General Information

East Georgia State College (EGSC) is a unit of the University System of Georgia (USG). University System of Georgia offices are located at 270 Washington Street, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30334.The USG includes the following institutions: 4 research universities, 4 comprehensive universities, 9 state universities, 12 state colleges as well as Georgia Public Library Services and Georgia Archives. These public institutions are located throughout the state.  A 15-member constitutional Board of Regents governs the University System, which has been in operation since 1932. Appointments of Board Members are made by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the State Senate. The regular term of Board members is seven years. The Chairman, Vice Chairman, and other officers of the Board are elected by the members of the Board. The Chancellor, who is not a member of the Board, is the chief executive officer of the Board and the chief administrative officer of the University System.

Governance by the Board of Regents provides a high degree of autonomy for each institution. The executive head of each institution is the President, whose election is recommended by the Chancellor and approved by the Board. State appropriations for the University System are requested by, made to, and allocated by the Board of Regents. The largest share of the state appropriations is allocated by the Board for instruction.

East Georgia State College’s main campus is located at 131 College Circle, Swainsboro, Georgia 30401. The College offers a Certificate Program, Associate of Arts,  Associate of Science, and select baccalaureate degrees. Additionally, EGSC operates two external off-campus instructional sites in Statesboro and Augusta.

Mission Statement

East Georgia State College is an associate-degree granting, liberal arts institution of the University System of Georgia providing its students access to both academically transferable pathways and collaborative programs in occupation related fields. The College also offers targeted baccalaureate level degrees that support the University System’s initiative to expand educational opportunities. The College prepares traditional and nontraditional students for success in the global 21^st century through a technologically advanced teaching and learning environment that fosters personal growth by utilizing an expanding range of resources and amenities, including an on-campus student residential option. The College also continuously engages the communities it serves through public service and cultural enrichment.

Accreditation

East Georgia State College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award certificates, associate, and baccalaureate degrees. Contact the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of EGSC.

Memberships and Affiliations

EGSC Foundation Inc. is engaged in community outreach and is a member of several area chambers of commerce.

The Main Campus - Swainsboro

East Georgia State College’s main campus is comprised of 249.62 beautiful acres, many undisturbed, on land that was gifted in large part by Luck Flanders Gambrell. The campus contains a mixture of buildings that are original since its opening in 1974 and new, state of the art modern ones. The campus also contains two small lakes and outdoor venues to promote student engagement and enrichment, as well as physical exercise.

Several buildings are key components to the educational experience on campus:

• The Jean Anderson Morgan Student Activities Center (referred to as the JAM by students) is the hub of student life. It is a One-Stop Shop for future and current students. The building houses Enrollment Management (Admissions, Registrar, Financial Aid), Student Life, Information and Help Desk, Title IX, Student Conduct, Business Affairs (the Vice President, Business Office, Human Resources and Career Services, and Auxiliary Services), the College Café and Café dining area, the Richard L. Brown Dining Hall, the college bookstore, and the Student Government Association (SGA) office. It also houses the campus Art Gallery.  In Spring 2019, the JAM Center underwent renovations to enhance and improve the Bookstore and Dining Operations.  In Fall 2020 a 16,250 square feet addition of activity space will provide enhanced student recreation opportunities, dedicated club meeting and SGA space.

• Bobcat Villas South and West, EGSC’s convenient on-campus apartments, feature 103 four-bedroom, two-bath suites with common living area and full kitchen. A small number of apartments have been modified to offer a five-bedroom option. Each suite is fully furnished with modular furniture, cable, microwave and refrigerator. Each private bedroom is furnished with a bed, desk, and chair. Residents also enjoy use of the L.C. “Shot” and Jean Strange Clubhouse directly behind Bobcat Villas for relaxing, exercising, playing games and studying.

• The Walker Academic Building is the primary facility for all things academic. The building is home to the College’s two schools (Mathematics and Natural Sciences and Humanities and Social Sciences) and contains faculty offices, classrooms, computer labs, science labs, an instructional greenhouse, the Student Health Clinic, Counseling and Disability Services, and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

• The George L. Smith Building is home to Information Technology, the IT Help Desk, and the Office of the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.   

• The Physical Education Building houses the College’s gymnasium (home of the Bobcat Athletics), Physical Education classes, Bobcat Basketball games, and is used by the student population for free time exercise. The building also contains the Art Department, Fitness Center, Military Resource Center, and classrooms. The original Physical Education Building is connected to the gym and houses the Athletic Department, athletic and general student locker rooms, classrooms, faculty offices and Athletics Weight Training room. Adjacent to the PE Building is the Athletic Complex which serves the Bobcat baseball and softball teams and the College’s tennis courts.

• The Luck Flanders Gambrell Building boasts classrooms, a computer lab, the Auditorium, and the Learning Commons. The Office of the President, Legal Counsel/Chief of Staff, Institutional Research, Institutional Advancement, and the CHOICE program for Inclusion are also located here.

• The Sudie A. Fulford Community Learning Center is a beautiful facility at the campus’ main entrance made possible by a generous gift from Pete and Ada Lee Correll in memory of Ada Lee’s mother, Sudie A. Fulford. The Center is a multidisciplinary, community-focused learning facility open to all Emanuel County and surrounding county residents. The facility provides space for individual and small group learning opportunities and serves as an educational resource center for teacher education students, K-12 students and teachers, and college faculty. Tutoring, group studies and flexible classroom style areas for meetings, workshops, and small conferences are just a few of the services provided by the Fulford Center. The Center provides community outreach services including a lunch and learn series, youth camps, and the Youth Leadership Academy. The Fulford Center is also home to a 20-foot, full-dome planetarium. Also housed within the center is the office of Magnolia Midlands Georgia Youth Science Technology Center.  Magnolia Midlands offers teacher professional development courses and curriculum enrichment opportunities to regional K-12 schools. Frequently requested teacher courses are integrating Math and Science into Children’s Literature, STEM-u-lating Science, and Process Skills for grades K-8.

• Outdoor venues also have a presence and play a large part in a student’s academic and social experience on campus. An 18-hole disc golf course is located near the entrance to the campus. Both a 5K and 10K cross country course are enjoyed by students and visitors, as well as high schools from around the state. The campus has a low ropes course and a nature trail, along with two small lakes. Outdoor seating and picnic areas are available for students to interact, study, and reflect in the peaceful surroundings of native pines and beautiful landscape. The campus entrance along Madison Dixon Drive is an educational corridor which is home to several protected species (gopher tortoise, eastern indigo snake, red-cockaded woodpecker and flatwoods salamander), as well as natural landscape (upland sandhills, bottomland hardwood forest, swamp forest and bog type pine forest). Additionally, the campus has been certified as an affiliate of the Bee Campus USA due to the addition of the Bobcat Apiary, as well as, Tree Campus USA Designation for its activities including participation in the Arbor Day Foundation.

The Learning Commons

The Learning Commons is centrally located on the Swainsboro campus in the heart of the Luck Flanders Gambrell (J) Building. The Learning Commons consists of the Library, Academic Center for Excellence (ACE), the Heritage Center, and Common Grounds (the campus coffee shop).

The EGSC Library provides students a welcoming atmosphere in which to gather and collaborate using advanced technological resources. The library strives to develop a collection of print and electronic resources of sufficient size, quality, currency, and diversity to support the teaching and learning needs of faculty and students.  These resources include access to an expanding physical print collection, electronic databases, computers, printers (including a 3-D printer), scanner, laptops, DVD players, calculators, MakerSpace, study rooms, and a small group presentation room. The EGSC Library contains over 48,000 physical items which include the browsing collection, Ehrlich Collection (military history), DVDs, and games. To round out the collection, the library provides numerous periodical subscriptions and access to local and national newspaper publications.  The library continues to develop its non-print resources, which include LibGuides, Films on Demand, DVDs, and games. GALILEO, GeorgiA LIbrary LEarning Online, is an online library portal to authoritative, subscription-only information that is not available through free search engines or internet directories.  Through partnership with GALILEO and additional database subscriptions, the EGSC Library offers access to a growing number of databases. Through collaborative relationships with other institutions, the library offers access to a wealth of resources in addition to what is available in the EGSC Library through GIL (GALILEO Interconnected Libraries) Express and InterLibrary Loan (ILL).

The ACE learning environment provides the opportunity to positively impact students’ lives in addition to providing supplemental instruction of subject matter through peer tutors and by serving as EGSC’s tutoring center, testing center, and advisement center. In the ACE, staff focus on ensuring the student has a clear grasp on the course materials and concepts while providing them with encouragement and the skills to obtain the determination to push forward in their academics. It is important that the academic and student support programs, services, and activities keep EGSC operating effectively in the areas of retention and institutional effectiveness. It is the goal of the ACE to ensure equal opportunity for all students to have educational and personal development experience at all levels of education.

