Graduates from the Stafford School of Business at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will find their pathway to a master’s degree much easier after the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding between ABAC and Georgia College and State University (GCSU).

Dr. Renata Elad, Dean of ABAC’s Stafford School of Business, said the agreement will increase educational opportunities for students who want to live, work and study in South Georgia.

“Many alumni move away for graduate school to make themselves more marketable,” Elad said. “However, if they have access to graduate school and are place bound with those marketable skills, it opens up even better opportunities for them within their community, so they don't have to move somewhere else.

“It's a wonderful opportunity for our students. I’m really excited about this program, and the students I have spoken with are just as excited.”

Dr. Micheal Stratton, Dean of the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business and Technology at GCSU, said the agreement waives testing requirements and application fees and permits an early decision for ABAC graduates to enroll in GCSU’s Georgia WebMBA® Master of Management Information Systems (MMIS) and MMIS Online Graduate Certificate programs.

“This conversation speaks to what’s important to us, supporting students and citizens in Georgia and creating opportunities for University System of Georgia universities and colleges to collaborate,” Stratton said. “The ability for place-bound students to access our highly-ranked, accredited graduate programs creates a really unique opportunity for students and alumni in that part of Georgia.”

The agreement with ABAC is the most recent of several that develop pathways for students at select Georgia and regional institutions to accelerate their learning and potential earnings by attaining a graduate degree or business certificate at GCSU.

ABAC’s Stafford School of Business currently provides a general business education including logistics, marketing, management, and entrepreneurship. Graduates receive a Bachelor of Science degree in business.

With this memorandum of understanding, eligible Stafford School of Business graduates applying for admission can waive the GMAT/GRE exam and GCSU application fee, thus accelerating their admission to select graduate programs offered in the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business and Technology.

“President (Tracy) Brundage, in her First 100 days speech, talked about making sure our ABAC programs create pathways of opportunity for our students to enhance their future either through their career options or through graduate school,” Elad said. “I believe this memorandum of understanding gives them both options at the same time.”

For more information on the agreement, interested students can email Elad at [email protected].