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The
Office of Academic Assistance
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
When students come to the Office of Academic Assistance (OAA), the relatively small size of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies benefits them in a way no other college at the university can claim. These benefits, both for students and the OAA staff, include the opportunity to get to know each other on a personal level. Present and prospective students immediately feel a connectedness to the School that begins with their interaction with the OAA staff. Our friendly and helpful staff shares the students' commitment to their successful completion of their degree programs and to their academic and personal accomplishments. The OAA staff directly contribute to student success through increasing their academic and social integration into the School, and our academic advisors enjoy supporting and assisting the students. OAA staff members are Sue Fagan, Wanda Cooley, and Mathieu Arp.
The AYS is unique among the colleges at Georgia State in that we have more graduate students than undergraduates. At the undergraduate level, we have more males than females, and at the graduate level we have slightly more females enrolled in our degree programs. Our doctoral students are primarily full-time, allowing them to take advantage of the seminars, programs and study groups offered and supported by the School. Both the undergraduate and master’s students enrolled in our degree programs hail from a variety of backgrounds, but all share the same goal: to learn from our faculty experts how public policy will impact their lives, and how to manage and shape that impact.
Highlights of the Office of Academic Assistance's 2006 accomplishments include:
Changes to the Degree Programs
- Initiated an undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Public Policy, which enrolled students beginning Fall Semester 2006.
- Initiated an undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree in International Economics and Modern Languages in conjunction with the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, which enrolled students beginning Fall Semester 2006.
- Initiated a concentration in the Bachelor of Science program in Urban Policy Studies in Public and Nonprofit Human Resource Policy.
- Phased elimination of two programs: the Aviation and Transportation concentration in the BS degree with a major in Urban Policy Studies, and the career track and graduate certificate in Natural Resource Management. The last courses for these programs were offered Fall Semester 2006.
Graduation
- Assisted 260 students in completing degree requirements and graduating this year – including the largest number of doctoral graduates in the history of the School.
Recruitment Activities and Staff Development
- Participated in university-sponsored events for prospective and current students including:
- The African American Student Services Fall Welcome Carnival
- The Athletics Department Orientation
- College Days at Georgia State University
- Panther Preview
- The Undecided Majors Fair
- A record number of Incept new student orientations
- Participated in various colleges' advising and career fairs to recruit top transfer and new students to AYS undergraduate and graduate programs. These colleges included:
- Georgia Perimeter College
- Agnes Scott College
- Clark Atlanta University
- Emory University
- Georgia Southern University
- LaGrange College
- Mercer University
- University of Georgia
- Participated in the Graduate and Professional School Enrollment Management Corporation (GAPSEMC) recruitment seminar.
- Participated in the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Admissions Directors Meeting.
- Participated in the March 2006 National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Region 4 Conference held here at Georgia State, organized and staffed by advisors from Georgia State's Student Advising Center and OAA offices.
- Coordinated, with the Dean’s Office, the 10th Annual AYS Honors Day ceremony to recognize the outstanding academic and other accomplishments of our students and graduates.
Enrollments
- Enrolled the largest percentage of international students in any of Georgia State's graduate degree programs. International enrollment Fall Semester 2006 was 34% of the total enrollment in our graduate programs.
- Hosted the largest number of sponsored students at the University. Sponsors include:
- Edmund S. Muskie
- American Councils for International Education and the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
- International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX)
- The Fulbright program of the Institute of International Education (IIE)
- The Academic and Professional Programs for the Americas (LASPAU)
- Increased the number of undergraduate economics majors by 33% from last year and projected doubling our number of majors next year.
- Provided classes for over 9,000 students this year.
- Increased applications to our graduate programs by 19% over last year.
Chartered Student Organizations
The Master’s programs offer rich opportunities for social and professional networking in the exciting public sector. Economics graduate students actively participated in vibrant discussions, debates and other group activities in the Graduate Student Association (GSA), led by officers Nara Monkam and Vivian Malafaia, and faculty advisor Erdal Tekin. This year, they organized a club orientation for new graduate students and a departmental picnic for students and faculty, constructed an informative website, co-sponsored the Usery lecture, and presented a job market speaker seminar featuring Pablo Saavedra (a Georgia State Economics alum) from the World Bank.
The PAUS Network presents similar possibilities for Public Administration and Urban Studies (PAUS) students. Founding member Rebecca Peed, president Elnora Kelly, and faculty advisor David Pitts organized the PAUS Department’s annual open house for current students, faculty and alumni. PAUS Network also held an orientation for new Network members, sponsored a tour of the Georgia Resource Center, and hosted a holiday networking event for students and faculty. Additionally, officers maintain the Network—a listserv announcing campus and community events to PAUS majors. Other officers included Charles Ford, Mark Lambert and Rupal Shah.
Under the leadership of president Huubinh Le and faculty advisor Paul Ferraro, the undergraduate Economics Club promoted economics and related AYS events by co-sponsoring a guest speaker series, assisting the department in advertising events, and organizing a faculty/student mixer as well as “meet and greet” reception for new students. Other officers included Glen Patterson, Wan-Yu Chen and Randa Ragab, with Suhash Patel maintaining the club’s website. Alfredo Patillo, the newly elected president, succeeds his predecessor Le.
Students for Progressive Transit (SPT), a campus-wide organization housed within AYSPS, presented information about transit issues at the PAUS Department open house and a campus street fair. SPT also sponsored an on-campus film presentation, Taken for a Ride. Officers Erin Glynn and Andrew Davis, with faculty advisor Robert Eger, coordinated SPT activities.
Further information on OAA activities are detailed in the following sections:
