Refining/Maintaining

Students are required to sign up and complete an approved internship experience for academic credit at GCSU. These may be supported by the academic department or may be secured with assistance from GC’s Career Center. The Career Center advises students to begin their internship search at least 4 – 6 months before their desired start date.  The Career Center uses Handshake software to promote local, regional, and national internship opportunities to students. 

The Mentored Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (MURACE) program connects teaching excellence with learning beyond the classroom in providing unique undergraduate research experiences for students. The campus follows the best practices outlined in the newly released Characteristics of Excellence in Undergraduate Research (COEUR) 2.0 by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) in providing support for highly effective undergraduate research contexts.  

The Career Planning Milestones program is the second embedded Transformative Learning Experience. The Career Center tracks students’ completion of key career development activities, including self-awareness and career exploration, résumé/CV writing, interview skills, professional networking, and engagement. Students who complete the program receive a graduation cord during their final semester. 

The First Year Experience is one of three embedded experiences that is built into the GC curriculum. To “Complete your journey,” for First Year Experience, students need to complete their GCSU 0001 (FYAS) and GC1Y courses.

Augusta University has an aspiration to enroll 16,000 students by 2030. To reach this mark, we not only have to hit our enrollment goals, but focus on student retention. Our research shows that students who earn 30 hours in Year 1 are more likely to persist to Year 2 and to reach graduation in a timely manner.  Since the initial implementation of Momentum Year, AU has sought to increase student success by focusing on enrolling freshman students in 15+ credit hours during the first two semesters.

Peer and Lead Tutoring is provided to all students seeking assistance in academic courses. Peer and Lead tutoring is provided to students on campus in the Math and writing centers on both East and West campus. In addition, Sunday Night scholars is offered to student in Housing and Residence life on the 1st Sunday on the month, in Hall 5 on East Campus from 7-9 pm. Our Peer Tutors come highly recommended form faculty who have seen first-hand the students ability to grasp the concept in which they will be providing support.

This activity is designed to enhance first-year student persistence, progression, and graduation by fostering a coordinated approach that integrates faculty mentoring, professional academic advising, and career services guidance. The focus is on holding students accountable for their academic choices, ensuring they remain on a graduation plan aligned with their career goals, and connecting them with key campus resources to support holistic development.

Student Accountability & Engagement:

Improve coordination and consistency of advising in the first year by requiring all departments and programs to use the model developed in the Advising Center and by increasing the number of professional advisors.

Academic alert allows instructors to refer students facing challenges in the classroom. The program is designed to proactively intervene with students early in the semester. The program functions utilizing three support programs, including Flight Support and Behavioral Intervention. Alerts are followed by outreach from academic success coaches or academic advisors who work individually with students depending on the individual needs of students.

UGA students are very well-prepared. The Class of 2027 posted an average high school GPA of 4.13, an average ACT score of 30, or an average SAT score of 1322. Often such high-achieving students have never experienced any kind of failure. But the demanding pace of a research institution like UGA often poses significant and unexpected challenges for our students.