ATLANTA - Georgia has been awarded $1 million by Complete College America to help more students in the state finish their degree.

Gov. Nathan Deal made the announcement at the state Capitol on Thursday where he also unveiled his college completion initiative.

Deal's plan would create system-wide and campus-level college completion plans in the state's public universities. It would also implement technology-based diagnostic assessments to determine how much remedial help each student requires.

And Deal wants to restructure the state's technical colleges to provide students more support.

Georgia is one of just 10 states to receive a grant from Complete College America, which received funding support for the awards from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.