December 5, 2007

Dear Member of the North Georgia Community:

For more than a year, North Georgia has been reviewing and assessing its residence and commuter policies.  Initial questions focused on their legal status, in particular the provision that full-time males seeking admission to the university as residential students must be in the Corps of Cadets.  Concerns arose that a legal challenge could endanger the stature of North Georgia’s military program and or lead to financial penalties.

Based on a request by the University System chancellor, the Georgia Attorney General has reviewed the policy’s compliance with the Constitution and federal laws, including Title IX and Title X, and has rendered an opinion that the current policy will not survive judicial scrutiny. 

In consultation with the Board of Regents’ staff, the administration and the military leadership of the university have changed the policy to preserve and strengthen North Georgia’s distinctive military identity and historic service mission as exemplified in part through its Corps of Cadets.   Although this change is mandated by law, the Board of Regents and the Chancellor are “committed to maintaining the Corps.”

Beginning in Fall 2008, the university will admit a limited number of civilian male residential students.  In administering this new policy, the university will be in full compliance with the requirements of Title X and its status as The Military College of Georgia.  Military residence halls will continue to be reserved exclusively for members of the Corps.  The long-term plan is to build a residential campus on land west of the athletics facilities referred to as Radar Ridge, while maintaining the Corps’ barracks on the main campus in close proximity to the drill field.  Prior to completion of new residence halls, housing for civilian males will be provided on campus.

The revised policy strengthens the commitment of cadets entering the Corps, requiring that all military students, both men and women, continue in the program through the junior year with a significant penalty for withdrawal.

This fall, U.S. Army Cadet Command, which has national responsibility for Army ROTC, including the six senior military colleges, has assigned North Georgia an increased commissioning mission.  North Georgia plans to increase the size of its Corps of Cadets to about 1,000, with a commissioning mission (now 50) that will reach 100 lieutenants per year by 2015.

The new policy also establishes a residence requirement for all full-time freshmen and sophomore students.  It eliminates the elaborate administrative processes associated with exceptions to the military and civilian residence requirements, relying instead on the student application as the document of record and providing a waiver to be administered by the Commandant of Cadets for military students and the Vice President for Student Affairs for other students.  This procedure effectively does away with the designation of “commuter student,” replacing this terminology with that of residential or non-residential students.  A statement of the new policy can be viewed on this web site.

Looking at other current actions and long term plans, the university has undertaken significant efforts to improve the Corps over the past few years.  As a result, Corps enrollment in Fall 2007 is the second largest in the last thirty years.

The Georgia National Guard and the Army Reserve have made a commitment to build a regional training facility on North Georgia’s campus, which when completed will boost the military mission.  The military leadership has increased the number of scholarships for the Corps available through public and private sources, and the university has provided out-of-state tuition waivers to support Corps members from other states.  These benefits strengthen steps already in place to offer tuition assistance and Montgomery GI Bill payments for cadets. 

The university has bolstered its military education program to attract highly qualified cadets, including a valuable partnership with the Defense Language Institute to train potential officers in strategic languages, complemented by new on-campus courses in Mandarin Chinese, Arabic and Korean.  New leadership courses and a military leadership minor are available, as are expanded study abroad opportunities and a major in International Studies.

The most difficult challenge related to the change in policy will be a transition period until all students are admitted under the new procedures.  Consistent with standard practice associated with university policy changes, students already enrolled will operate under the terms of the current policy, as defined by the catalog in place when they began their tenure at North Georgia.  The new policy will apply to the freshmen class recruited for Fall 2008.

To help students and other university constituencies understand the terms of the new policy and guide them through the transition period, staff has prepared a summary of Frequently Asked Questions.  That document can be viewed on this web site.  If you have additional questions, please feel free to e-mail or write.  Inquiries or suggestions should be addressed to:

            The Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs
            Hoag Student Center
            (706) 864-1818 or residencepolicy@ngcsu.edu

Thank you for your devotion to North Georgia.  We hope to count on your continued support as we implement this policy in fulfillment of our mission. 

Sincerely,

David Potter