The Heritage Center, a part of the EGSC Library, serves as an instrument for preserving historical data, stimulating historical interest, and fostering collaboration with historical societies and area public libraries.  Specifically, the collection includes various print items, images, manuscripts, maps, artifacts, microforms, and digital and audio-visual materials focusing on local and EGSC history and genealogical research, Emanuel County history, and Georgia history. As such the collection includes many items that are unique, historical, rare, and/or irreplaceable. Just as the college has expanded its geographical presence in recent years, the Heritage Center allows it to have major impact on its service area in terms of historical and cultural understanding and awareness.  The Heritage Center initiative represents a historic opportunity for EGSC and the communities it serves, as well as provides information for out-of-state patrons.

East Georgia State College-Statesboro

East Georgia State College established a presence in Statesboro in 1997 through a cooperative academic program with Georgia Southern University (GS). EGSC-Statesboro’s academic facility is located at 10449 US Highway 301 South, and houses faculty and administrative offices, the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE), classrooms, computer labs and a bookstore. Classes are taught in EGSC - Statesboro’s academic facility, as well as in various buildings on the GS campus. Bus transportation between the two locations is available to students. EGSC - Statesboro students may co-enroll in select courses with GS and may participate in the GS Army ROTC program and Southern Pride Marching Band. Students have the opportunity to earn an Associate of Arts in Core Curriculum, an Associate of Arts with Disciplinary Distinction in Psychology, and an Associate of Arts with Disciplinary Distinction in Sociology. Students may also pursue other programs of study while attending EGSC - Statesboro and should consult with their academic or faculty advisor for additional information.    

East Georgia State College-Augusta

In May 2013, East Georgia State College extended its access mission to the Augusta area through a cooperative academic program with Augusta University (AU). EGSC-Augusta operates on AU’s Summerville campus, and the program enrolled its first students fall 2013.  Following the completion of 30 credit hours in the program, students with a cumulative Grade Point Average of 2.2 or higher are eligible to transfer into a bachelor’s degree program at AU.  Classes are taught in several buildings on the Summerville campus by EGSC-Augusta faculty. Administrative and faculty offices are located on the 2^nd floor of Galloway Hall. The ACE, and a computer lab are also located in Galloway Hall. EGSC-Augusta students may co-enroll in select courses with AU and may also participate in the Army ROTC program at AU. Additionally, EGSC-Augusta students may apply for on-campus AU Housing on a space available basis.

Tobacco and Smoke Free Campus

EGSC prohibits the use of any tobacco products and other smoking devices (such as hookahs, electronic cigarettes) on campus as a means to foster the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors and to promote the cleanliness of our facilities and grounds. See policy (here).

Online Degrees

EGSC offers an online Associate of Arts degree, as well as an online Bachelor of Arts in Fire and Emergency Administration and an online RN-BSN Bridge Program. Pursuing an online degree at EGSC is resourceful, flexible and convenient: individualized learning and accessible faculty enable students to study and learn at their own comfortable and successful pace, which often translates into goals being reached in a shorter period of time; and often, when the cost of gas, parking, housing, and other fees associated with a traditional campus-based education are eliminated, students can save money by earning an on-line degree. There may be instances when students are asked to come to a campus location at the discretion of the instructor; however, instructors will work with students in an attempt to make reasonable accommodations for students not physically located within driving distance of the institution.

East Georgia State College Foundation

The primary purpose of the East Georgia State College Foundation is to promote higher education in the region through the development of East Georgia State College. The Foundation is empowered to create scholarships and/or endowments and to furnish grants for research or scholarly work in arts, science, education or other fields in which East Georgia State College has an interest. Established in 1975, the Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees whose officers are: Mr. Richard McNeely, chair, Mr. Milton Gray, vice chair; Mrs. Harriet Ray, secretary; Mr. Cliff Gay, treasurer; Robert G. Boehmer, EGSC President; Mr. Denny Key, past chair; and an Executive Director (vacant). Other members of the Board are: Mr. Brandon Andrews, Mrs. Jennie Wren Denmark; Dr. John Derden; Mr. Matt Donaldson, Mr. Dustin Durden; Mrs. Stephanie Fagler, Mrs. Susan Gray, Mr. Donald Jenkins; Mr. Wade Johnson; Ms. Juanita Porter; Mr. Steven Rigdon, Mr. Bill Rogers, Jr., Dr. Bobby Sasser; Mr. Charles Schwabe; Mr. Guy Singletary; Mrs. Toni Terwilliger; Mr. Ken Warnock; Mrs. Tammy Wilkes; Mrs. Marcile Bird, director emeritus; Dr. John Black, honorary director emeritus; Mr. Bill Devane, director emeritus; Mr. Henry Gambrell, director emeritus, Mrs. Caroline Harless, director emeritus; Mr. Nick Herrington, director emeritus; Mr. Phillip Jennings, III, director emeritus; Mrs. Paula Karrh, director emeritus; Representative Larry J. “Butch” Parrish, director emeritus; Mr. Bobby Reeves, director emeritus; Mr. Bill Simmons, director emeritus; Senator Jesse Stone director emeritus; Mrs. Lynda Talmadge director emeritus; Mr. Donald Wilson, director emeritus and Mrs. Carol Yeomans, director emeritus

