UGA once again breaks record with enrollment of 34,885

Spurred by growth in several colleges and schools, the University of Georgia has its largest student body in history this fall with an enrollment of 34,885. The fall semester enrollment is up 705 students (two percent) above last fall when the enrollment topped 34,000 for the first time, with several newer colleges, schools and programs recording enrollment growth of 12 percent or more.

The Faculty of Engineering saw the biggest enrollment increase this fall with a 192.3 percent growth from 39 students in 2008 to 114 students this year. This increase is due in part to the first time acceptance of freshmen into the engineering program.

The College of Public Health saw a 50.8 percent enrollment increase with the addition of 157 students.

The Odum School of Ecology and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources also saw significant growth with enrollment increases of 27 percent and 22 percent respectively.

The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences saw a 12.7 percent growth with the addition of 189 students over last year’s enrollment of 1,483.

Total enrollment includes 33,826 students on UGA’s main campus in Athens, up two percent from last year, and 953 students at the university’s extended campuses in Gwinnett County, Tifton, Griffin and Buckhead in Atlanta—a one percent increase from last fall. An additional 106 students are enrolled in independent study.

On the main campus in Athens, undergraduate enrollment totals 25,913, up by 712 over last year, and graduate enrollment decreased by 15 students to a total of 6,309. Enrollment in the professional schools of law, pharmacy and veterinary medicine increased by 51 students to a total of 1,604.

“The demand for enrollment at UGA continues to grow given the quality of our educational programs. I am particularly pleased to see growth in many of our new and existing programs,” said Arnett C. Mace, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “I commend the deans, faculty and staff of these units for the recruitment of these outstanding students to their programs and to UGA.”

Of the total 34,885 enrollment, 8,132 students had never attended UGA before including 4,332 first-time freshmen who enrolled this fall. Combined with 320 first-time freshmen who enrolled this summer, the total count of first-time freshmen for summer and fall is 4,652.

Of the first-time freshmen who enrolled this fall, 363 had earned enough academic credit through joint-enrollment or advanced placement programs to be classified as sophomores, and 10 had enough credit to be classified as juniors.

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Young Harris College Announces Fall Visitation Days

Young Harris College will host two Fall Visitation Days for high school students interested in learning more about Young Harris College. The all-day events designed for high school students and their families are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19, and Saturday, Oct. 31. Activities are scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and include information sessions on admissions, financial aid, campus life, campus tours and the opportunity to meet current students and faculty.

To register for a Fall Visitation Day or for more information, contact Kelli Fell in the Office of Admissions at kfell@yhc.edu or 1 (800) 241-3754, or register online.

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Georgia State Enrolls more than 30,000 Students this Fall

Georgia State University expects to enroll more than 30,000 students for the fall 2009 semester, breaking the institution’s records for undergraduate and graduate students.

As of Aug. 19, Georgia State had 22,587 undergraduates and 7,676 graduate students enrolled for a total of 30,263, an increase of 7 percent over last fall.

The overall student body for fall 2008 was 28,175 graduate and undergraduate students.

“We are delighted to enroll more than 30,000 students for the first time in our 96-year history,” Georgia State President Mark P. Becker said. “This milestone reflects both improvements in recruiting high ability students and the university’s efforts to provide the best possible educational experience in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Georgia State University is on the rise, and people are noticing.”

GSU will welcome its largest freshmen class this fall with 2,965 students, about 200 students more than last year. As the number of freshmen increase, so does their academic ability.

The fall 2009 freshman class has an average SAT score of 1089, up eight points from last fall, and a GPA of 3.35, compared with 3.32, the average GPA from fall 2008.

“We not only attracted more students overall but we’ve also seen an uptick in the quality of the pool, in terms of their GPA, SAT scores and academic accomplishments,” said Scott Burke, director of Undergraduate Admissions at GSU. “That’s attributed to a greater number of students interested in attending Georgia State and our recruitment efforts to bring higher quality students to the institution.”

The number of graduate students is increasing as well, with a record 2,020 new graduates students enrolled. Despite the economic downturn, students continue to enroll in GSU’s professional school graduate programs.

“Students are particularly seeking out graduate programs with assistantships and teaching opportunities,” said Timothy Renick, GSU associate provost and chief enrollment officer. “Georgia State is becoming a top choice for graduate students.”

The university also enrolled over 350 new international students, the highest number since before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Like many public institutions, Georgia State is seeing an increase in student enrollments because of its affordability, an important factor in a recession. However, the university received a 21 percent increase in applications for the fall semester. Nationally, the average increase in applications to public institutions was 5 percent.

