As the person with overall responsibility for the academic programs at UGA’s extended campuses, I appreciated The Red & Black providing coverage of those programs in the paper this week.

Since the article focused primarily on the Tifton Campus, I wanted to share some additional information and respond to the editorial that asked why UGA does not indicate on diplomas where students earn their degrees.

As mentioned in the article, the university currently offers bachelor’s degree-completion programs in both Tifton and Griffin. UGA also offers graduate degree programs at those locations and also at our Gwinnett Campus in Lawrenceville. Additionally, the Terry College of Business offers MBA programs in Atlanta.

By providing programs at these locations around the state, the university offers access to a UGA degree to those who are place-bound due to a variety of circumstances. Regardless of location, the admissions standards are the same as at the main campus in Athens, as is the quality of the programs offered.

Undergraduates who have completed their first two years of study elsewhere and want to pursue a UGA bachelor’s degree in Tifton or Griffin need to have earned a minimum GPA of 2.8, as do transfer students coming to the Athens campus.

At Tifton, students can earn degrees in agricultural education or agri-science and environmental systems, both offered through UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. At Griffin, where there is a larger undergraduate population, students can choose from majors offered by five UGA schools and colleges. The curriculum offered at the extended campuses is reviewed and approved through the same processes as the curriculum at the Athens campus.

The faculty who teach at the extended campuses are hired by and report to the home departments in Athens. While some new faculty have been added as programs have grown, other faculty were already in place. For example, students at the Griffin Campus have the opportunity to study with noted researchers such as Michael Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety, and Tracie Jenkins, an expert in urban and horticultural insect pests.

At the Gwinnett Campus, most of the faculty teaching in the graduate programs also teach in Athens. The graduate students in Gwinnett are primarily working adults, including teachers in the local school system, the largest in the state. They are looking to advance their careers and to contribute to their communities and the economic well-being of the area.

In summary, at the extended campuses UGA has the same quality of students, studying the same curriculum and taught by the same quality faculty as at the main campus in Athens. The students graduating from the extended campuses take part in graduation ceremonies in Athens and add to the breadth and depth of our alumni network.

That’s why the degree they earn is a University of Georgia degree.

- Bob Boehmer is the associate provost for institutional effectiveness and extended campuses and a professor of legal studies at the University of Georgia.