Oct 27, 2016 01:23 PM EDT By Michael Lagura, UniversityHerald Reporter

The academics have taken a great leap towards setting goals on interactive media degrees. What used to be a hardcore online gaming activity taken passively by universities is now the new highlight in Southern Arkansas University of Magnolia.

Gone are the days that students face the cliché of sermons over having to move on from the lazy nature of online gaming. All thanks to a group of innovative students and academics, video games had just been included in the great leap taken by a number of universities in Arkansas.

In fact, video game development or even the most hardcore of the gaming platforms are now treated with utmost significance by SAU (Southern University Arkansas) of Magnolia for over 4 years to date. In those 4 years respectively, the university has continually offered degrees in animation program, game art, computer animation to a whole wave of enrollees in the state. So far, so good- that is how the interactive media degrees in SAU were performing as per evalution by accreditors, Arkansas Business reported.

Nearby, the Arkansas Tech University of Russellville has just started its interactive media design degree program last fall. Without a doubt, goals have accordingly been set by academics in these parts of the state.

Furthermore, the Arkansas Tech University has recently made the headlines for finally securing its STEM standard through adding 6 more programs aligned long its strategic plans. These programs included the game and interactive media design offered earlier in the fall, Arkansas Matters reported.

"The computer science education degree is in step with Gov. Asa Hutchinson's leadership on creating a generation of Arkansas kids who can code. It is our intention to produce licensed teacher candidates who can answer that call and make Arkansas a hub for technology careers in the decades to come", Dr. Robin E. Bowen, president of Arkansas Tech said in Arkansas Matters.

Meanwhile, back at SAU, the first 13 students will graduate from the program in the spring. The final output of the 2 degrees in SAU involves collaboration between students in their final year towards creating a video game that opts for a marketing weight.

Automatically, these graduating students will be given internship options, including a stint at the CAE Inc.'s Little Rock operation for internships.

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