Over the last decade, GSU has made great strides, transforming from its commuter school roots into a major urban research university that meets the needs of both traditional and non-traditional students.

The new Panther football program, set to begin in fall 2010, and new construction projects, such as the Freshman Hall and the multi-million dollar science center, have created a buzz about GSU.

Georgia State will welcome students with a variety of activities this month.

New and returning students will have more than 40 events to enjoy in this year’s Panther Welcome program, which runs through Aug. 28. Events include GSU Idol, a casino night, movies, sessions on study tips and many more with activities and events designed to get students acquainted with campus services, involved in organizations and meeting new friends. For a complete list, visit www.gsu.edu/pantherwelcome.

GSU students also can easily find answers to questions at the Mega One Stop Shop, held through Aug. 21 in the Student Center Ballroom. The shop is a centralized enrollment services center with advisors from academic programs, housing, financial aid, class registration, student accounts and more. It will be open 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. on Aug. 20-21. For more information, visit www.gsu.edu/onestopshop.

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More than 6,300 new undergraduates to be enrolled at UGA this fall

The University of Georgia expects to enroll more than 6,300 new undergraduate students this fall, including just over 4,700 new freshmen and 1,600 new transfer students.Approximately 680 of the new students began their studies during the summer and almost 5,700 will begin classes this August.

This is a growth of about 75 new students over last fall.Another 1,000 new undergraduates (200 of them freshmen) are expected to enroll in January for the spring term, bringing the overall total to more than 7,300—an increase of about 300 over the new undergraduates enrolled during the 2008-09 academic year.

Although final statistics will not be available until mid-October, the admissions office has compiled data based on the students who enrolled over the summer or who attended or registered for orientation for fall semester as of the end of July.

The entering freshmen are expected to have a strong grade point average of 3.83 (the mid 50 percentile range is 3.68-4.0) compared to 3.80 last year. The SAT average has risen from 1253 to 1263 (mid 50 percentile of 1160-1360) for the Critical Reading and Math combined, while scores on the new Writing section rose from 609 to 613. For those students who took the ACT, the mean score this year was 28, with a mid 50 percentile range of 26-30.

The 520 students expected to enroll in UGA’s nationally recognized Honors Program have a GPA of 4.09 (with a mid 50 percentile range of 3.96-4.14) and SAT average of 1463 (mid 50 percentile range of 1430-1490 on the Critical Reading and Math components). The ACT average is 32 (mid 50 percent range of 31-33).

Twenty-two percent of the entering freshmen self-identified as other than Caucasian. The number of African-American freshmen is expected to be 362 (7.6 percent). A total of 144 Hispanic students (3 percent of the class) are expected to enroll.

The class is diverse in other factors: 190 of the incoming freshmen represent 58 different countries and almost 7 percent come from homes where English is not the native language. The students come from more than 400 Georgia high schools in 136 counties. Just under 13 percent of the new class is from out of state, although more than 48 percent have social security numbers initially issued in other states, indicating continued in-migration to Georgia from other parts of the country.

“An interesting statistic this year is that 6 percent of the new freshmen are the first generation in their families to attend college,” said Nancy McDuff, associate vice president of admissions and enrollment management.

The number of applications received for this year’s freshman class—more than 17,900—is the highest recorded at UGA for a new class, following several years of record applications. Since 2003, applications for UGA’s freshman class have increased by more than 50 percent.

The rigor of students’ high school curriculum continues to be a key factor in admissions decisions, with some 95 percent enrolled in College Board Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes while in high school.

Five percent of the incoming freshmen (243) were first or second in their graduating class and 54 percent were in the top 10 percent of their class. More than 1,400 (31 percent) of the students completed high school with a 4.0 GPA. Several students had perfect scores on the SAT or ACT, and 102 had perfect scores on at least one of the components of the SAT. Nearly 10 percent of the students started college while still in high school.

While many of the incoming students have not yet decided on a major, the most popular intended majors (listed alphabetically) are art, biology, business, chemistry, international affairs, pharmacy, political science and psychology, following a similar pattern to previous years.

Although legacy is not a factor in admissions decisions, some 30 percent of the students have parents or siblings who attended UGA.

The new incoming transfer students have an earned college GPA of 3.4 on work completed prior to enrolling.They are almost evenly divided between males and females and 19 percent are non-Caucasian.About 92 percent are Georgia residents.

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Georgia State to help DeKalb County history teachers and students

Georgia State University will soon be helping DeKalb County public school teachers expand their American history knowledge, in an effort to increase student achievement in social studies.
DeKalb County Public Schools, with Georgia State as a partner, was recently awarded a “Teaching American History” grant from the federal government.

