Fayette County’s quest for an in-county academic center offering full-time college classes got a big boost this week with an announcement by Clayton State University yesterday that it’s actively looking at land to purchase for a center.

“It’s time to move ahead with a true Fayette ‘center,’ said a news release from Clayton State Tuesday.

“Clayton State University has a tradition of quality teaching and innovative degree programs. We would like to make these resources more accessible to those who may not be able to travel to Clayton’s main campus to complete their bachelor’s degree or enroll in a graduate program,” said Assistant Vice President for Academic Outreach Dr. Kevin Demmitt in a news release.

Contacted Tuesday afternoon, Demmitt, who has lived in Fayette County for 15 years, said the university wants a permanent presence in the county. But even before the university starts building a center, its presence will continue to grow in Fayette County.

“We’re going through the Board of Regents’ process now and will hopefully be offering some degree programs this fall and masters of business administration classes by January of 2008,” he said.

He added the initial target population for the degree programs will be graduate students and non-traditional students who have some college education but are seeking to complete a four-year degree. According to the 2000 Census, he said there are more adults in the Southern Crescent region who have some college but no degree than there are adults with either an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.

“In Fayette County, 25 percent of adults over age 25 have some college credit but no degree and an additional 7.2 percent have only a two-year degree. Thus, the potential for bachelor’s degree completion programs is quite substantial,” he explains.

“Because of our location we are ideally situated to provide higher education opportunities to the residents of Fayette County. A significant number of Clayton State faculty and staff live in the proposed service area and thus may work at both the Fayette County Center and Clayton State’s main campus as needed.”

The university is currently getting ready for fall classes at the LaFayette Education Center in Fayetteville and the Peachtree City Library.

“In working with community leaders, we believe there is a need to develop a center that can offer complete undergraduate and graduate degrees with the whole range of student support services offered on site,” said Demmitt in the news release. “We plan to begin by offering an interdisciplinary degree completion program for those who have at least 60 hours of college credit, but never completed their four-year degree. At the same time, we would also like to begin a cohort of students in Fayette County in our MBA program. We want to bring that quality degree program to Fayette County. Other undergraduate and graduate degrees will be added to meet the needs of Fayette County.”

Demmitt said he has already met with a number of the county’s leaders, including Commission Chairman Jack Smith, who are enthusiastic about the prospects of a higher education center in the county.

After land is purchased for the center, Demmitt said the next logical extension would be for a satellite campus to open in the county.

“We have just been pleased with the reception we’ve had from Fayette County.”

Following is the news release received Tuesday morning, entitled, “Clayton State has plans for Fayette County”:

Morrow, Ga. July 24, 2007 – It should come as no surprise that Clayton State University has big plans for academic programming in Fayette County, including a proposed education center.

Not only has Clayton State been offering courses in Fayette County since the mid-1990s, but Assistant Vice President for Academic Outreach Dr. Kevin Demmitt has lived in Fayette County since even before the university had an outreach program there.

“My family and I have lived in Fayette County since I first came to Clayton State University as a sociology professor in 1994. All three of our children attended Fayette County schools and my wife, Audrey, is the school nurse at J.C. Booth Middle School,” he says. “It really is a personal pleasure for me to be able to increase Clayton State’s presence in my home community. This is our home and we plan to stay here for years to come.”

And that seems appropriate, since Clayton State is also planning to stay in Fayette County for years to come.

“Clayton State University has a tradition of quality teaching and innovate degree programs. We would like to make these resources more accessible to those who may not be able to travel to Clayton’s main campus to complete their bachelor’s degree or enroll in a graduate program,” says Demmitt, whose responsibilities as assistant vice president for Academic Outreach include overseeing Clayton State’s academic programs at off-campus locations, including those in Fayetteville and Peachtree City.

As a logical extension to the University’s long history of serving Fayette County, Clayton State is currently exploring its options for building a permanent “home” in the county. Over the years, the University has rented space for Fayette Centers in both Fayetteville and Peachtree City. Now, however, it’s time to move ahead with a true Fayette “center.”

The proposed education center will allow Clayton State to meet the short- and long-term educational needs of Fayette County residents in Fayette County by providing access to undergraduate and graduate programs.

Demmitt notes that the initial target population for the degree programs will be graduate students and non-traditional students who have some college education but are seeking to complete a four-year degree.

According to the 2000 Census, there are more adults in the Southern Crescent region who have some college but no degree, than there are adults with either an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.

“In Fayette County, 25 percent of adults over age 25 have some college credit but no degree and an additional 7.2 percent have only a two-year degree. Thus, the potential for bachelor’s degree completion programs is quite substantial,” he explains.

“Because of our location we are ideally situated to provide higher education opportunities to the residents of Fayette County. A significant number of Clayton State faculty and staff live in the proposed service area and thus may work at both the Fayette County Center and Clayton State’s main campus as needed.

“Other resources, such as the library and bookstore, may also serve Fayette County through the use of couriers and other means. And, the University’s unique strength as a nationally-recognized leader in the use of technology in instruction will allow students to take classes and use other campus resources online.”

As a part of the University System of Georgia, Clayton State has a natural mandate to serve the needs of the public in its service area. As a result, the university has always worked closely with community leaders to determine the course of its educational programs.

“In working with community leaders, we believe there is need to develop a center that can offer complete undergraduate and graduate degrees with the whole range of student support services offered on site,” says Demmitt. “We plan to begin by offering an interdisciplinary degree completion program for those who have at least 60 hours of college credit, but never completed their four-year degree. At the same time, we would also like to begin a cohort of students in Fayette County in our MBA program. We want to bring that quality degree program to Fayette County. Other undergraduate and graduate degrees will be added to meet the needs of Fayette County.”

Although those developments are still in the future, Clayton State is currently gearing up for fall 2007 classes at both the Lafayette Educational Center in Fayetteville and the Peachtree City Library.

The Fayetteville site will be offering undergraduate courses in World Literature, Introductory Statistics, Music Appreciation, General Psychology and Human Development.

Peachtree City classes starting in August 2007 include English Composition, Elementary Spanish, PreModern World History and Introduction to Marriage & the Family. Both the Human Development and Introduction to Marriage & Family are online courses.

For further information, go to Demmitt’s home page at http://a-s.clayton.edu/demmitt.

A unit of the University System of Georgia, Clayton State University is an outstanding metropolitan university located 15 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta.