First Year resources

First Year Resources is made up of several components that help to introduce students to the campus. They begin the moment a student steps into Orientation. The different components of the program are:

1. The Orientation Session: Your Orientation Session is the beginning of your preparation time for your life on this campus. A collection of experts have built a program to help introduce you to the processes and resources that you'll need to thrive and succeed here on campus. This is an important first step in your transition to university life.
2. Campus Resources: Middle Georgia State University is full of multiple resources to help its students become the people, academics, and professionals that they want to be. We have many services to help students study better, learn more, and stay healthy while they are here with us. These services work in tandem with the First Year Resources to ensure that our students stay at their happiest, healthiest, and best prepared for the challenges of college life.
3. Academic Support: Middle Georgia State University provides ample Academic Support for its students free of charge! We work with Tutoring Services, Counseling and Accessibility Services Services, and all of the other services on campus. The First Year Resources connects together many resources to ensure that students have everything that they need to use their considerable intelligence to learn more and become the professionals that they want to be.
4. Student Life: Our Student Life organizations range in focus from professional clubs, like the Nursing Club, Women in Aviation, and the Accounting Club, to social clubs that focus on community service and common interest. Our active Student Life office works to ensure that students have access to the other students, faculty, community groups, and professional associations to connect them with the people whom they need to meet and social activities for their leisure time. The program offers everything from athletics to arts, activities for young adults, and for families, as well as for returning and military college students.

The Academic Calendar

The Academic Calendar is a necessary component of any student's immediate goal planning. It tells students when classes start, when the period begins and ends in which students can add or drop classes, when a class session ends, the withdrawal date (the last day to withdraw from classes), the end of the semester, finals week, and the final exam schedule. Students need to pay close attention to all of these dates as they can directly affect their semester, their GPA, and their academic future. Students should keep the link for this calendar close and know these dates.

www.mga.edu/academics/academic-calendars/

The Student Success Center

The Student Success Center is a student's best stop for help in ANY subject. If students are starting to struggle in a class, or are confused by a homework, essay, or presentation assignment, they'll find help here. The Center has a number of workshops, videos, tutoring sessions, and tutoring centers to help with whatever you might be struggling to do well. Many of the tutors have been through the very same class that the student needs help with and can advise how best to study the material.

It is important for students to come and make an appointment as soon as they think about it. The earlier a tutor begins to work with students, the better students will do in their classes. For more information, visit: 

www.mga.edu/student-success-center/

The Library

The MGA Library partners will all students to provide reliable, research assistance for assignments, papers, and projects.  Utilizing the resources of the MGA Library will help you succeed in your academic pursuits.  In addition to personalized research assistance, the MGA Library provides students with access to our print and electronic collections, computers, printing services, and study rooms.

When approaching your MGA courses, the library's resources, including GALILEO, should be the first place you look for information.  The MGA librarians are available to meet with you either in-person or online to help you find and evaluate possible sources.  For more information about the library's services, locations, and hours, please visit www.mga.edu/library/.

Advising

The Advising process connects students with all of their academic planning needs. This will help students decide which courses to take, when to register, when to take which courses and in which order, how to get to graduation, and when to apply for graduation. A student’s advisor can also answer questions about required courses, which professors work best with which learning styles, which classes students might take over a Summer session, and how to balance a student schedule with work and home life. To find an advisor, students should go to:
www.mga.edu/advising/Advisors.php

For more general information on advising, go to:
www.mga.edu/advising/

To find your degree plan, go to MyDegree.

Counseling Services

The University understands that real life is complicated, and that adding college-level study to an already full life can be even more complicated. If students find themselves overwhelmed by their studies, have something bad happen to a loved one, have relationship trouble that they can’t think their way out of, or just need some help with stress management, counseling services can really help them. Counseling Services contact information is available at: 

www.mga.edu/counseling-services/

Accessibility Services

Not everyone learns at the same rate or the same way. Sometimes, though, students have difficulties that go beyond the abilities of an instructor or a tutor to work around and may need a sound recorder in the classroom, some extra time to read assignments or take exams, or some additional assistance based on a medical condition. If a student suspects that he or she may have a difficulty that could benefit from some additional accommodations, the student should contact the Office of Accessibility Services to learn about the documentation needed for these arrangements to be made.

www.mga.edu/accessibility-services/

Center for Career & Leadership Development

When you decided to attend MGA, you made a pivotal decision about your career.  The Center for Career & Leadership Development (CCLD) will help you explore career options, prepare for internships, connect with career opportunities, and build the professional and leadership competencies needed to be successful in a global marketplace.  Using best practices from the student affairs profession, we address the holistic needs of students and collaborate with faculty, staff, employers, graduate programs, and community leaders to ensure post-graduation success.  

