AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) – One of Georgia’s medical schools wants to embark on a plan that could put dozens of new doctors in rural parts of the state.

The Augusta Chronicle reports that Medical College of Georgia wants a program that would help pay tuition for doctors who serve in rural areas, where there’s a need for more physicians. Under the proposal, the Augusta institution would also expand by 50 students and shorten medical school to three years.

Medical College of Georgia Dean David Hess called the initiative “the biggest thing we’ve done since 1828.” That’s the year the school was founded.

School leaders have taken the idea to some state lawmakers, and hope legislation allowing the changes could be passed either this legislative session or the next one.