Effective July 15, All employees and students are required to wear an appropriate face covering while inside campus facilities/buildings where six feet social distancing is not always possible. Face covering use will be in addition to and is  not a substitute for social distancing.

Face coverings are not required in one’s own dorm room or suite, when alone in an enclosed office or study room, or in campus outdoor settings where social distancing requirements are met.

Anyone not using a face covering when required will be asked to wear one or must leave the area. Repeated refusal to comply with the requirement may result in discipline through the applicable conduct code for faculty, staff or students.

Reasonable accommodations may be made for those who are unable to wear a face covering for documented health reasons.

MGA will provide four washable cloth face coverings to all students, faculty, and staff.

Yes, with a few exceptions, each classroom will have an occupancy level posted on the door. The occupancy level defines the number of students who can be seated in the classroom while maintaining six feet of distance. The spacing of seating allows for aisles as well. Typically, the instructor will have additional instructional space at the front of the classroom that allows them to walk around while teaching. 

Many extra non-academic spaces are being used to accommodate larger classes. For classes in auditoriums, students should sit in the designated "Sit Here" seats.

Plexiglass barriers are being delivered to all departments/offices for areas to use where they feel is necessary. 

Cleaning packages will be available for all offices that will allow individuals to clean their own workspace as they see fit. 

If you are a student who attends an on-campus class OR who has recently been on campus,  and you 1) have a positive COVID-19 test result, 2) symptoms of COVID and are awaiting a test result, or 3) have had close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 and are awaiting a test result,  please isolate/quarantine and communicate with us: 

1. Inform your faculty members/instructors
2. If you live on campus, inform your Resident Assistant (RA)
3. Evacuate and isolate - If you live on campus, your RA will assist you with alternate arrangements.
4. Complete and submit the MGA self-reporting form.

If you are a fully online student who has NOT recently been on campus, you do not need to complete the MGA self-reporting form. If you do wish to seek academic accommodations due to COVID-19 illness, then you should complete and submit the  MGA self-reporting form.

For more information, visit our page: Have Symptoms or been Exposed to COVID-19?

If you were directly in contact with someone who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus for more than 15 minutes and within 6 feet of the individual, no you may not return to campus until you have completed your 14-day isolation period. Even if your test was negative at the time that you were screened for the virus, it can still grow in your body during the 14-day isolation period.

Please wait at least 3 days after your exposure to that individual before getting tested unless you begin to have COVID-19 symptoms (e.g. shortness of breath). If you are a named contact and you are contacted by a public health staff member, you should quarantine yourself for 14 days (from the last date of exposure). If you attend classes on campus or have been on campus, please submit the details in the MGA COVID-19 portal via the self-reporting form.

For more information, visit our page: Have Symptoms or been Exposed to COVID-19?

No, if you were not directly exposed to a positive case (an individual with the COVID-19 virus), you should not go get tested and you are not required to isolate yourself for 14 days.

For more information, visit our page: Have Symptoms or been Exposed to COVID-19?

• The Health Department in Cochran has agreed to offer free walk up testing to our students beginning on Wednesday, August 12th and every Wednesday afterwards until December 2nd.
  • Students attending other campuses may request an appointment, but they will need to arrange for their own transportation to the Cochran campus.
  • The location of the testing site will be on our campus in the parking lot of Browning Hall.
  • The testing is done outdoors via walk through testing.

North Central Health District (includes the following counties: Baldwin, Bibb, Crawford, Hancock, Houston, Jasper, Jones, Monroe, Peach, Putnam, Twiggs, Washington, and Wilkinson Counties)

COVID-19 Testing Line can be reached for a referral by calling 1-844-987-0099.

Call line hours: M-F 8 a.m. 7 p.m. & Sat 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

South Central Health District (includes Bleckley, Dodge, Johnson, Laurens, Montgomery, Pulaski, Telfair, Treutlen, Wheeler, and Wilcox Counties)

COVID-19 Test Center Line can be reached by calling 478-275-6570

For COVID-19, a close exposer/close contact is defined as anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.

For more information, visit our page: Have Symptoms or been Exposed to COVID-19?

Employees who have tested positive or who have symptoms of COVID-19 should submit information relevant to their condition in the MGA COVID-19 portal. In addition, they should either get a referral for a COVID-19 test (if living in the North Central Health District area) or find transportation to a COVID-19 testing site (if living in the South Central Health District – no referrals are required in this district), notify their supervisor, and stay at home. If the symptoms become worse, seek medical care and inform the health care provider of the positive test prior to visiting the doctor’s office.  These employees are eligible to use up to two weeks paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and can use any other available leave.

If you were directly in contact with someone who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus for more than 15 minutes and within 6 feet of the individual, you may not return to campus until you have completed your 14-day isolation period. Even if your test was negative at the time that you were screened for the virus, it can still grow in your body during the 14-day isolation period.