The grant, roughly $1 million over the next three years, will cover professional development expenses for American history teachers in elementary, middle and high schools. Educators hope to get an extension of the grant for a total of $1.6 million over five years.

Starting in the fall, Georgia State will offer DeKalb County teachers an opportunity to take two graduate level courses at Georgia State, one in history and one in education.

Teachers will earn graduate course credit at GSU, continuing education credit with their district and a stipend to help cover their tuition, books and supplies as well as travel to historical sites.
Nearly 30 DeKalb teachers will be eligible for the program each year, for a total of 90 over three years. The program is designed to ensure teachers develop the knowledge and skills necessary to teach traditional American history in an exciting and engaging way.

“Our hope is that they learn more historical content, particularly in the areas their students have demonstrated weakness, so not only the teachers learn more content, the students do too and perform better on the state history test,” said Chara Bohan, associate professor of middle-secondary education in GSU’s College of Education.

The courses at GSU will be challenging, graduate-level courses designed to meet the specific needs of Dekalb County teachers and students. They will emphasize educational pedagogy and the American history framework established by the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

The subject matter will extend over broad chronological periods in the nation’s history and also target specific areas where DeKalb County students need to improve, such as understanding economic and industrial history, said Michelle Brattain, associate chair of the GSU History Department.

“I think this program is very, very important both for GSU and for our community,” Brattain said. “The Teaching American History grant will now allow us to extend our commitment to middle and secondary education in Georgia to a new constituency and build collaborative relationships with Dekalb County and area teachers.”

Georgia State’s Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology in the College of Education and the History Department in the College of Arts and Sciences collaborate to prepare both undergraduate and graduate students to be middle and secondary social studies teachers.

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UGA has Largest Student Body in History with Fall Enrollment of 34,180

Spurred by growth at two of its extended campuses, the University of Georgia has its largest student body in history this fall with an enrollment of 34,180—the first time ever that enrollment has topped 34,000.

The fall semester enrollment is 349 students (one percent) above last fall and 221 more than the previous record of 33,959 set in 2006.

The total includes 33,078 students on UGA’s main campus in Athens, up one percent from last year, and 938 students at the university’s extended campuses in Gwinnett County, Tifton, Griffin and Buckhead in Atlanta—a 6.2 percent increase from last fall. An additional 164 students are enrolled in independent study.

On the main campus in Athens, undergraduate enrollment totals 25,201, up by 207 over last year, and graduate enrollment increased by 110 students to a total of 6,324. Enrollment in the professional schools of law, pharmacy and veterinary medicine increased by four students to a total of 1,553.

The biggest increases at the extended campuses are at Buckhead, where 271 students are enrolled, and Griffin, where 106 students are enrolled. The Buckhead campus is mainly for working professionals and enrolls only students studying for master’s degrees in business administration. This is the first enrollment report in which Buckhead students are counted separately; in previous reports, they were counted as enrolled either in Athens or at the Gwinnett campus.

The Griffin campus has 60 undergraduates, compared to 40 last year, and 46 graduate students compared to 17 last year. The Tifton campus has a total of 48 undergraduate and graduate students, exactly the same as last year.

The Gwinnett campus has 513 students of whom 510 are enrolled in graduate courses. UGA offers only graduate courses at Gwinnett after phasing out undergraduate courses when Georgia Gwinnett College opened. Eliminating undergraduate programs was the primary factor in a 34 percent drop in total enrollment at the campus. Three undergraduates still are coded for enrollment purposes as enrolled at Gwinnett but are attending classes in Athens.

Robert Boehmer, associate provost for institutional effectiveness, said the extended campuses are a crucial factor in UGA’s efforts to promote economic growth in Georgia.

“In response to the state’s growing needs for workforce development and access to higher education, UGA has dramatically expanded its degree programs in Buckhead, Griffin, Gwinnett and Tifton,” Boehmer said.

“This effort will continue as UGA seeks to identify and implement additional degree programs uniquely suited to the needs of these key locations. UGA’s strong commitment to serving the needs of the entire state is well demonstrated by these efforts.”

Of the total 34,180 enrollment, 7,928 students had never attended UGA before including 4,376 first-time freshmen who enrolled this fall. Combined with 377 first-time freshmen who enrolled this summer, the total count of first-time freshmen for summer and fall is 4,753, an increase of 149 from last year.

Of the first-time freshmen who enrolled this fall, 295 had earned enough academic credit through joint-enrollment or advanced placement programs to be classified as sophomores, and 16 had enough credit to be classified as juniors.

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