When a group of Georgia’s colleges reconvene this fall, they will do so with more out-of-state students paying in-state prices, thanks to an initiative aimed at boosting enrollment at some lagging institutions.
The plan, in place since the fall of 2015, means less tuition coming in, in exchange for an infusion of students to staunch enrollment declines at 11 schools in the state’s University System. Even though the initiative has attracted border state students to the participating colleges during its first year, enrollment at about half of them continued to show declines from the previous year.
The loss of students led to layoffs at two Georgia colleges this year, which both received about $2 million less than the previous year in state funding and tuition.
The 11 participating institutions are scattered mainly across south Georgia, some near state borders such as Bainbridge State College near Alabama, and Valdosta State University near Florida.
Officials with the state’s University System say it’s too early to fully measure the impact of the initiative, but initial signs from fall 2015 suggest that the out-of-state waivers helped prevent some enrollment decline. Gains will be better measured using enrollment figures for the upcoming school year, which are not yet compiled. Classes begin this month for most of Georgia’s colleges.
For some schools, there are already reports that the initiative may not be enough to stem the tide of enrollment slumps.
University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby has described the state’s system of 29 public colleges and universities as two systems: those thriving and posting yearly enrollment gains, and those where student attendance numbers have continued to slide year after year, mostly at south Georgia schools.
Georgia’s colleges and universities are funded based on the number of students enrolled and the number of credits that those students take. Fewer students means less money for a school.
The waiver means thousands of dollars in savings for the out-of-state students. For some schools, such as Fort Valley and Savannah State universities, the difference amounts to more than $6,400 per semester.
Thus far, results are mixed. Of the 11 schools included in the program, six reported enrollment drops from fall 2014 to fall 2015; the other five schools reported gains. University officials are hopeful it will pick up steam.
“We’re excited about the wavier program, but we got permission to promote it in April (2015), which was late in the recruiting and decision process for us and most students,” so the school didn’t expect it to yield many results the first year, said John Cornell, spokesman for the College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswick.
Coastal Georgia had nine new freshmen from Florida enroll last fall, double its Florida enrollment the previous year. Those numbers are expected to increase this year.
Coastal Georgia posted the highest enrollment gain, 4.1 percent, between fall 2014 and 2015. And the school’s enrollment is expected to increase this fall by as much or more than last fall, Cornell said.
Valdosta State University, which has seen its enrollment drop for the past five years — including a 2.3 percent decline in fall 2015 — saw an uptick in applications and is expecting an increase in its freshman class enrollment this fall.
The outlook is bleaker further west at Albany State University and Darton State College.
The institutions, which are being merged, announced employee layoffs this week due to years of enrollment declines that led to reductions in the schools’ budgets.
From 2011 to 2015, enrollment dropped 25 percent at Albany State and 10 percent at Darton State. Enrollment is expected to decline again this fall, Richard Carvajal, Darton State’s interim president said.
The declines mean cuts in state funding of more than $980,000 this year for Albany State and almost $852,000 for Darton State. Fewer students also mean there will be an expected $1.5 million tuition loss at Albany State and $2 million at Darton State.
The University System is expected to release enrollment figures for all schools in the system over the next few months.
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