GMC News
GMC Celebrates Record Number of Graduates
Georgia Military College Celebrates Record Number of Graduates
Georgia Military College is proud to announce that the institution has set a record this year with the largest number of Junior College graduates in school history. For the 2020-2021 academic school year, GMC graduated 1,992 students, a 5.9% increase from last year.
After ending the 2019-2020 year remotely, Georgia Military College set out on an ambitious path, working to return to in-seat instruction in the fall of 2020 so that students could continue learning in their normal environment, while doing so safely. GMC was able to open fully to students the entire year, offering in-seat classes at all campuses across the state, in addition to providing remote learning options as well as fully online learning through the Georgia Military Global Online College. Through GMC’s Five Step Program and implementation of safety equipment and protocols, campuses were able to provide safe learning environments so that students were able to continue working towards earning their degrees.
“The odds were stacked against our students this year,” said Dr. Susan Isaac, Chief Academic Officer and Dean of Faculty. “With the great unknown that came with COVID-19, students could have easily dropped out or taken a year off from completing their degree, but instead they leaned forward. At GMC we provide hope and opportunity, and we were not going to let this pandemic get in the way of our students’ success. It was important for us to implement a plan to where our students could return to in- seat learning in the fall of 2020 and leverage the various learning modalities that we provide to finish their degrees. We applaud each of our GMC students that stuck through the hard times, as they are now part of this institution’s historic graduating class, the largest ever.”
Going into the 2020-2021 academic year, Georgia Military College saw a downturn in new student enrollments, but those that were in the middle of pursuing their degrees leaned forward and carried on with a goal of completing their degree. Many departments across the GMC institution were eager to help those students as they returned to in-seat learning in the fall, the GMC Foundation being one of them. To ensure that the pandemic did not stand in the way of any GMC student receiving an education, the GMC Foundation created the COVID-19 Crisis Humanitarian Assistance Reserve of more than $500,000. The reserve provided scholarship support for any GMC student whose families had been economically harmed by the unprecedented crisis.
“We are incredibly grateful to our GMC Foundation for creating this scholarship for our students during an unprecedented year,” said Lieutenant General William B. Caldwell, IV, President of Georgia Military College. “Many of our students faced unexpected challenges that could have prevented them from returning to school this year, but thanks to our Foundation, our students were able to receive financial relief and continue pursuing their degrees. This was an important initiative that our students were afforded, and it helped contribute to this historic class of graduates. These now GMC alumni are a unique group – they have gone through trials and tribulations together and for it, they will be better leaders in their communities, in the workforce, and for our nation. We are so proud of the GMC class of 2021 for earning their degrees and continuing to pursue their dreams despite the circumstances.”
Congratulations to the GMC class of 2021!
