Georgia Magazine - September 2016 - 20

'Once I found an online option that had a set schedule, assignments to keep me accountable and professors to contact, I knew I could do it.' Amanda Coy, a full-time Home Depot employee in Atlanta, enrolled in a structured online program in order to complete her degree. Home Depot as a home services specialist in Atlanta, colleagues urged her to wrap up the final few courses so she could be eligible for management positions in the future. The company's education reimbursement program contributed $5,000 toward tuition costs. "My mentor said I needed my degree, especially because demand is high for a position I'm interested in," she says. "Once I found an online option that had a set schedule, assignments to keep me accountable and professors to contact, I knew I could do it." Removing financial barriers Online programs are just one of the many opportunities available through the SREB's higher education initiatives. The Academic Common Market, for example, allows students to study in specialized fields at outof-state colleges yet pay in-state tuition rates. This is one of the most popular programs that the SREB supports, particularly for traditional college students who want an oncampus program but can't find it in their home state. "Many students find programs that they like in other states, but it's cost-prohibitive for them to major in what they want to do," Larson says. "With the Academic Common Market, families can see their students begin and complete their degrees in pro20 grams that they want without paying that out-of-state tuition." Siara Strickland, a junior in Homerville, transferred from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton to Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro this fall to pursue a music business degree. Originally a psychology major, Strickland looked at schools outside of Georgia but knew they would be too expensive. Then a friend told her that he was able to enroll at the University of Kentucky to study equine science and management and encouraged her to explore options, too. "I searched and searched for the career path that I wanted, and I thought I'd have to earn a business degree and then work my way into the music industry," she says. "Now I can have this music business background, and my tuition bills dropped from $35,000 to $6,000." The SREB also supports a similar program, the Regional Contract Program, that helps health professions students with out-of-state tuition costs. As part of the program, students who want to earn degrees in dentistry, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry and veterinary medicine can apply for programs in the seven participating states: Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina. For example, out-ofstate students often attend veterinary medicine programs in Georgia, optometry programs in Tennessee and equine programs in Kentucky. "My biggest advice is this: If you're looking into a program and can't find anything in your home state, know that almost every school in the Southeast offers a program you can tap into," Strickland says. "I wouldn't be able to realize this dream More online at www.georgiamagazine.org of mine without the financial help offered by the SREB." Increasing student and faculty diversity Another program run by the SREB offers financial assistance and guidance for minority students. The Doctoral Scholars Program was started in 1993 as a way to address the problem of faculty diversity in the Southeast. In 2016, one-third of college students are minorities, yet only 5 percent of faculty members are African-American, 3 percent are Hispanic and 1 percent are Native American. "The problem was-and still is- that we do a lot of talking about the problem, but very few effective programs do something about it," says Ansley Abraham, founder and director of the Doctoral Scholars Program. "This is one of the effective programs." As a Ph.D. student at the Univer(Continued on page 22) COURTESY SREB COURTESY AMANDA COY -Amanda Coy Ansley Abraham founded the Doctoral Scholars Program in 1993 to address the lack of diversity among college professors. The program provides a network of support to minority students who are pursuing their Ph.D.s. GEORGIA MAGAZINE http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - September 2016