Commissioner Greg Dozier told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education that the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) posted its strongest operational metrics and that capital and maintenance funding remain a bottleneck to sustaining workforce-ready facilities.

"For the first time in our history we had over a million credit hours this fall semester," Dozier said, and added that the system recorded more than 46,000 graduates in the past year. Dozier described the system
s 22 colleges, 88 campuses and 35 career centers with an operating funding mix roughly 46% state, 18% federal and 36% other (tuition, fees, industry funding).

Dozier emphasized a persistent funding gap on the M&O side that is driven by how the state reimburses non-personnel operating costs. "That current rate for us is $4.15," he said, referring to the square-foot M&O formula. "The spending averages based on the last 2 or 3 years is about $12.56 per square foot." He said colleges make up the difference through tuition, fees and internal reallocations.

On deferred maintenance and MR&R funding, Dozier said the annual MR&R appropriation has been $24 million (recently shifted in accounting between bond and cash packages), while a system assessment identifies roughly $158 million in priority 1 and 2 end-of-life needs. He cited the APPA industry guidance that recommends a system fund between 2% and 4% of replacement value for asset preservation and said TCSG is using that study to contextualize needs.

Dozier described the capital project prioritization and oversight process: college-level planning and vetting, system-office validation and prioritization, Board of Directors approval, and partnership with GSFIC/GBA to manage projects through design and construction. For 2022
nd subsequent appropriations, Dozier said 40 projects totaling roughly $660 million were appropriated; 10 of those had cost increases during implementation, 7 were absorbed with internal college/fundraising actions and 3 required additional appropriations.

On space optimization and scheduling, Dozier described a pilot (led by Georgia Northwestern) that used student-course mapping and scheduling changes to concentrate classes and increase per-student credit loads and on-time graduation. He told the committee the exercise increased utilization while aligning class times to student needs.

Dozier and committee members also discussed online learning, dual enrollment and workforce outreach. The commissioner said dual enrollment and Ohio-style outreach campaigns (including Georgia Match) have raised the share of graduating high-school students entering TCSG programs from about 7% historically to roughly 10% recently. He cautioned against overinterpreting demographic-cliff studies, noting migration and workforce demand can alter local enrollments.

Ending: Dozier closed by framing MR&R and capital stewardship as tied to workforce outcomes: better-maintained facilities support faster, employer-ready training and immediate returns to employers who hire TCSG graduates.