ATLANTA (AP) - State officials have put a deadline on merging eight public colleges into four.

University system officials said Tuesday that the newly formed institutions will launch in January, a year after Chancellor Hank Huckaby announced the merger plan as a way to save money by reducing administrative costs across the state.

The board will hear recommendations this summer for what to name the merged campuses.

The plan will consolidate Waycross College with South Georgia College in Douglas; Augusta State College with the Georgia Health Sciences University; Middle Georgia College with Macon State College; and Gainesville State College with North Georgia College & State University.

Huckaby has declined to say how much money will be saved by the mergers or how many jobs may be eliminated.