Published Friday, June 05, 2009
Coweta has 3 post-secondary options
The Times-Herald
College costs are daunting to many despite the significant return on investment a college education provides.
One affordable option for many students, especially during bad economic times, is a local campus.
Coweta has three post-secondary institutions with Newnan satellite centers -- the University of West Georgia, Brewton-Parker College and West Central Technical College.
BPC and WCTC currently offer classes at the Central Educational Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Newnan. WCTC becomes West Georgia Technical College in July when it merges with LaGrange's West Georgia Tech. The combined colleges will soon have a stand-alone campus south of Turkey Creek Road, east of Interstate 85.
UWG Newnan Center, which also offers graduate degrees, is located within the Shenandoah Industrial Park off Bullsboro Drive, west of I-85.
The schools have articulation agreements that make it possible for students who graduate from WCTC to transfer to the four-year schools, BPC and UWG, without losing credits.
Brewton-Parker is expecting 100-125 students at its Newnan campus this fall. Its new combined tuition and fee rate is $217 per semester hour, compared to $420 before this year's reduction. It offers three business degrees.
"And the good part is, if they come in the fall, they can lock in that rate until they graduate, so if they're incoming freshmen, they can keep this same tuition for four years," Director Janie Lore said.
If a student is eligible for a HOPE scholarship, he can spend as little as $5,000-$6,000 to earn a degree, excluding the books. Without the scholarship, the costs of a four-year degree at Brewton-Parker at today's rates are about $20,000-25,000.
Lore said no other business credential beats a college degree when seeking professional employment, and it also benefits individuals on a personal level.
"To me, a college degree is worth as much personally as well as it is professionally. It gives them confidence. They're better writers, better communicators, better speakers," she said.
The University of West Georgia Newnan Center, which has experienced a 40 percent growth in enrollment over the past year, averages about 800-900 students per semester. The average cost for an undergraduate degree is about $2,000-$2,500 per semester, or about $6,000-$7,500 per year depending on the program, according to Director Cathy Wright. The university offers several degree programs, including graduate degrees.
Tuition rates at WCTC, a two-year institution, are even less. The approximate cost for an associate degree program is $6,000 and the approximate cost for a diploma program is $5,000, according to Dawn Cook, vice-president of institutional advancement.
"At $40 per credit hour, we are the best deal in education, and with a 98.6 percent job placement rate, a graduate's opportunity of securing employment is high. We are, in fact, still accepting applications and will hold open registration for new students through June 18, with summer term classes beginning July 7," she said.
WCTC's current enrollment at CEC is 647.