Augusta Technical College is an institution that is committed to ensuring that all of its graduates meet and exceed the educational and professional standards established by the community and especially the employers within that community. The English Department is also fully committed to supporting this goal of standards-based instruction.

Our commitment to standards is best characterized by the use of a panel-graded final exam essay. All students at Augusta Technical College who receive a college degree must pass English 191. All students who pass English 191 must pass a department administered and panel-graded final exam essay. This essay will be administered and evaluated by the English Department as a whole, not an individual instructor. This means that even though a student has a "C" average for the quarter in her coursework, she could still fail the essay. If this happens, she cannot receive a passing grade for English 191 that quarter. A student must pass both the class and the final exam essay to receive a passing grade.