UPDATED: ASU, GHSU Merger Information Discussed At Town Hall Meetings

***UPDATED at 5:12 P.M. on January 12th***

From Medical College of Georgia to Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU)...students at the school will once again have a new school name. The new name would most likely not have the word health in it, according to GHSU president Dr. Ricardo Azziz.

"I have been extremely happy with the name change. It reflects what I do on a daily basis and I never intended to be one," said GHSU student Samuel Herberg.

"Even though I am a biology major, I am not interested in healthcare," said Sugusta State University (ASU) student Jordan Grossman.

A merger could mean more money for classes. GHSU students say they have seen an increase in student fees and some ASU students say they’re concerned about paying more for courses.

For us that aren’t interested in healthcare, it’s really no significance to us. We don’t want our tuition to be raised and our faculty to be fired," Grossman said.

"The negatives, if there’s going to be a reduction in staff...that’s not a positive thing," said vice chair of the GHSU Department of Medecine Dr. Laura Malloy.

Dr. Azziz says those job cuts would most likely be in administrative positions and would likely not include faculty. Faculty members say they want to participate in the implementation meeting to finalize plans between the schools.

"We’ve got an amazing opportunity to create a brand new university to combine the best of both worlds," Dr. Malloy said.

The new school would have a combined enrollment of around 10,000 students and should open in the Fall of 2013.

"If we bring in a strong undergrad program as a feeder program for the graduate levels we have, I can see this as a huge benefit," said Herberg.

"We don’t like that the decision was made without our input. That’s why we are trying to stand up, right now," said Grossman.

And, if you’ve wondered why many signs around GHSU still have the MCG logo...well here' why: last year, the school was allocated $2 million to change signs, but they spent less than $200,000. Why, you might ask. School leaders say, once talks about a possible merger started, they stopped putting up GHSU signs.

There's still no word about how athletics will shape in to the new school.

ASU and GHSU are 2 of 8 colleges that will now merge.

Here's is a look at how the other schools are working on the merging process:

• Waycross College and South Georgia College: both schools have a very similar mission and many students transfer from one to the other.
• Macon State and Middle Georgia College will have a student body of 10,000 students with 5 campuses. The merger will provide greater access to meet regional needs in fields like healthcare and nursing.
• Gainesville College and North Georgia College and State University: Both schools will merge, creating a student body of nearly 15,000 students. The merged school will offer associates degrees to graduate degrees. The merger will affect on-campus growth because North Georgia is filled to capacity.

The consolidations brings the total number of schools in the University System of Georgia from 35 to 31 schools.

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***POSTED at 11:42 A.M. on January 12th***

Two town hall meetings on the merger of Augusta State University (ASU) and Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU) were held Thursday morning...one at each campus.

There were plenty of questions for the presidents of both schools.

Some of those questions focused on job cuts...and impacts to student curriculum and accrediation for the programs. The biggest question, of course, was the new name, but Dr. Ricardo Azziz, GHSU's president, says most likely it will not have the word health in it.

There is still no word about how athletics will shape in to the new school.

Faculty members say they want to participate in the implementation process, something that will happen in the next few weeks...and some students are uncertain about tuition costs and branding. Others say they’re excited about the merger...

"If we bring in a strong undergrad program as a feeder program for the graduate levels we have, I can see this as a huge benefit to serve the community," said GHSU student Samuel Herberg.
 
"The negatives...if there’s going to be a reduction in staff...that’s not a positive thing. But, that would be the only negative, if there’s changes in positions. The rest of it is, I look at it as the glass is half full. We’ve got an amazing opportunity to create a brand new university to combine the best of both worlds," said vice chair of the GHSU Department of Medecine Dr. Laura Malloy.

The new school would have a combined enrollment of around 10,000 students and should open in Fall of 2013.

If you missed Thursday morning's town hall meetings, there is another one at 2:30 at ASU's Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre, and one at 5:00 p.m. at GHSU.

We will have much more on the reaction to this merger from students and faculty during our Thursday evening newscasts.