Athens, Ga. — Beginning in August, the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business will offer its Evening MBA degree at two locations in Atlanta. Last week, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved UGA’s request to begin teaching Evening MBA classes at the Terry College’s Executive Education Center in Buckhead.
Terry’s Evening MBA degree has been offered as a part-time program in Gwinnett County, near Lawrenceville, since 2000. The program in Gwinnett has grown steadily, with almost 250 students currently enrolled. Terry’s Buckhead facility, which opened two years ago, is located near the intersection of Peachtree and Lenox roads, across from Lenox Square Mall, and is already the base of operation for the college’s Executive MBA degree program.
“The Terry Evening MBA has been very successful in Gwinnett, in large part because of the high quality of students we’ve been able to attract,” said Don Perry, director of the program. “Establishing a second location in Buckhead will allow us to meet the needs of more of Atlanta’s working professionals who are in the market for a nationally recognized MBA program. Many have already indicated to us that they are specifically interested in the convenience of Terry’s Executive Education Center because of its proximity to where they live or work in Atlanta.”
Students interested in enrolling for fall may start the admissions process immediately. Perry said the target enrollment at the Buckhead location will be as many as 50 students, and he expects a strong demand for seats in the inaugural class.
Argy Russell, director of admissions for Terry’s MBA programs in Atlanta, said she has been receiving inquiries about the availability of a part-time program in Buckhead for the past two years. “This will meet a need within metro Atlanta that wasn’t being fully served by our Gwinnett location. I’ve spoken to many prospective students who have expressed their desire to earn an MBA from Terry and the University of Georgia. We are all excited that we can now offer this opportunity at our world-class facility in the heart of Buckhead,” she said.
Perry said students who enter the Evening MBA program in the fall and take two three-hour classes per term can graduate within eight semesters. The program allows new students to enter the program at the beginning of either the fall or spring semesters, although Perry stressed that the best time to enroll is in the fall.
“We promote a cohort model that allows students to build relationships and fully participate in peer-to-peer learning,” he said. “The layout of the fall semester, where students take a leadership skills course and spend a day together experiencing the ‘Outdoor Adventure’ component of the program, is the catalyst for bringing students together as a class.”
Perry said the program also promotes relationships and learning through hosted social gatherings, as well as overseas trips and other extracurricular opportunities, such as a recent weekend excursion to meet famed investor Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway’s corporate headquarters in Omaha, Neb. Later this year, students will have the option to travel to China for a 10-day study abroad trip or to Cuba for a nine-day research project.
The Terry College is currently expanding its Executive Education Center to 27,000 square feet of usable space that includes the addition of a third tiered executive classroom — each one seating 50 to 60 students. The expansion will be completed before fall semester classes begin, noted facility manager Tracy Keiser. The latest build-out will also add a library and reading room and more offices.
Originally opened in 2005, the Terry College Executive Education Center in the One Live Oak office complex on Lenox Road spans three floors. In addition to tiered classrooms, the facility also features conference rooms, break-out meeting space, interview suites and offices for faculty, staff and Terry’s executives-in-residence. The second floor has a large multipurpose room for receptions, dinners and other special events.
For more information on the Terry Evening MBA program and its expansion into Buckhead, go to http://www.terry.uga.edu/mba/ and click on the “Evening MBA” link under “Programs.”