GHC is offering new pathways

Travis+Foster+%28left%29+and+Derick+Garcia+%28right%29+study+in+the+Library+on+Floyd+campus.

Olivia Fortner

Travis Foster (left) and Derick Garcia (right) study in the Library on Floyd campus.

Degree programs and course offerings are expanding. These areas of study have recently been added to GHC’s degree options.

Entrepreneurship

The Entrepreneurship Pathway launches next semester, Spring 2021.

These classes will teach students how to run a business. They cover the basics of small businesses and entrepreneurship.

Shanika Turner, Assistant Professor of Business Administration and lead contact for the Entrepreneurship pathway, said, “Students will also develop knowledge, skills and values from direct experiences outside a traditional academic setting through experiential Learning such as the Entrepreneurship Speaker Series and participation in the Charger Innovation Challenge.”

Enrollment is currently open for this Associate of Science degree.

Graphic Design

Brian Barr, Professor of Arts, said the first Graphic Design class will start next semester, Spring 2021.

“Over the past decade, we have seen a lot of interest from students for a Graphic Design program. Since we opened the new art studio in Cartersville, we now have enough students to offer more courses in the art pathways. So, looking at the current demand, we decided that our first step would be to develop a pathway for students that would be interested in graphic design and digital art,” said Barr.

The faculty have been working to add this pathway “for, at least, a year-and-a-half,” Barr said. Associate of Arts Graphic Design courses will be offered on the Cartersville campus for Spring semester.

Sports Management

The Sports Management Pathway was introduced this fall. It’s a crossover between sports and business degrees. These classes cover everything from health and fitness to law and business. This is an Associate of Science degree that can be completed in two years.

Film

There are two Film Pathways that started this semester, Fall 2020. Both are Associate of Arts degrees.

The Film Production Pathway is in conjunction with the Georgia Film Academy. GFA trains people for crews and allows on-set internships with big-budget films. Students in Film Production will be taught at Trilith, previously known as Pinewood Studios.

“You’ll be training with professionals when you go,” said Seth Ingram, Division Chair for Humanities and film faculty.

The Film Studies Pathway takes you down the, “traditional film route,” Ingram said. “We’re looking at adding on some potential Bachelor programs down the road.”

Film is offered in Cartersville, Rome and online next semester.

There are “around 30 students in the three courses we offered this semester. We’re offering six courses next semester,” said Ingram.

The Film Pathways will also be using the new Center for Creative Media Studies to facilitate some training and equipment.

More Pathways

Curriculum Coordinator, Lillian Robertson, has provided a list of other recent pathways and a contact for each:

AS in Recreation Administration Pathway — School of Health Sciences — Lisa Jellum
AS in Exercise Science — School of Health Sciences — Lisa Jellum
BS of Health Science — School of Health Sciences — Michelle Boyce

There is another pathway still undergoing the approval stages, so no promises yet. Currently awaiting a response from SACSCOC is a Nexus Degree in Financial Technology. For more information on this Associate of Science degree, contact Melanie Largin.