Medical College of Georgia students took to the street - Laney- Walker Boulevard, actually - on Wednesday to protest the potential elimination of their programs in response to proposed budget cuts.
About 40 students lined the street cutting through MCG's campus, waving signs and cheering in the rain as passing cars honked support.
Many of them came from smaller programs in the School of Allied Health Sciences that would be axed if MCG has to take a proposed $25.6 million in additional budget cuts. In all, about 155 students would have their programs eliminated, many just a year or a few months from graduating, although MCG administrators committed last week to helping them find a way to graduate.
"Medical College of Georgia heralds itself as the health sciences university of Georgia," said Patrick Jackson, a junior in the nuclear medicine program. "And without all of our respective programs that is going to put a big dent in being a health sciences university because there is more to health sciences than just being doctors and dentists."
Some of the programs are taught at another school in Georgia but that presents its own problems, students said.
"We would have to start over," said Heather Wilson, a junior in the dental hygiene program.
"They won't take transcripts," said Bhumika Patel, a junior in dental hygiene. "And they're cutting down on their own transfers."
Dental Hygiene and the other smaller programs know this has been talked about before, so it is just now coming to the front. If not now later. I think the offer to try to graduate the seniors now, not take any new students and work to find others places in other schools is a great idea. No matter what, education is changing and we have to change with it. I hope while protesting (which is the American way) they are also putting some of their efforts in finding an individual solution.
I have to agree. If it were me I would be scrambling to find another University that would take as many of my credits as possible. Obviously they want to dump you, your colleagues and your money. So screw them, find somewhere else that appreciates you. Usually when a student transfer schools, ignoring intra-collegiate agreements among schools, he/she will loose credits. If you were on the ball, right now, you could probably be back in school next fall. I cant even imagine honestly, I am an engineering student and I would/will be [filtered word] if this happens to us.
Now augsaltwater that's not exactly what I said. I don't think MCG wants to dump anyone, but there have been talks about cutting many of these programs before (I work for MCG also). But you are right, you must be captain of your own destiny, and getting a plan B would be in their best interest. Don't wait for a miracle, plan for a disaster.
This is the first of many perils that these young students will face throughout their lives, especially with the current economic status of our nation. It will be many, many years before we are back to "normal", if ever in some of our lifetimes. I applaud their ability to fight back but I'm afraid will be for naught, there is no money left in the coffers. The taxpayers & the system are broke and broken.
I agree with the above posters, they should now be channeling their energy into finding a new program/school. Call another school. Beg, work your way through the system until you get what you want - the acceptance of your credit hours at MCG. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
I'd also be going to MCG staff and asking for them to devise a transfer program for them. They need to call other schools on these students behalf & work out the credit transfer so these young people don't lose many, if any, of their credit hours. It's the least they can do for them. But, the students need to be sitting in their office demanding this help.
I've always taught my kids that things happen for a reason. This might make them a stronger person in the future which will help them in their chosen career. If they have to transfer, they might meet their future spouse at a new school. It is hard to focus on the positive when you are mad, sad or upset but there is always a positive for every single negative thing that happens.
Just watch......the programs they drop here in Augusta will show up at the Athen's campus when it opens. I would almost bet on that. Just wait and see.
For the record, all of the steps you suggest are already underway. Many students who would not be allowed to continue at MCG have already contacted their respective programs at other schools to apply for fall. However, for most professional programs, not much would transfer from MCG, so they'd have to start over, losing the time and money they've already invested at MCG. Terribly breach of trust to students from MCG administrators. Also, Program Directors and faculty are already in discussions with other instituions to see if an equitable transfer might take place. The biggest issue for medical educaiton is clinical training, where most programs are limited in student capacity by the number of slots at local hospitals and clinics for hands on training. These actions are taking place while students rally and write letters to their state officials and administrators. They don't want to leave any stone unturned in an effort to salvage this unconscionable situation.
Regarding transferring to other schools, these students came to MCG because they wanted their degrees from MCG. The MCG degree is much more marketable in the job search than other schools. They've paid their money, they expect the ride.
This political grandstanding regarding the budget has been hurtful to higher education in Georgia.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/11/news/economy/health_care_doctor_incomes/...
I wonder if their tuition is as high as a doctor's.
Students who have started MCG should be allowed to finish at MCG, or their money should be refunded. One of the issues is the HOPE scholarship. There is a limit to how much each student can get toward a degree, and if it's been wasted by the school, the school should be forced to give it back to the student.
Some of these programs are being cut all over the state, which means we won't be getting any new dental hygienists and the like for many years to come. It will cause salaries to rise for current allied health providers due to competition for their services, which will be a good thing. But having fewer of them to go around means it will take longer to get certain kinds of appointments, like ultrasounds or nuclear medicine scans, or teeth cleanings. Costs will rise for surgeries because nurse-anesthetists won't be available and MD/DOs will have to put patients to sleep, and they charge a lot more for their services.
Correction on that salary thing: higher salaries until Obamination and thugs slam us to the mat with the deforming of health care.
How does this fit in with the increased need for health care professionals when Obamacare is implemented and millions more added to the Medicaid program? Alo, where is the money coming from when the states have to take in millions more medicaid patients under Obamacare? ASU is also doing away with its nursing program.
I am in the medical field and a mother of a small child. It is very sad that our healthcare system and our educational system seems to be getting the biggest blows. What the general public doesn't see is the hospitals work very lean these days and cannot afford to cut any more. If some of the people making decisions to change our healthcare system had family members in the hospital fighting for their life, they may think different about the cuts. The democrate socialized medicine or "give away" program is not the answer. Now the next thing we are looking at is cutting funding to schools and colleges. These are the future of tomorrow. If we can't train people or educate effectively, how do we expect to survive in the 22nd century. We need to start looking at all the give away programs (i.e. housing bailouts). Just a few years ago we were talking about a nursing shortage that would cripple the healthcare system. Now we want to cut the programs that feed that system. We need to wake up. I don't want to pay hirer taxes, but we need to look at what we can do to get over this hump. We also need to look at what give away programs give back. It's not all about take.
When I moved from California to Georgia, I lost 1 1/2 years of college credits. I practically had to start over again. Little did I know that I should've been complaining to anyone and everyone, and that life should revolve around me.
I have a great idea. Let the students pay 100% of the cost of their programs to keep them open.
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