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Regional Engineering Program starts strong in Southeast GeorgiaVictor Rogers Institute Communications and Public Affairs Southeast Georgia extended a warm welcome to Georgia Tech during the last year, as enrollment in the Georgia Tech Regional Engineering Program (GTREP) reached nearly 130 students, doubling projected figures. “That’s a very good indicator that we’re doing something that’s important to the region, and there’s a real demand—not just a perceived demand,” said David Frost, GTREP director. GTREP began last fall as a way to help meet the demand for engineers in Southeast Georgia. It currently offers undergraduate degrees in computer engineering and civil engineering in collaboration with Armstrong Atlantic State University, Georgia Southern University and Savannah State University. GTREP students matriculate in either Statesboro or Savannah for the duration of their degree program, physically remaining in Southeast Georgia while academically becoming Georgia Tech students in their junior year. A recent three-day open house and forum allowed the local community to learn about the program and meet with representatives from Tech’s Admissions Office, Bursar’s Office, Co-op Program, Enrollment Services, Student Financial Services and Planning, Student Affairs, Office of Information Technology and the Registrar’s Office. Robert Bryant, a junior at Georgia Southern, hopes to enroll in GTREP next spring and continue living in Statesboro. “When I first came to Georgia Southern I was interested in the Regents’ Engineering Transfer Program,” Bryant said. “After learning about GTREP I realized I would not have to move to Atlanta. I think it’s better to remain stable in the same environment.” Georgia Tech co-op student Donnie Smith agrees. The junior in computer engineering alternates between classes in Atlanta and his co-op position as a computer programmer in Screven County. He said he would like to finish his degree in Statesboro, and next spring he will take GTREP courses at Georgia Southern. For years, advocates of an engineering school in Southeast Georgia have argued that having a school would increase the pool of technology workers and foster economic development in the region. GTREP officials regularly meet with industry leaders to discuss and address critical needs of the community. “Often when you talk about engineering education, you’re immediately talking about other factors as well,” said Frost. “In this case, economic development is a significant component. For example, when an organization tries to recruit a company to this area, they have to be able to tell the company executives about educational opportunities. Up to this point they’ve been able to sell the many excellent programs with Georgia Southern, Savannah State and Armstrong Atlantic. But one of the missing programs was engineering. Now, I think that collectively we’ve been able to resolve that issue,” Frost said. Two GTREP instructors, Dante Fratta and Kimberly Newman, began with GTREP last fall, and both like the freedom of the smaller class sizes at GTREP. “The whole interaction and dynamic of the class is different because the class is small,” said Fratta. “If a student is not understanding the material, I know it immediately. I feel a much stronger obligation because I know them personally.”
Newman, who grew up in Savannah and has strong ties to the education and industry
communities in the region, said she likes being a ‘pseudo pioneer.’ “There are
things we can do on a small scale—such as putting a computer at each desk—that we
cannot do in a lecture hall with 200 students. There are ways to explore what
works before going to the large scale,” she said.
Approved by the Office of External Affairs on 09/24/97
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