East Georgia State College Academic Scholarships

An array of scholarships from civic clubs, organizations, individual donors and the East Georgia State College Foundation are awarded to students annually. Scholarships may be need-based (based on financial need), merit-based (based on academic achievement), or merit-based with consideration given to financial need. Students may obtain criteria and information regarding scholarships from the Office of Financial Aid. Students apply for all scholarships online at the college website, www.ega.edu/scholarships . Current available scholarships include: the Beta Sigma Phi Scholarship, Betty Colston Scholarship, The Correll Scholarship Program, Dekle-Lamb Scholarship, Bryant, Dorothy and John Black Scholarship, EGSC Alumni Association Scholarship, Kiwanis Circle K Scholarship, Gambrell Scholarship, Herrington Scholarship, James W. Buckley Scholarship, Jennings Scholarship, Jerry Ashcroft Scholarship, Livingston Scholarship, Richard L. Brown Scholarship, Hubert and Nell Reeves Family Scholarship, Rountree Family Scholarship, Walker Scholarship, the Deveraux, Haigh, Lippett Scholarships, Sallie Canady Scholarship, Charles Eames Scholarship, Vendie Hooks Scholarship, Ray Scholarship, Jean and Shot Strange Scholarship,  Rachel Jane Frederick Scholarship, Jean Bolen Bridges Scholarship and Willie D. Gunn Scholarships. Need based aid is also available as funds allow. Periodically, EGSC announces special scholarships and distributes information via student email and the college website. The College also posts external scholarship opportunities on the website at www.ega.edu/scholarships.

The CHOICE Inclusive Learning Program

The CHOICE program is a two-year non-degree college inclusion program at EGSC that is approved as a Comprehensive Transition Program (CTP) by the U.S. Department of Education. Students who complete the program earn an EGSC Certificate of Accomplishment in Work Readiness Skills (Continuing Education credential).  Students with an intellectual disability may qualify for Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and Federal Work-Study Grant. For more information, please visit CTP webpage (here).

The CHOICE program provides students, who may traditionally be excluded from post-secondary education, the opportunity to participate in college classes and develop work-readiness employment skills. EGSC staff and faculty strive to help students succeed by approaching Education, with a Personal Touch.  The CHOICE program’s staff, and faculty embrace this approach and strive to provide students with a rewarding college experience filled with student activities and academic skill building. Small class sizes and enriching campus activities provide students the opportunity to develop life-long friendships, leadership and teambuilding skills that will prepare students for future careers.

The CHOICE program provides instruction in the following areas: Career Development and Employment, Academic Enrichment, Campus and Community Engagement, Self-Determination, and Independent living. The CHOICE Program staff creates a unique and customized plan for achievement using a person-centered plan.  Student participants audit traditional courses, complete specialized CHOICE courses, and participate in job shadowing/internships experiences on and off campus to support career exploration and development of employment skills. CHOICE participants have comprehensive access to EGSC Student Life activities. Upon successful completion of the program requirements, participants are eligible for the CHOICE Certificate of Accomplishment in Work Readiness Skills. For more information, please visit the CHOICE program webpage (here). 

The Vision Series

The Vision Series at East Georgia State College is a college initiative that brings programs of intellectual and cultural enrichment to the college and its broader constituency.  Since its inception, the Vision Series has brought to our community outstanding personalities, authors, newsmakers, musical performances, dance companies, and theatrical productions. Through sponsored field trips, students and community members have had numerous opportunities to attend exhibitions and dramatic productions, not only in Georgia, but in neighboring states, as well. The Vision Series has deepened and broadened the East Georgia State College experience for students and enhanced their aspirations. Additionally, faculty, staff, and community members have benefited from these events