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As the 2023-2024 academic year ends with commencement ceremonies, there’s one last celebration: state awards. The Georgia Board of Regents, which oversees the University System of Georgia’s (USG) 26 higher education institutions, presented the Regents Momentum Award for Excellence in Advising and Student Success to Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) recently in Atlanta.

Dr. George Low, provost, Dr. Justin Jernigan, dean of student success, Dr. Karen Jackson, assistant professor of education and associate dean for advising programs, and Nancy Ciudad-Simmons, senior student success advisor, accepted the award on behalf of GGC.

The Momentum Award is “designed to honor institutional advising that creates trajectory toward student success and completion.”

“We’ve increased first-year student retention within the university system by eight percent, and since we started offering these learning community initiatives such as Hispanic Achievers Committed to Excellence in Results (HACER) in the fall 2020, we’ve served over 700 students,” said Jernigan.

A committee reviewed the nominations and selected GGC.

According to the committee, “Georgia Gwinnett's portfolio demonstrates a deep understanding of practices and strategies that are proven to support students, along with a history of reflection and review of these practices to adjust and align them to GGC's population and priorities. Through their work with Hispanic Achievers Committed to Excellence in Results (HACER) and Learning Communities, they demonstrate a deep commitment to establishing effective practices and using the results of this work to scale beyond initial pilots to impact the entire institution. Their work intentionally makes meaningful connections with students and shows tremendous commitment to building community among them and with the institution as a whole.”

“This award is the result of the dedication and hard work that our advising team has done to help ensure the persistence and continued success of our students,” said Low. “When we see our students thriving and achieving their academic goals, that’s the most satisfying aspect of everything we do.”

“The support our students receive is designed to keep them engaged in their educational journey as they learn and grow both academically and personally,” added Jackson.

“The impact of our students’ success can have a generational effect. Many are first generation college students and will be the first in their family to earn a degree,” noted Ciudad-Simmons. “HACER is creating awareness of who they are and can become to better serve their community.”

Future plans for HACER and learning communities include expansion.

 “We want to continue expanding these advising and student success programs to encourage more types of learning communities across majors that are culturally and interest based,” added Jernigan. “Not one size fits all, which is why bringing areas like STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and music and the arts together helps our students recognize their potential and encourages a feeling of belonging.”

Photo caption: Dr. Ashwani Monga, Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer of the University System of Georgia (L) and Dr. Sonny Perdue, Chancellor of the University System of Georgia, (R) present the Momentum Award to Georgia Gwinnet College’s Dr. George Low, Dr. Karen Jackson, Dr. Justin Jernigan and Nancy Ciudad-Simmons during a recent Board of Regents meeting in Atlanta.