New Orleans Students Arrive at Georgia State Business School

September 12, 2005 - How they came to Atlanta and Georgia State's Robinson College of Business varies. But for the 19 eager graduate business students from several of New Orleans' colleges and universities, having the chance to continue their educations amid the disaster created by Hurricane Katrina provides them something that many lack - a small sense of normalcy.

The first six came from Tulane University's full-time program which was set to begin classes on Monday, August 29th. Using a database to connect with each other and other displaced Tulane students, these six are found lodging, friendships and a place to call home - at least for now. Within days, news that Robinson would accept students from the ravaged areas spread. In total, the College has admitted 19 students from Tulane University, The University of New Orleans, Southern University of New Orleans and Xavier University.

"We have attempted to mirror the schedules of 19 graduate students who were enrolled in the various schools in New Orleans. Sometimes we've had actual class schedules to work from, other times; it was just the memory of the student," said Diane Fennig, director of Graduate Students and Alumni Services. "For the most part, given the diversity of Robinson's course offerings, we've been successful. Our faculty has also been a tremendous help in getting our new students acclimated helping them find free text books and offering separate study sessions to get them up to speed."

The students enrolled at Robinson College of Business as a result of Georgia State University's policy to accept students from New Orleans schools for a $100 admission fee. In total, the University accepted more than 500 undergraduate and graduate students from New Orleans area Colleges and Universities.