Augusta, GA

Augusta University is bringing back admission test requirement

Published

2 years ago

May 15, 2024

Augusta University is bringing back admission test requirement

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Students again will have to take standardized tests like the ACT or SAT for admission to Augusta University starting in the fall of 2026.

The Georgia Board of Regents on Tuesday voted to again start requiring the tests at AU, Georgia State University, Georgia Southern University and Kennesaw State University.

Test requirements had already been restored for the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Georgia College and State University, the system’s three most selective schools.

An increasing number of colleges nationwide are restoring testing requirements – many of which were dropped during the COVID pandemic – including elite schools such as Harvard, Yale and MIT, as well as public institutions including the University of Tennessee system.

Tests have never been required at many of Georgia’s nine state colleges, intended to be the least selective of the state’s four tiers of schools. But they had long been required for admission to the state’s 17 public universities until the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

HAPPENING TODAY:

Augusta University President Brooks Keel will give his final State of the University address at 2 p.m. He’s retiring this summer.

With testing services unable to guarantee the exams would be available, the system suspended testing requirements, instead admitting students based only on high school grades. Students who submit optional tests may be admitted with lower grades.

Under the new policy, other schools can require a test score starting fall 2026, but are not mandated to require one.

A former student is suing an Oklahoma school district for the removal of an eagle feather from...

Chancellor Sonny Perdue has long said he believes tests plus high school grades are a better predictor of college success than grades alone.

“The standardized testing will be a great instrument for us to determine the strengths and weaknesses of every student coming in,” Perdue told regents Tuesday at a meeting in Atlanta.

Regents had previously discussed imposing testing requirements in the fall of 2025, but leaders of some of the affected universities say another year will give them more time to adjust.

The system had moved to reimpose testing requirements in fall 2022, but found that applications fell, and that many students didn’t finish their applications for lack of a test score. That year, University System of Georgia officials blamed the test requirement, before it was dropped, for causing a shortfall in applications.

Source link

Augusta, GA

Ga. gubernatorial candidate Geoff Duncan visits Augusta

Published

32 minutes ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Ga. gubernatorial candidate Geoff Duncan visits Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan hosted a community conversation in Augusta on Friday.

The event at the HUB for Community Innovation was the final stop of a statewide tour highlighting his fight to bring down housing costs.

Duncan heard from local experts in the housing space and discussed how he says he can expand these efforts and lower costs for families as governor.

Duncan is running as a Democrat, but was a Republican when he served as lieutenant governor.

The former professional baseball player is a fierce opponent of Republican President Donald Trump.

Source link

Augusta, GA

Richmond County school board recommendations spark community reaction

Published

13 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Richmond County school board recommendations spark community reaction

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Richmond County School Board’s recommendation to close three schools and build a new college and career academy has drawn reaction from across the community.

The board announced its recommendation on Tuesday to close Jenkins White Elementary and transition the T.W. Josey High and Murphy Middle school site into a college and career academy.

Board member Monique Braswell, speaking as an individual and not on behalf of the board, said she opposes the plan despite acknowledging that that schools need to close due to low attendance.

“I will go on to see glory and I will still never accept it. I will never accept the fact that we are displacing children. I will never accept the fact that if T.W. Josey goes away,” Braswell said. “I will take that to the grave with me.”

Braswell said the district needs to examine underlying causes before making changes.

“We need to figure out why the kids are not going to here, there, and there,” she said. “And we need to take the communities and all the alumni along with us on this ride.”

Sheffie Robinson, president of the T.W. Josey High School Alumni Association, said the proposed changes would disrupt an already affected community. According to the presentation, students would be redistributed to Butler, Laney and Richmond Academy.

“So it’s like you disrupt a community that was built around this that has already had significant disruption over the last 30 years,” Robinson said.

We’re taking a bigger look at the Richmond County School System’s plan for several historic schools.

Under the recommendation, the Josey-Murphy site would close and construction of the college and career academy would start after this school year. Jenkins White Elementary School would also close.

Barton Chapel would be demolished, with a new building constructed for fall 2028.

Michael Thurman, who has three children in Richmond County Schools, questioned the district’s financial management.

“They really need to do a better job of being stewards of our money when they keep building left and right, school after school after school, and tearing down the others,” Thurman said.

Thurman said the district’s past spending raises concerns about the current plan.

“They definitely need to also take in mind that you’re just really wasting a lot of money building these buildings,” he said.

The district said alumni and community members will have opportunities to voice their opinions before the board votes. Public meetings are planned for January.

Braswell emphasized the importance of community engagement in the process.

“The public has to be more engaged. I don’t care if people push you away. You just have to stay engaged as the public,” she said.

Source link

Augusta, GA

Another portion of Augusta Canal towpath is reopening to public

Published

1 day ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Another portion of Augusta Canal towpath is reopening to public

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Another section of the Augusta Canal towpath is reopening after being closed since Hurricane Helene.

The storm on Sept. 27, 2024, left the path strewn with debris as broken branches hung precarously overhead.

On Friday, the path will reopen between the raw water pump station and the Interstate 20 bridge.

In preparation, crews have made safety improvements along the previously closed section of the trail.

Visitors are asked to observe all posted signs and stay behind safety barriers.

Embankment repairs have been delayed, but will take place in the future.

Once repair work begins, portions of the towpath will be temporarily closed at various times. Advance notice will be shared with the public before any closures.

Source link