Enrollment Expectations
Georgia Gwinnett College opened in fall 2006 and has grown rapidly since.
Year … Enrollment
2006 … 118
2007 … 788
2008 … 1,563
2009 … 2,947
2010 … 5,380
2011 … 7,742
2012 … 9,397
Source: University System of Georgia.
Start-up funding
Georgia Gwinnett College has received extra money from the Legislature since it opened to help with start-up costs. Part of the money was used to hire faculty and staff.
Fiscal Year … Special funding
2007 … $1 million
2008 … $11 million
2009 … $17.6 million
2010 … $17.6 million
2011 … $18.2 million
2012 … $19.9 million
2013* … $13.8 million
2014* … $11.5 million
Source: University System of Georgia
NOTE: 2013 and 2014 figures are based on Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposals and could change as the Legislature debates the budget.
Georgia Gwinnett College may furlough faculty and staff for eight days as it absorbs another round of cuts in state funding.
Like other schools in the University System of Georgia, the college faces a nearly 5 percent reduction in state money because of the struggling economy. That cut equals about $1.4 million.
On top of that, the college stands to lose as much as $2.7 million in the special funding it receives as a new school. The cut reflects that the college’s rate of growth has slowed down, state budget leaders said.
President Daniel Kaufman said the college planned for the first cut but was surprised when the second one appeared in Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposal for the amended 2013 fiscal year budget.
“A cut of this size will be felt by everyone at the college,” Kaufman said.
Negotiations are under way to reduce the second cut, but it is expected to remain sizable as nearly all state agencies are grappling with tight budgets. Adding to Kaufman’s stress is that the college will have about four months to make the cuts before the fiscal year ends June 30.
The college is considering scaling back library hours to reduce staff costs, cutting the money spent on recruiting students and other options, Kaufman said.
It won’t be able to cut the extra $2.7 million “without furloughs,” Kaufman said, adding college leaders are considering “at least eight days.”
The furloughs would save about $1.3 million, John Brown, the system’s vice chancellor for fiscal affairs, told lawmakers during meetings on the budget.
Some lawmakers sympathized but told Brown money is tight.
“I think there is some interest in doing something to alleviate the situation, but that means you’ve got to find the money somewhere,” said Rep. Earl Ehrhart, a Republican from Powder Springs and chairman of the House Higher Education Committee’s budget subcommittee. “Where are the dollars?”
The new cuts come from special funding initiatives the college has received since it started in 2006. The money is in addition to what Georgia Gwinnett receives for enrollment and has allowed the college to hire faculty and staff and meet other startup expenses.
The college has received more than $85 million in the extra funds. If Deal’s cut is implemented, the college would still get $13.8 million in the special funds this year.
The recommended cut reflected a drop in the college's rate of enrollment growth, according to Deal's budget. While enrollment increased by more than 500 percent one year, it grew by 21 percent this year. Georgia Gwinnett opened with 118 students and now teaches about 9,400.
Brown agreed it may be time to discuss tapering off the special funding for the college, but the system hoped that would begin with the 2014 fiscal year so there would be time to adjust.
Student leaders on campus said the budget uncertainty put them in “limbo.” One of the college’s strongest selling points is student access to faculty, and furlough days jeopardize that, said Seijin Tranberg, president of the college’s student government association.
“It seems like everything is already stretched pretty thin,” said Tranberg, a senior. “I think it will be hard to guarantee that other students will have the same experience and the same access to faculty.”
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