Please wait at least 3 days after your exposure to that individual before getting tested unless you begin to have COVID-19 symptoms (e.g. shortness of breath). If you are a named contact and you are contacted by a public health staff member, you should quarantine yourself for 14 days (from the last date of exposure). If you attend classes on campus or have been on campus, please submit the details in the MGA COVID-19 portal via the self-reporting form.

For more information, visit our page: Have Symptoms or been Exposed to COVID-19?

Contact the Human Resource Office for details concerning your options, including the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

Free weekly drive-through testing for faculty and staff on the Cochran campus - MGA's Cochran campus is the site for weekly drive through testing in Bleckley County. No appointment is necessary and it is first-come, first-serve. 

North Central Health District (includes the following counties: Baldwin, Bibb, Crawford, Hancock, Houston, Jasper, Jones, Monroe, Peach, Putnam, Twiggs, Washington, and Wilkinson Counties)

COVID-19 Testing Line can be reached for a referral by calling 1-844-987-0099.

Call line hours: M-F 8 a.m. 7 p.m. & Sat 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

South Central Health District (includes Bleckley, Dodge, Johnson, Laurens, Montgomery, Pulaski, Telfair, Treutlen, Wheeler, and Wilcox Counties)

COVID-19 Test Center Line can be reached by calling 478-275-6570

F or COVID-19, a close exposer/close contact is defined as anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting from 48 hours before the person began feeling sick until the time the patient was isolated.

For more information, visit our page: Have Symptoms or been Exposed to COVID-19?

Residence hall rooms will be viewed as a shared residence within each room or suite, like a family- shared residence in that social distancing practices are not expected within the room or suite. As such, it is the responsibility of the residential students to adhere to appropriate behaviors related to the prevention of COVID-19, including the cleaning of their room or suite.

The University cannot guarantee students will be free from risk of exposure to COVID-19 while on campus. Students who are at a higher risk for severe illness as defined by CDC/GDPH should carefully consider whether moving into a residence hall is the appropriate option, and they may obtain an exemption from MGA’s Residency Requirement by following the directions found here

• Monthly health and safety checks will typically use virtual communications and check-ins (phone or video chat).
• Shared common areas in residence halls will be reconfigured in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines. Each of MGA’s residential campuses has unique residence hall configurations and thus it is difficult to provide standard expectations across the board. Guidelines and expectations for students living on different campuses and buildings will be tailored to fit these configurations.
• Large social and educational programming in the residence halls will remain suspended to limit gatherings. Small group and virtual programming will replace large functions.

Visitation in residence halls will remain suspended for the first 30 days of the semester and will be reviewed every 30 days after to determine feasibility of a safe return to regular visitation based on CDC guidelines and GDPH recommendations.

MGA’s Dining Services plans to reopen dining facilities in Fall 2020 and will have reopening guidelines that adhere to CDC guidelines, local/state guidelines, as well as follow the ServSafe National Restaurant/Dining Association COVID-19 Reopening guidelines. MGA is transitioning to a new food service provider and is working with the new provider on the operational plans that will ensure these guidelines are met:

• Disinfect surfaces in Food Service Facility Practices/Guidelines. Avoid all food contact surfaces when using disinfectants.
• Follow all CDC guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting facilities found   here
• Thoroughly detail-clean and sanitize entire facility, focusing on high contact areas that would be touched by employees and guests.
• Frequently disinfect surfaces repeatedly touched by employees or customers such as door knobs, equipment handles, check-out counters, and grocery cart handles, etc.
• Avoid all food contact surfaces when using disinfectants.
• Do not place items on tables such as condiments, dispensers on tables – provide these items in small packages rather than bottles.
• Remove items such as unwrapped straws and other items from self-service drink stations.
• Between seatings, clean and sanitize tables.
• Make sure hand sanitizer is readily available to guests.
• Where salad bars and buffets are permitted by local/state officials, they must have sneeze guards in place. Change, wash, and sanitize utensils frequently and place appropriate barriers in open. Alternatively, cafeteria style (worker served) is permissible with appropriate barriers.
• Place a limit on number of individuals that can enter dining facility at a time determined by social distancing capacity; will still allow visitors/guests in dining facility.
• Update floor plans for common dining areas, redesigning seating arrangements to ensure at least six feet of separation between table setups.
• Limit table seating to no more than the established maximums approved as recommended by the CDC or approved my local/state government.
• Limit contact between dining employees and students and always require dining employees to wear face coverings.
• Place physical barriers such as partitions or Plexiglass barriers at registers/POS stations.
• Limit the number of employees at each food station/workstation. Employees should be staggered.
• If seating is not recommended in dining areas, adjust for pickup meals only with to-go boxes.

Both the NAIA and the NCAA have made the decision to resume sports in the fall, in some cases with shortened seasons. The NCAA has released a document detailing the conditions that must be met for college student-athletes to re-engage. MGA athletics is prepared to observe and incorporate all guidance provided in this regard. In anticipation of the restarting athletics on campus, there are several considerations for the safety, health and welfare of the student-athletes. You can find a complete listing in the Return to Campus Plan.