What do Brookdale Community College and Mercer County Community College have in common with Georgian Court University? They’re all willing partners in student success. GCU is working closely with Brookdale to forge a new joint admissions partnership that gives students the opportunity to earn a GCU degree while studying at Brookdale’s Hazlet location. Under the new program, Brookdale graduates looking to continue their education can now earn GCU undergraduate and (soon) master’s degrees without ever leaving Hazlet. Similarly, a new GCU-Mercer guaranteed admissions agreement ensures that students with an associate degree from Mercer can make a seamless transition to Georgian Court to pursue a bachelor’s degree and possibly qualify for enhanced scholarships. Both partnership efforts are among the many steps GCU is taking to ensure student access to affordable higher education.

GCU Lands Federal Grants to Support Students and Community

Georgian Court University will receive $1,994,306 over a five-year period as part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Title III grant program. The award, announced in September, allows GCU to expand academic support services and keep students on track for timely graduation.The Title III grant comes about a year after GCU landed a five-year, $1.4 million federal grant for TRIO-Student Support Services, a program that helps students who are first in their families to attend college and may have additional academic needs. The newest funding will support Georgian Court’s award-winning Chart the Course program, which focuses on students who may be underprepared for college. In addition, GCU is the recipient of a three-year $299,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. The money allows Georgian Court University, Providence House, the Lakewood police department and other partners to expand awareness and prevention programs related to sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, and dating violence.

A ‘Best Bang for the Buck’ and More

For the second year in a row, GCU is Best Bang for the Buck, according to Washington Monthly. GCU ranked #42 among 300+ colleges and universities recognized by the national magazine. Many factors put GCU in the top 20% of the schools ranked by Washington Monthly. Among them—our student loan default rates (ours are really low), graduation rates and our net price to attend college. In addition, Victory Media declared GCU a 2017 Military Friendly School, based on factors such as student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, persistence, and loan default rates. GCU, which participates in the Yellow Ribbon program and has a Veterans Resource Center on campus, is proud of its commitment to student veterans.

Learning through Service

Georgian Court University, which logged more than 94,000 hours of community service during the 2014-15 academic year, has been named to the nation’s most recent President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. The program recognizes colleges and universities which support exemplary community service programs and raise the visibility of effective practices in campus community partnerships. Georgian Court was recognized in the general community service category, which highlights the qualitative impact that a university’s service programs have on the community. Honorees are chosen based on the scope and innovation of service projects as well as measurable community outcomes.