In 2000, Georgia legislature passed the A+ Education Reform Act, similar to the federal government’s No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Both focused on accountability, assessments and teacher quality. Georgia adjusted statewide curricula in 2007 to more closely align with national standards. Through achievement testing, schools are graded according to a federal standard called adequate yearly progress, or AYP for short.The Houston County school system, the largest in the Midstate with 39 schools serving more than 26,000 students, was proud to announce that all of its schools met AYP in 2009. Bibb County, the second-largest system, serves approximately 25,000 students and had 46 percent of its schools meet AYP in 2009, an improvement of five schools over the previous year. The Bleckley County and Monroe County school systems each saw 100 percent of their schools meet AYP in 2009.
In addition to quality public schools, the Midstate has a number of private schools offering excellent educational opportunities. The oldest is St. Joseph’s School, which opened in 1872 as part of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Macon. Other private schools in the area include First Presbyterian Day School, Mount de Sales Academy, Stratford Academy and Tattnall Square Academy in Macon, Westfield School in Perry, Monroe Academy in Forsyth and Trinity Christian School in Dublin.
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
Macon State College, established in 1968, was part of a state initiative to ensure that all Georgians had a public college within commuting distance. The college now offers 17 Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts programs that offer a total of 27 different majors. The newest addition to Macon State’s lineup of bachelor’s degrees is the nation’s first dual-certification degree in general and special education for middle grades.
“The middle grades education degree is another pillar of Macon State’s strong commitment to provide top-quality teaching talent to Central Georgia schools,” said Pamela Bedwell, dean of the School of Education. “The critical need to grow Georgia’s educator workforce, especially teachers in the middle grades, is well documented.”
The current enrollment at Macon State is about 6,500 students, a 75 percent increase since 1998. In order to accommodate the growth, Macon State has received $22 million for new buildings in recent years. The Professional Sciences and Conference Center, which houses the schools of business and information technology, recently opened on the Macon campus. The newest academic building on the Warner Robins Campus, Oak Hall, will open in time for fall 2009 classes. And construction will soon begin on a teacher education facility on the Macon campus.
Established in 1833, Mercer University has a long tradition of academic excellence. For 18 consecutive years, Mercer has been chosen as one of the nation’s best colleges by U.S. News & World Report. The Princeton Review placed Mercer among the top 15 percent of colleges in North America. Mercer is the only independent university of its size in the country that offers programs in 11 different fields of study, including liberal arts, business, engineering, education, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and theology. Mercer’s law school, the Walter F. George School of Law, established in 1873, is one of the oldest law schools in the country. In 1982 Mercer’s School of Medicine was created to train physicians and health-care professionals to meet the needs of rural and underserved Georgians. In 2008 Mercer completed a $350 million building project, adding a music building, a Greek Village for sororities and fraternities and the University Center, a multipurpose facility with a basketball arena, food court and swimming pool. Mercer also has campuses in Atlanta and Savannah. In 2008 Mercer’s board of trustees announced a 10-year strategic plan, calling for an expansion of the student population from 7,600 to 8,500, the addition of master’s and doctoral programs and the construction of facilities, including a student center in Macon and a medical education building in Savannah.
Another historic educational institution in Macon, Wesleyan College, was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Wesleyan’s campus includes 30 white-columned, Georgian-styled buildings situated on 200 wooded acres. For the first time in 40 years a new building was added to the campus: The $12.5 million Munroe Science Center opened in November of 2007, adding new classrooms, 11 teaching labs, nine research labs, a green house and an astronomy observation deck.
Wesleyan has consistently been named to the Princeton Review’s Best 368 Colleges in America as well as U.S. News & World Report’s annual listing of America’s Best Colleges. The school offers undergraduate degrees in 32 majors, 29 minors and eight preprofessional programs including seminary, engineering, medicine, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, health sciences, dental and law. The Master of Arts degree in education and an Executive Master of Business Administration program are available to both men and women.
Peach County is home to Fort Valley State University. Founded in 1895 as Fort Valley High and Industrial School, it was the first school to offer educational opportunities to the area’s black population. It became part of the University System of Georgia in 1939 and is one of Georgia’s three public historically black colleges. Fort Valley State offers bachelor’s degrees in 50 majors as well as master’s degrees in education and counseling. Its cooperative development energy program prepares students for energy-industry careers in science and geology, the only program of its kind in the nation. Wildcat Commons, a $44 million student residential complex, opened in 2007, providing housing for more than 950 students in two-, three-, and four-person apartment suites.
Cochran’s Middle Georgia College is a two-year public school that had its beginnings in 1887 as the College of the New Ebenezer Association, formed by a grassroots organization of Baptist churches. Middle Georgia College has grown to more than 3,200 students and also holds classes in Dublin. The college now offers four-year degrees in aviation management, flight management, airport management and logistics management at its aviation campus in Eastman.In addition to the colleges based in the Midstate area, Milledgeville has two schools with a strong presence in Macon and the surrounding areas. Georgia College & State University offers more than 36 undergraduate degrees and more than 25 graduate programs. A part of Georgia’s university system, Georgia College was founded in 1889. At the heart of academic and student life for this public liberal arts university is the 43-acre main campus. But Georgia College and State University has developed a strong presence in downtown Macon by restoring a historic building there to house its Center for Graduate and Professional Learning.
“As the state’s designated liberal arts university, Georgia College has made a commitment to provide an educational experience that rivals the best private schools, but at a public university price,” said President Dorothy Leland. “Now, with our new graduate learning center in Macon, we continue to expand and enhance our mission to create a more educated Georgia.”
Currently, there are about 5,500 undergraduate students at the main campus and close to 1,000 graduate students at Georgia College’s various campuses.
Georgia Military College, also based in Milledgeville, is a liberal-arts junior college offering classes in Warner Robins and Robins Air Force Base.
TECHNICAL COLLEGES
Public technical education in Georgia is administered by the state Department of Technical and Adult Education, which operates 28 technical colleges and 31 satellite campuses. Through this system Georgians can learn a wide variety of marketable skills. There are three of these non-residential colleges in the Midstate with branch campuses.
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Central Georgia Technical College opened in Macon in 1966. The name was changed from Macon Technical Institute to Central Georgia Technical College to better reflect its service area, which now includes Baldwin, Bibb, Crawford, Jones, Monroe, Putnam and Twiggs counties. The main campus is still in Macon with a branch campus in Milledgeville and regional centers in the remaining counties. The college offers more than 200 programs in business, health and information technology, public services and technical, trade and industrial areas.
Heart of Georgia Technical College, located in Dublin with a satellite campus in Telfair County, serves Laurens, Telfair, Dodge, Wheeler, Bleckley and Wilkinson counties. Heart of Georgia Tech offers nine associate degrees in applied science, 25 diploma programs, 58 degree and diploma options and 47 technical certificates of credit.Middle Georgia Technical College serves Houston, Peach, Pulaski and Dooly counties with the main campus located in Warner Robins. Students who attend Middle Georgia Tech can earn certificates, diplomas or associate degrees in business and technology, health care and human services and industrial technology. The college also offers more than 100 courses either online or in combination with traditional classroom work. In coordination with local companies, the school offers adult literacy programs and continuing education for occupational advancement.
Students at Georgia’s public technical colleges are eligible for Hope scholarships. Georgians can also take classes from home through the Georgia Virtual Technical College.
