Brenau, Lanier Tech sign healthcare administration articulation agreement

Administrators from Brenau and Lanier Tech
(Kelsey Podo/Brenau University)

Brenau University and Lanier Technical College have signed an articulation agreement allowing students to seamlessly transfer credits from Lanier Tech’s Health Information Management Technology degree to earn their bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration from Brenau.

Healthcare workers make up a large portion of the Hall County population, which is the county both Brenau and Lanier Tech call home. The Georgia Department of Labor reports more than 14,000 people worked a healthcare-related job in the first quarter of 2023; in the Hall County area, more than 72,000 people are employed in healthcare.

Interim President David L. Barnett, Ph.D., said Brenau looks forward to additional opportunities to partner with Lanier Tech.

“There are all sorts of ways we can dovetail with each other, share each other’s expertise and share each other’s resources,” Barnett said. 

“People in the community of all ages, all the way into their most senior years, have told me they are  interested in ways that we can serve the community, educate the community and help people have better lives. So there are people inside and outside our institutions that care deeply.”

Lanier Tech President Tim McDonald shared that sentiment.

“What we want is the same thing that Brenau University wants: We want better opportunities for the citizens that we serve,” McDonald said. 

This latest articulation agreement, signed on Oct. 19, is the third in two years between the two institutions that facilitates transfer of credits between associate degree programs at Lanier Tech and related bachelor’s degree programs at Brenau. Previously, Brenau and Lanier Tech signed agreements for interior design and organizational leadership in 2022. McDonald is an alumnus of both Lanier Tech and Brenau.

“The foundation that I built at Lanier Technical College allowed me to get to the master’s degree that I have. So, this is near and dear to my heart,” McDonald said. “Now these young people have that same opportunity to continue to grow in their career. This partnership is amazing.”

Brenau also has articulation agreements with Gwinnett Technical College and Athens Technical College, both for the interior design program.

Brenau University Manager of Content Development Kelsey Podo contributed to this story.