lives in Dallas, and enjoys running, bicycling and traveling with her family to warm places to scuba dive.

To learn more about health sciences at GHC, please visit: Health Sciences