UNG enrollment edges toward 20,000

With a record 19,748 students this fall, the University of North Georgia’s (UNG) enrollment is approaching 20,000 students. This year’s enrollment represents a 0.1% increase over fall 2018.  Of the total enrollment, 6,560 are new students at all degree levels.

"This year's modest enrollment increase reflects our success in managing growth across our campuses to keep pace with our facilities and resources," UNG President Bonita C. Jacobs said. “We look forward to the completion of academic facility expansion projects already underway in Gainesville and Blue Ridge and those planned in Dahlonega and Cumming.”

With 7,913 students, the Gainesville Campus had the highest enrollment of UNG's five campuses for fall 2019. Enrollment on UNG's other four campuses and online for fall 2019: Blue Ridge-197; Cumming-1,291; Dahlonega-7,296; Oconee-2,504; and online-547. Additionally, UNG’s Corps of Cadets at its Dahlonega Campus has 752 members this fall.

Enrollment numbers were released Nov. 12 in the University System of Georgia (USG) Fall 2019 Semester Enrollment Report, which breaks down enrollment by institution, class, race and ethnicity, in-state, out-of-state and international students, as well as gender and age.

Fall 2019 enrollment in the USG's 26 colleges and universities totaled 333,507 students, an increase of 1.5% over fall 2018. According to the report, enrollment increased at 11 institutions, including UNG, and decreased at 15 institutions.

"Our overall purpose is to raise attainment levels for communities across Georgia, and the students at our 26 institutions are a critical part of that effort," USG Chancellor Steve Wrigley said. "More of them than ever are enrolled on our campuses, and we have also seen a substantial rise in the number of students awarded degrees annually. Getting more Georgians through college to a degree improves not only their quality of life, but also Georgia’s economic competitiveness."

With the expansion of graduate-level programs, graduate enrollment at UNG grew from 681 to 712.  Graduate-level programs are available at UNG’s Cumming, Dahlonega, and Gainesville campuses, as well as online.  This fall 281 students are enrolled in online graduate programs.  

Enrollment in the dual-enrollment program, which allows students to earn college credit while in high school, also increased. For the third year in a row, UNG had the second-highest number of dual-enrolled students within the USG with 1,409.  System-wide the dual-enrollment program grew from 12,394 students in fall 2018 to 12,597 students in fall 2019, a 1.6% increase.

Student diversity also increased overall at UNG from 2018 to 2019. The number of Hispanic students increased from 2,629 to 2,747 to account for 14% of the student population. Additionally, the number of Asian students increased from 672 to 722. The number of African-American students decreased slightly from 842 to 833 while the number of students who self-identified as multi-racial was 633 in fall 2019.