South Georgia State College (SGSC) President Dr. Ingrid Thompson-Sellers recently announced that SGSC led University System of Georgia (USG) institutions with the largest percentage growth in enrollment for the summer 2017 semester.
According to a USG report released earlier this month, SGSC’s summer enrollment was 12.8 percent higher than 2016’s summer enrollment numbers. SGSC was followed by the College of Coastal Georgia, Georgia Tech, the University of North Georgia and Georgia Southwestern State University to round out the top five institutions that experienced the largest percentage growth.
“Our positive growth is the result of a successful marketing effort we launched earlier this year, which included traditional marketing efforts, conversations with community partners and families and an enhanced enrollment experience for students through improved processing,” said Thompson-Sellers.
Thompson-Sellers said the new marketing approach requires SGSC to make sound decisions based on data-driven evidence. She said the college has realized an increase in new student applications for the fall 2017 semester as well as an increase in students who demonstrate the need for financial assistance.
The data further shows an increase in the number of high school students enrolled in SGSC’s Dual Enrollment program, which is designed to assist students with attaining college credit while still in high school. There was also an increase in the number of non-traditional students taking online courses.
Thompson-Sellers said SGSC has all of the ingredients in place to build on the summer enrollment success and to keep the enrollment needle moving in a positive direction.
“Our work is really beginning to bear fruit,” she said. “We recognize the need to simplify and improve the operations that impact our students during the admissions and financial aid process and to strengthen our resources and partnerships. These efforts are vital to accomplishing our overall goal of successfully educating, graduating, and encouraging our students to continue their journey as productive members of our community. I am proud to lead SGSC in these endeavors.”