The Georgia Board of Regents has approved a North Georgia College
and State University business graduate school program for Forsyth
County, though negotiations are still ongoing on where it will be
permanently located.
At the June meeting of the Georgia Board of Regents of the
University System of Georgia, members approved NGCSU's establishment
of a Master of Business Administration program at an unspecified
site in Forsyth County.
Donna Gessell, executive director of regional engagements for
NGCSU, said the university is going to begin offering the MBA
classes in the fall of 2008 at North Forsyth High School.
The MBA program is the third of a three-pronged effort to meet
the need for what the school found were the three most demanded
careers in the county -- the other two being nursing and education.
"We've got a variety of programs, but the main three areas we're
targeting are business, health careers and education," said Gessell.
"We're very excited to be offering classes at the master's level in
business. It's been a long-term goal for the department."
NGCSU began offering classes in Forsyth County in 1997 and has
since continued to expand coursework offered at various sites in the
county.
The partnership between the college and county will be a long
one, said Gessell, adding a majority of students at the main college
campus in Dahlonega are from Forsyth County.
"But it's also because it's a growing community, and with our
long association with Forsyth County, we have a lot of alumni who
live in the county, and it fits well with the mission of our
school," she said.
Dr. Mike Moye, president of Lanier Technical College, said the
program addition at NGCSU will add "another option in town for
higher education, particularly at the graduate level, so that is a
wonderful thing for the citizens of Forsyth."
Moye said Lanier Tech, which hosts classes of the NGCSU nursing
program, has a great working partnership with the school, and while
the county is still lacking an undergraduate option, adding the MBA
program is another step toward accomplishing a full spectrum of
education.
While NGCSU has been offering classes at various locations
throughout the county, including North Forsyth High School and
Lanier Technical College, the city has been working with the school
on a permanent location.
However, "we make no assumptions with regards to expanding our
existing presence in Forsyth County. Any and all new activity by
[NGCSU] requires approval of the board of regents," said Gessell,
adding she was reluctant to disclose any information regarding
negotiations between the school and city.
Cumming Mayor H. Ford Gravitt was also "not at liberty to talk
about it too much now, because we haven't entered into an agreement.
We're just in discussion.
"We are still working on the location and the due diligence of
the project to [work on] the land planning," he said. "But we hope
to be meeting with them and finalizing things real soon."
