Institutions with largest enrollment declines
School, fall 2013 enrollment, fall 2012 enrollment, % change
South Georgia State College, 2,579; 3,059; -15.7%
Fort Valley State University, 3,180; 3,568; -10.9%
Georgia Perimeter College, 21,123; 23,619; -10.6%
Middle Georgia State College, 7,989; 8,884; -10.1%
Bainbridge State College, 2,699; 2,939; -8.2%
Institutions with largest enrollment gains
School, fall 2013 enrollment; fall 2012 enrollment; % change
Southern Polytechnic State University, 6,549; 6,202; 5.6%
Atlanta Metropolitan State College, 3,016; 2,871; 5.1%
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, 3,394; 3,233; 5.0%
Savannah State University, 4,772; 4,582; 4.1 %
Georgia Gwinnett College, 9,719; 9,397; 3.4%
Source: University System of Georgia
*Enrollment figures for all institutions in the University System of Georgia are available at myajc.com.
An economy that sent more people to the workforce instead of the classroom, tougher requirements for financial aid, and a higher bar for admissions are among the factors that contributed to a drop in enrollment at the state’s public colleges and universities for the second year in a row.
The overall decrease reduced the system wide enrollment about 1.6 percent from around 314,000 students last fall to about 309,000 for the same time this year, according to figures released last month by the University System of Georgia. Enrollment is down almost three percent from the all-time of high of 318,000 in 2011.
The declines have left some schools desperate for dollars and pulling out all the stops to attract students. In Georgia’s university system, because funding is tied to students and the credit hours they take, the decrease of almost 5,000 students meant about $20 million less that the system’s board could request in state funds. The university system receives about $1.88 billion in state funds this fiscal year.
And institution officials have begun peppering their conversations with the realities of a “new normal” in higher education. The university system is facing that reality by reexamining its programs, cuttings costs where possible and merging some of its institutions. Eight schools have already been merged into four new ones, another merger is in the works, and there could be additional school consolidations to come.
The decreases come after years of enrollment increases across the state, including fall 2011 when the system hit a record 318,000 students enrolled at its higher education institutions.
The trends seen by Georgia institutions mirror those seen nationally, said Joe Marks, education data services director for the Southern Regional Education Board.
A mixture of fewer high school graduates, along with the other issues cited by the university system, all played a role, he said.
College enrollment in fall 2012 plunged by half a million students from one year earlier, according to census statistics released this fall. Like Georgia, the national decline — which included both graduate and undergraduate enrollment — followed a period of substantial growth — 3.2 million students — between 2006 and 2011.
A closer look at the university system numbers show that 13 of the system’s 31 institutions saw some sort of enrollment increase. Georgia State University, for example, saw a slight increase of 78 students to its fall 2012 population of 32,087. And the University of Georgia, the system’s largest institution, increased by 18 students to 34,536.
But the majority, 18, schools — including some of the largest institutions like Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern University — lost students.
Reasons for the decline varied depending on the institution.
At Georgia Perimeter College — which saw more than a 10 percent enrollment decline — the system’s new remedial policy and fallout from lingering troubles affected the numbers. The decline led to the school dropping a spot to fourth among the state’s largest public colleges, with 21,123 students.
Last year, the school went through a very public financial crisis that led to its vaunted president resigning, sanctions from an accrediting agency and about 300 layoffs accounting for almost 9 percent of its employees. Its marketing budget last year was slashed, leaving few resources for recruitment efforts.
The decline in enrollment was also affected by rising standards for freshmen, first introduced in 2012. A stricter policy cut admission for those students needing remedial help in all three areas of reading, English and math. Students who need this much remedial help are less likely to graduate, and also are expensive to educate, the system found.
“So those students who would have gotten in here can’t get in anymore,” said Rob Watts, Georgia Perimeter’s interim president.
In Middle Georgia, at Fort Valley State University, some of the enrollment declines were tied to student finances. The historically black college’s enrollment dropped almost 11 percent, a loss of 388 students, to a population of 3,180.
Cuts in federal student aid left Fort Valley with students who couldn’t afford to make up the difference, said Lynn McCraney, vice president for student success and and enrollment management at the university.
Several HBCUs were hurt by stricter guidelines for federal PLUS loans, which cover education expenses after other financial aid. And eligibility for federal Pell Grants, awarded to low-income students, was cut from 18 semesters to 12 semesters.
At Fort Valley, the administration stepped in where it could for dozens of students who needed small amounts — from $32 to about $2,000 — to get by, McCraney said.
“They were not going to be able to enroll here and they had tapped all of their resources,” she said. Those kind of support services are especially important, she said, when working with students, especially first-generation college students, like many of those at the school.
To improve enrollment numbers, the school has had to rethink its student outreach and consolidate recruitment, scholarship and retention plans to attract new students — and keep the ones they have.
Those types of initiatives have worked well for some university system schools fortunate to see enrollment gains.
At Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, for example, state data shows the school seems to have found the right mix of creativity and positive outcomes. Over the past year, SPSU’s enrollment increased more than five percent by 347 students to a population of 6,549.
School administrators, headed by President Lisa Rossbacher, began a concerted effort about six years ago to increase enrollment. The school expanded its academic programs, added more student housing and increased its marketing and recruiting efforts.
SPSU’s enrollment jump comes as the science and technology school is set to be merged with the larger Kennesaw State University — which saw a slight increase — and loses its name and president. To ensure the numbers remain high after the merger, the emphasis has to be on the programs, Rossbacher said.
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