The Office of Career Development serves students and alumni through individualized in-person and virtual appointments, student organization and classroom presentations, recruitment and networking opportunities, and campus-wide career and professional development programs. We recommend that first-year students complete our career assessment, Focus 2, and then meet with a career advisor. You can schedule in-person and virtual appointments with career advisors through the Career Services section of Handshake. Claim your Handshake account at mga.joinhandshake.com with your MGA email.  As you plan for internships and your career search, be sure to use our career and professional development services.  We assist with resumes, interviewing skills, search strategies, and navigating a variety of professional situations related to career planning.

Student Leadership Programs serve current students through specialized leadership development programs, campus-wide conferences, and individualized student consultations. Knights LEAD is a program available for first-year students each fall on the Macon and Cochran campuses. This program introduces you to a cohort of your peers and connects you with a faculty/staff mentor in addition to helping you learn career and leadership competencies needed for campus, professional, and civic life. Apply by August 31 to be a part of Knights LEAD.  Learn more about our Student Leadership Programs, which also includes Emerging Leaders for sophomores, iLEAD Peer Educators, the President’s Torch Society, and the annual Student Leadership Conference.

The CCLD also connects you with job and internship opportunities through career fairs, networking events, and postings from employers.  To find opportunities with thousands of employers and access all career and leadership programming, claim your Handshake account and use the platform regularly.

Financial Aid

The Office of Financial Aid at Middle Georgia State University is committed to serving students at each of our campuses and MGA as a whole. While the necessary process may be long due to regulatory requirements, we are here to help and guide students and families into making sound financial choices for their students. The key to successfully processing aid is EARLY application and FOLLOW UP. As many of the processes are not something MGA controls, it is necessary to get the application in as early as possible and begin working through the requirements. PLEASE DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE SEMESTER BEGINS TO THINK ABOUT FINISHING YOUR FILE.

 We encourage you to check your SWORDS account and your MGA email, another resource to check is Campus Logic. Documents including appeals are uploaded to this for our office to review. All information is reviewed and processed based on date order completed. You may contact us at 1.800.471.2800 or ask.mga.edu many answers can be found at https://www.mga.edu/financial-aid/index.php. 

Financial Aid Offices across the state are promoting: Know More. Borrow Less. This initiative addresses student borrowing to ensure students only borrow what they need, rather than get deep into debt before graduation. Only borrow what you NEED. Excess debt may hinder your future success.

Registrar

Many students have questions about how to access their grades, obtain transcripts, have their enrollment verified for insurance purposes, and understand university policies.  The Registrar’s Office is responsible for such matters and will be happy to assist students in need. 

Please visit http://ask.mga.edu for answers to frequently asked questions about the Registrar’s Office or visit the Registrar’s Office page at https://www.mga.edu/registrar/.

Student Life

MGA's Student Life Program offers students diverse opportunities, activities and services which foster meaningful engagement outside the classroom. This is accomplished through our intentional programming efforts that include engagement opportunities in the areas of diversity, service learning, health/wellness, life skills, community building, and scholarship. Our goals it to make sure that there is always something to do around campus! Join in the fun, meet new people, and learn something new and exciting.

Students who are more engaged typically perform better academically and socially than students who are not. For these reasons, our Student Life department offers a number of social and professional organizations for you to join. As a member of an organization, you will have an opportunity to interact with like-minded individuals, serve in a leadership roles, and connect with faculty and staff outside of the classroom.

What it is to be a Knight

The Middle Georgia State University mascot is the Knight. Historically, knights are brave, adventurous, noble, loyal, and educated. Many are very strong, others are very intelligent and adept at new technologies. Many are greatly committed to making the world a better place.

 Middle Georgia State University students are no different, and they work very hard to reach their goals. We also know that while you are being brave, adventurous, and noble, you sometimes need more information to proceed. The university website has many resources to help students thrive, and they have all been collected into one place. Our goal is to help you reach yours. If you need anything, feel free to call that office and let them know what you need. We have many people ready to answer questions, find out information, and make sure that you have what you need to thrive in college, graduate, and begin your life.

For more information for current students, go to:  www.mga.edu/students/ .