GAcollege411 Partners

Bringing together such a comprehensive web site to help you plan, apply, and pay for college takes a large effort from many different organizations. The following Georgia organizations are proud partners in this effort:

Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC)

The Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) administers student financial aid programs provided by the State of Georgia. The Georgia General Assembly established the Commission in 1965 to help Georgia citizens attain an education beyond high school. GSFC administers a variety of scholarship and grant programs, including the HOPE Scholarship Program, and makes low-interest federal Stafford and PLUS loans to students and parents. GSFC also provides service cancelable loans to encourage students to train for careers in critical need areas such as teaching and health care. Alternative loans and consolidated loans are available to qualified borrowers.

Office of the Governor

Sonny Perdue is Georgia's 81st Governor. Governor Perdue's administration is committed to changing the culture of state government to be principle-centered, people-focused, and customer-friendly and to create an open and responsive government that truly represents all Georgia citizens. Improving Georgia's education system and encouraging Georgia students to excel academically are major priorities for Governor Perdue.

University System of Georgia

The University System of Georgia's Board of Regents oversees 34 institutions: four research universities, 2 regional universities, 13 state universities, 2 state colleges, and 13 two-year colleges. These institutions enroll more than 233,000 students and employ more than 9,000 faculty and 35,000 employees to provide teaching and related services to students and the communities in which they are located.

Technical College System of Georgia

The Technical College System of Georgia oversees the state's system of 34 technical colleges. The Technical College System of Georgia also contributes to the economic, educational, and community development of Georgia by providing adult literacy education, continuing education, and customized business and industry workforce training to the citizens of Georgia.

Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges

The Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges (GFIC) is an association of Georgia's 28 private (independent) colleges and universities. Through partnerships with the institutions, businesses, and community leaders, GFIC supports private higher education in Georgia in the areas of public policy, fundraising for student financial aid, and collaborative programs.

Department of Education

The State Board of Education establishes policies that the Georgia Department of Education administers under the direction of the State Superintendent of Schools. The department disburses state education funds, provides technical assistance and support services to local school systems, operates 3 state schools for visually and hearing-impaired students, and provides intensive assistance to local schools identified by the Office of Education Accountability.

School Counselors Association

The Georgia School Counselors Association (GSCA) is a private, non-profit association comprised of school counselors, counseling and guidance directors, supervisors, administrators, counselor educators, and other individuals involved in related activities who have an impact on a student's success and well-being at school, work and home. With a membership of more than 1,800 members, GSCA has been instrumental in setting professional standards for the school counseling profession in Georgia and assisting counselors in delivering more effective services.

Office of Treasury and Fiscal Services

The Georgia Office of Treasury and Fiscal Services (OTFS) is the cash and investment manager for the State of Georgia, preserving both capital and public trust by managing Georgia's cash resources efficiently and conservatively. Among OTFS's many responsibilities is the administration of the Georgia Higher Education Savings Plan — Georgia's Section 529 college savings plan. Section 529 savings plans are tax-advantaged programs of investment options allowing parents, grandparents, or others to save for the future education expenses of our children.

Georgia Public Broadcasting

Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) creates, produces, and distributes high quality programs and services that educate, inform, and entertain its audiences and enrich the quality of their lives. GPB operates a nine-station public television network and a 15-station public radio network. GPB's education service is Georgia's electronically delivered classroom for all Georgia learners, and Georgia educators' source for top-quality multiple media educational products and services.

Georgia Professional Standards Commission

The Professional Standards Commission has full responsibility for the certification, preparation, and conduct of certified, licensed, or permitted personnel employed in the public schools of the State of Georgia. The Commission is also responsible for the development and administration of teacher certification testing. The Commission handles the investigation, advisement, monitoring, and due process of cases associated with educator discipline. In 1999, the Georgia Teaching Force Center was placed in the Georgia Professional Standards Commission for administration purposes. The Teaching Force Center is one component of the Georgia P-16 Council's Title II Plan for having a Qualified Teacher in every Classroom in Georgia by 2006.

Georgia Public Library Service

Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) is a unit of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. The GPLS improves the quallity of life for all Georgian's by providing information and by encouraging reading, literacy and education through the continuing support and improvement of Georgia's public libraries.