Major Historical Event Project

Major Historical Event Project

Since its establishment, the University of Georgia has had great impacts both in the state and nationally. The university’s core mission was to educate young people from Georgia State, which it has accomplished. The institution has fostered a culture of leadership in the state. Alumni from this institution left a mark on Georgia. For instance, Augustin Smith Clayton, who graduated in 1804, was a US Congressman who diligently served the country (Hatfield, 2017). In addition, there have been governors, senators, and other leaders who were proud alumni of the University of Georgia. The institution has positively impacted the society and contributed to social change through ardent leadership. UGA informed today’s higher learning by influencing student’s demographics, curriculum deliver, and completion.

University of Georgia has shaped higher education by increasing the number of students’ enrolment from minority groups. This learning institution was a pathway to achieve educational independence (Chiles, 2016). UGA has the best professors in the state which places it at the top on everyone’s preference (Hatfield, 2017). Despite the white student majority, minority groups have a place at the institution. In addition, the prioritization of Georgians in admission helps it remain focused on its main objective.

The University of Georgia stopped segregation after the United States Congress passed both the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in 1964 and 1965 respectively. Prior to this, black students had organized sit-ins which were against segregation at the lunch counters (Hatfield, 2017). These actions occurred during the Albany Movement protests that were against racial discrimination in the country. These movements pressured public institutions such as schools and hospitals to ban segregation as it violated equality. Following their advances, the University of Georgia began admitting African Americans (Wells, Fox, & Cordova-Cobo, 2019). However, a 2012 report shows that white students dominated admissions into public institutions in Georgia. Whites comprised 51% of the total student population while 34.1% were blacks (Ballotpedia, 2016). The rest of the ethnic groups took the remaining percentages. This is a great progress in higher education considering that the minority groups have always been discriminated in higher education admissions.

Recent changes in Georgia’s aid in education programs have adversely affected admission and completion. The policies undertaken reduced financial aid hence contributing to lower completion rate. As it stands, there will be a gap in admission and completion between races as education becomes more expensive. The policies have also undermined Georgia’s competitiveness in the 21^st century (Finney et al., 2018). Since UGA is the best institution of higher learning in the state, the policies thereof will reduce the number of people admitted due to unaffordability.

Consequently, the state government started the Complete College Georgia (CCG), an initiative that would ensure better curriculum attainment in the state. Georgia has not been performing well in education due to lack of streamlined systems. However, with the CCG, the state has been able to address some of the challenges. Some of these challenges include college readiness, shorter degree time, transforming remediation, changing the instructional delivery, and improving the completion for low level students (Finney et al., 2018). The state government has been addressing such cases in collaboration with the University of Georgia and other stakeholders. Therefore, the University of Georgia has been a source of change in the state’s educational policies.

The establishment of the University of Georgia was a breakthrough in the state’s education system. The institution has been a key stakeholder in ensuring equality, better school completion, and improved curriculum. As outlined, the institution has improved on the number of admissions from the minority groups and the completion rate. Consequently, the school has been a source of change in education system. These achievements became a reality when the in 1785, the state’s leadership enacted the law that led to the establishment of Georgia State College.

References

Ballotpedia (2016). Affirmative action in Georgia. BP. Retrieved from https://ballotpedia.org/Affirmative_action_in_Georgia

Chiles, N. (2016). At the University of Georgia, black students navigate in a white world. The Hechinger Report. Retrieved from https://hechingerreport.org/university-georgia-black-students-navigate-white-world/

Finney, J., Maloney, L., Granville, P., Edgerton, A., & Napier, A. (2018). Uneven Progress, Uncertain Future: The Policies and Performance of Higher Education in Georgia. Philadelphia, PA: Institute for Research on Higher Education, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania.

Hatfield, E. (2017). Civil Rights & Modern Georgia, Since 1945. History & Archaeology. Retrieved from https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/segregation

Wells, A…, Fox, L., & Cordova-Cobo, D. (2019). How Racially Diverse Schools and Classrooms Can Benefit All Students. The Century Foundation. Retrieved from https://tcf.org/content/report/how-racially-diverse-schools-and-classrooms-can-benefit-all-students/?agreed=1