Media Contact
Shana Bagley
Director of Communications
Office of the Provost
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ATLANTA — Georgia State University has been awarded a $4.6 million grant from the Gates Foundation to advance innovative, scalable degree-completion pathways that expand access and improve student success. This investment will strengthen online outcomes for associate-degree students and create seamless transitions from Perimeter College associate programs to the Atlanta Campus or GSU’s fully online bachelor’s degrees, offering students more efficient, affordable routes to graduation and career advancement.
The work aims to deliver near-term improvements in completion rates, online retention, career alignment, engagement and progression from associate to bachelor’s programs while driving long-term gains in graduation rates, equity, economic mobility and institutional sustainability.
A Unique Institutional Advantage
Georgia State’s structure, having an open-access associate degree-granting college within a top-tier public research university, uniquely positions it to lead national progress in online student success. Perimeter College enrolls more than 18,000 students, including 41 percent who study fully online and another 30 percent who take at least one online course. With a residency-neutral tuition rate of just $101 per credit hour, Perimeter College offers a cost-effective entry point for students across Georgia and beyond.
"Perimeter College has long served as a gateway to higher education, and this support strengthens that role by improving online outcomes and creating seamless transitions to four-year degrees,” said Allison Calhoun-Brown, senior vice president for Student Success. “These pathways will help more students persist, complete their studies and move toward meaningful career and economic opportunities."
A Three-Pronged Strategy for Student Success
To increase online success and expand equitable pathways to completion, Georgia State will implement a strategy focused on:
- Enhancing Online Readiness – Assessing students' digital skills and learning habits to provide targeted support from the start.
- Creating Seamless Pathways – Aligning associate and bachelor’s degrees to remove transfer barriers and strengthen career-aligned pathways.
- Building Robust Infrastructure – Scaling academic support, technology and faculty development, including 24/7 tutoring, personalized coaching and enhanced online pedagogy.
"At its core, this grant is about meeting students where they are and giving them every tool to succeed, opening doors to long-term economic mobility,” said Nicolle Parsons-Pollard, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “We are building online pathways that honor students’ ambitions, their time and the realities they navigate, making it possible for more students to confidently enter high-demand careers that shape Georgia’s workforce and economy."
Through this grant and the initiatives it supports, Georgia State will expand opportunity, close equity gaps and scale high-quality online learning across the state and shape the future of accessible, high-quality public education in Georgia, advancing the university’s long-standing mission to expand opportunity and support the success of learners across the state. The efforts are aligned with the university’s mission to deliver accessible, affordable and career-relevant education.