Education
Augusta State University students and faculty have a reason to celebrate with a new three-story classroom building, new off-campus housing and a student activities center.
University Hall officially debuted in 2005 to rave reviews. The $12.6 million building houses the nursing department, media services, the college of education, the curriculum lab, a telecommunications studio and the writing center.
Students and faculty members accustomed to studying in old warehouse buildings were thrilled to be inside the new location for the first day of classes.
The campus also has a bright new entrance that allows motorists to enter from Walton Way at Fleming Avenue. The new front features a circular driveway, a picturesque fountain, an area to drop off students and access to other parts of campus.
The new building and front entrance come as student enrollment for fall 2006 hit a record high of 6,614, which is up 4 percent from the previous year.
The six old classroom buildings have been demolished, making way for more parking and a student activities center. The new center, opened in 2006, includes a fitness center, lounges, Internet cafe and large banquet room.
New of student housing is located on a 24-acre lot on Damascus Road, directly across from the First Tee golf course. Named University Village, the $19.5 million project is in a wooded area not far from Wrightsboro Road. It offers 508 students fully-furnished apartments with a clubhouse, a swimming pool, a computer lab, walking trails and picnic areas.
AUGUSTA STATE UNIVERSITY: 2500 Walton Way; a public institution of the University of Georgia system. It offers more than 50 programs leading to associate, bachelor's, master's and specialist degrees, a paralegal certificate and a cooperative doctoral degree; 737-1400; www.aug.edu.
AUGUSTA TECHNICAL COLLEGE: 3200 Augusta Tech Drive; a public, post-secondary institution of the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education. The school serves technical education needs and supports economic development of the Central Savannah River Area. Quick Start is the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education's statewide training arm for new and expanding industries in Georgia. Developed as an incentive for companies to locate in Georgia, the Quick Start program is 100 percent state funded. All training services are available at no cost to client companies. Created by state statute in 1967 to provide job-specific training for Georgians to enter the workforce in the state's new and expanding industries, Quick Start has trained over 150,000 new workers for over 1900 Georgia businesses and industries. For more information about Quick Start, call (706) 771-5716, www.augustatech.edu.
MEDICAL COLLEGE OF GEORGIA: Medical College of Georgia, 1120 15th St., Augusta, the health sciences university for the University System of Georgia; includes schools of allied health sciences, dentistry, graduate studies, medicine and nursing; 721-2725; www.mcg.edu.
PAINE COLLEGE: 1235 15th St., Augusta; a private, church-affiliated, four-year co-educational college. It was founded in 1882 as a joint effort by the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America (now Christian Methodist Episcopal) and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (now United Methodist). The liberal arts curriculum offers 13 majors leading to a bachelor of arts or bachelor of sciences degree; 821-8200; www.paine.edu.
TROY UNIVERSITY: 2753 Perimeter Parkway, Suite 201; the Augusta campus offers graduate degrees in several areas, including education, health care and business administration; (706) 210-3800; www.tsuaugusta.com.
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AIKEN: 471 University Parkway; a four-year college that offers undergraduate and master's degrees. It features about 40 programs of study; (803) 641-3366; www.usca.edu.
SAVANNAH RIVER COLLEGE: 2528 Center West Parkway, Augusta; offers certificates and diplomas in a variety of accounting, business, computer, medical and office support programs. Savannah River College is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education; 738-5046; www.savannahrivercollege.edu.
