Spring 2003

Volume 6 Number 2
A publication of Macon State College

Getting Down to Business

Macon State's four-year business degree is one of the most popular programs at the College

Bill Russell of the University of Georgia’s Small Business Center talks with members of MSC’s chapter of Phi Beta Lambda, a national association for business majors. Photo by Sheron Smith

By Sheron Smith

Business is booming at Macon State College. The bachelor’s degree in business, that is.

Launched in 1998 as Macon State’s fourth baccalaureate program, the business degree has rapidly grown into one of the College’s largest four-year offerings. Through the 2001-2002 academic year, more than 500 students planning to earn their bachelor’s degrees at Macon State had formally indicated business as their major.

President David A. Bell said the business degree’s success is no surprise, particularly given the unique way Macon State has structured the program. Besides the traditional business foundation the degree provides, students get a solid core of information technology courses to make them more competitive in today’s professional workforce.

“Business is generally a popular program at any college that offers it,” Bell said. “I think Macon State’s is particularly attractive because we’ve combined it with an IT core. The next few years for our business degree are extremely promising.”

Even with the nation’s struggling economy and hiring downturn, business degrees remain viable options for college students. According to the Georgia Career Information System, over the next six years employment in the state will grow by 13 percent for accountants and auditors, 16 percent for business executives and 21 percent for marketing managers.

“One reason the business degree is so popular is you can take it and apply it to almost anything,” said Leslie Banister, a senior accounting major from Warner Robins. “Business majors at Macon State feel like they are part of something that’s really growing, and that’s exciting.”

Dr. Wayne Cecil, center, Georgia Eminent Scholar in Accounting at Macon State, with accounting majors Stacey Walker, 22, and David Godfrey, 23. Photo by Bruce Radcliffe

Accounting Especially Popular

Offered through Macon State’s Division of Business & Economics, the bachelor of science in business offers four major tracks: accounting, management, marketing and general business. Besides 24 semester hours in their majors, students take eight business administration core classes and four information technology core classes, including one elective.

The College is enhancing the business degree in ways directly connected to Central Georgia’s workforce needs. The general business track, basically a sampling of courses from the other major tracks, is specifically designed to help working adults who already run small businesses or simply want career advancement have the greatest flexibility in finishing their bachelor’s degrees.

Growth in the business degree’s accounting track has been especially robust. Since Fall 2001, the number of Macon State students formally indicating themselves as accounting majors has grown by 71 percent. The College is positioning the major track in accounting, a highly marketable profession in Central Georgia, to be the leading such undergraduate program in the region.

Key to this effort was the creation of Macon State’s third endowed faculty chair — the first for the business division. Dr. Wayne Cecil, who holds a doctorate in accounting in addition to being a Certified Public Accountant with extensive private sector experience, was hired to fill the chair as a Georgia Eminent Scholar in Accounting.

Leslie Bannister, left, a senior accounting major, talks to two students at a recent event for MSC students deciding on their majors. Photo by Sheron Smith

“My objective for the business program is for it to not only grow in enrollment but in quality,” said Dr. Larry Wolfenbarger, the business division’s chairman. “There’s a lot of pent-up demand in this area for a business degree that is high-quality and convenient, and we’re meeting that need.”

Accounting majors are excited about the addition of new faculty with top-notch credentials. Besides Cecil, Macon State has recently added two accounting faculty members with impressive records of college teaching and private sector experience as CPAs: Mimi Ford (who also holds a law degree from Mercer University) and Dr. Harry McAlum.

“They really challenge you here,” said Stacey Walker, 22. “I know I’m getting a good education from people who have professional accounting experience. I’m learning a lot of new things, and I enjoy the orderliness of accounting.”

Amy Minick, 26, has already earned her bachelor’s degree in business from Macon State and is now taking additional coursework to prepare for the Certified Public Accountant’s exam.

The instructors “give me a lot of confidence that I am learning what I need to know to be successful and pass the CPA exam,” Minick said. “Pursuing my accounting degree at MSC has been the best possible experience I could have hoped for.”

MSC business major Keith Moffett, right, talks with Chip Cherry, president of the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce. An internship at the Macon Economic Development Commission led to a full-time job for Moffett, who graduates this spring. Photo by Sheron Smith

Selling Point

The business degree’s convenience attracted Keith Moffett, 31, a senior marketing major from Macon. Moffett, who holds an associate degree in electronics technology from Georgia Military College, was working at Robins Air Force Base two years ago and, as the married father of three young children, wanted to finish his bachelor’s degree in an area that interested him without making a long commute.

His choice of Macon State and the business degree proved serendipitous. After taking a class from adjunct instructor Pat Topping, senior vice president for the Macon Economic Development Commission, Moffett became interested in business and industry recruitment. The College’s Career Center helped him get an internship with the commission, which evolved into a full-time job as projects manager.

Moffett is finishing up his bachelor’s degree this semester and has been accepted to Wesleyan College’s Executive MBA program. In his dealings with business and industry prospects, Moffett is a walking testimony to Macon State’s economic value to Central Georgia.

“One of the first things they want to know about an area is what educational opportunities are available,” he said. “Macon State, with its focus on economic development, is definitely a selling point.”

The business degree is also popular among more recent high school graduates now at Macon State.

Shanna Teeple, 22, a senior marketing major from Macon who hopes for a career in pharmaceutical sales, said she chose the business degree for its “real life” applications. She chose Macon State because she wasn’t ready after her graduation from Southeast High School to go away to a residential university.

“Macon State gave me the flexibility to go to a good school and live at home with my parents,” she said.

Kelli Barnes, 22, a First Presbyterian Day School graduate who is finishing her management major, wants to be a computer sales executive. She thinks the IT component of her business degree will give her an advantage.

“One thing’s for sure,” she said. “I won’t be selling something I don’t know anything about.”