Kaitlyn Lewis, News Editor
Students at Kennesaw State University are preparing for a new school year, and students from Southern Polytechnic State University will be joining them shortly in Jan. 2015. For Southern Poly students, this upcoming fall semester will be their last semester as SPSU Hornets.
When President Papp first announced the consolidation last year, resistance arose from both schools. According to some students, tensions seem to have settled for now. Many believe the consolidation will work out for the better of all in the end.
Junior Computer Engineering Technology major Marquis Cook is an SPSU student who believes the consolidation will benefit both KSU and SPSU. In the beginning some students were upset, but now Cook and his friends feel “neutral” about the upcoming consolidation.
Cook did notice, however, that tension still rests among some upperclassmen who were planning to graduate from SPSU.
Junior Communication major, Kim Cox, whose sister is majoring in Industrial Engineering at SPSU, said her sister used to be worried about graduating from KSU, considering SPSU is known for engineering.
“But then she also didn’t want [her diploma] to say Southern Poly, because they wouldn’t exist anymore,” said Cox. “[Now] she knows that the people who will hire her will know about the merger, and they’ll just care more about her degree and work experience.”
According to the consolidation website, students enrolled in SPSU before Jan. 2015 and who graduate in spring 2015 or summer 2015 may choose for their diploma to say “Southern Polytechnic State University” or “Kennesaw State University.”
Cox supports her sister by encouraging her to do well in her classes and celebrating her accomplishments. “We’ll always think of her as graduating from Southern Poly,” said Cox. “It’s sort of weird to say she graduated from Kennesaw State, because I still don’t picture them as one school yet.”
Nevertheless, Cox believes KSU will be better and stronger after the consolidation is complete. “I think if you give five or ten years, it will be a really good thing; but now it’s hard to see all the benefits,” she said.
According to the consolidation website, the consolidation is expected to be finalized by the fall semester in 2015.
Most courses will be offered on both campuses, except for those pertaining to a degree that one of the campuses do not offer. For example, computer-engineering courses will be offered on both campuses, since both schools currently offer that degree However, only KSU offers a degree in Biochemistry, so the majority of the courses for that major will be held on the KSU campus.
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Editor’s Note: We’re all about keeping an open line of communication during the transition. If you would like to discuss this topic further or share your stories with us on social media, we encourage you to do so on facebook.com/ksusentinel, tweet us @ksusentinel, or use the comment field below.
