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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Graduate Studies University was only approved to offer associate’s and
bachelor’s degrees, SACSCOC had to approve MGA
Dr. Kevin Cantwell to offer master’s level work and promote Georgia’s
newest university to a Level III institution. In Decem-
In spring 2019, Middle Georgia State Universi- ber of 2015 we were approved to begin our first two
ty (MGA) graduated its hundredth master’s student. master’s degrees. In December of 2016, we graduated
Although that was a big milestone, there was more our first ten MSIT students, including a few of our own
good news. The university had also been approved for employees. From that day on, we were truly in the
a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) business of graduate education.
and a Master of Arts in Technical Writing and Profes-
sional Communication. In total, the two new degrees As we conceived of what our new mission would
would make six master’s degrees established since mean to the region, the Office of Graduate Studies
the fall of 2015. was established. A veteran faculty member and de-
partment chair, Dr. Kevin Cantwell, was asked to lead
The MSOT will take time to establish its first co- the office. After several months in the start-up phase,
hort, as the program will need a director and further he became its permanent dean, and Dr. Loretta Clay-
approval by two accrediting agencies. And it will re- ton became its Director of Graduate Student Policy &
quire the renovation of a building on the Cochran Support.
campus, which is already underway as of summer
2019. Its position on the Cochran campus makes it the The mission of the Office of Graduate Studies re-
first graduate degree offered at the oldest instruction- flects the mission of the University and the central
al site of the institution that was consolidated from goal of MGA, which is to become the public state uni-
Middle Georgia College and Macon State College in versity of choice in the region: “The mission of the
2013. What this means is that for the first time in the Office of Graduate Studies is to develop and offer
institution’s existence, undergraduate and graduate graduate degrees suitable for working adults that ad-
students will travel the same sidewalks under those dress the needs of the region and anticipate a grow-
massive oaks. As a unique acknowledgment of this ing knowledge economy.”
legacy, students with two-year degree in OTA and a
current license can finish a master’s in just two more Adults want quality online degrees and they do
years. not want to graduate with student loan debt that
cripples their futures. Applicants are always happy to
These steps take time, but the Office of Graduate know that most of our degrees cost around $10,000,
Studies has learned over the last few years that we which is well less than half the price of a new car. A
cannot stop planning and we cannot stop building. graduate degree appreciates in value over a lifetime
Graduate education began in fall 2014 when President and represents one of the best investments a profes-
Blake and his leadership team proposed two graduate sional can make.
degrees: the Master of Science in Information Tech-
nology and the Master of Science in Nursing. Both de-
grees were approved by the Board of Regents of the
University System of Georgia in the spring of 2015.
That was the first big step.
What came next was more challenging. The
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Com-
mission on Colleges (SACSCOC) had to approve what
it calls a “level change.” Since Middle Georgia State
48 mga.edu | finding greatness
