UWG News

Fall Enrollment Report

November 17, 2005

CARROLLTON, GA - Final 2005 enrollment and student profile data is in for the University of West Georgia and average SAT scores are up for first-time, fulltime freshmen.

UWG’s average SAT score is up from 1005 in 2004 to 1021 in 2005. The average score for students in Georgia is 992. This increase comes as no surprise, states Dr. Scot Lingrell, associate vice president for enrollment management at UWG.

“When we increased admissions standards in May 2004, we expected scores to rise,” Lingrell noted. “We think that our efforts to match students with the academic experience provided at UWG will also contribute to high levels of student satisfaction and success.”

The increase in admissions standards is what college officials believe contributed to a slight decrease in enrollment. Enrollment at UWG for Fall 2005 is 10,154, down 62 students from Fall 2004. However, the number of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) students is approximately 8,908 students, marginally up by nine students from last year.

According to Dr. Melanie McClellan, vice president for Student Services, a 10 percent increase in freshman applications from the Fall 2003 class reflects a greater interest in UWG.

“UWG has become an increasingly competitive institution in the last few years,” McClellan said. “After an extensive analysis of the success rates of our students, increased admissions standards were fully in effect for this fall. As a result, we accepted 55 percent of applicants, as compared to 61 percent the previous year.”

Enrollment for the University System of Georgia (USG) grew by almost 3,000 students from fall 2004 to fall 2005 to a total enrollment of 253,552.

The USG Board of Regents launched a year-long push to enhance the success of students as they progress toward graduation and Dr. Beheruz N. Sethna, UWG president, is proud that the UWG had already put new standards in place which will lead to higher retention and graduation rates.

“An increase in admission standards helps pave the way for all enrolled students to be ready for the college academic experience and to successfully culminate that experience with graduation,” he stated. “Georgians are recognizing that West Georgia is a great place for students with academic talent and high expectations.”

Gene Winters, UWG alumnus and Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer of Regency Hospital Company, recently served as the Executive-in-Residence for the Richards College of Business (RCOB) and was extremely impressed with the caliber of students he encountered while on campus.

“When I was asked to speak before a group of business classes, I thought it would be more of a sermon than discourse. I was very surprised by the students’ level of business acumen and their desire to learn more, even going into some fairly esoteric financing constructs,” he noted.

“The students I met were incredibly well-versed when it came to their level of understanding of the basic tenets of business. I could tell that the average business student was operating at a higher level of sophistication than when I attended West Georgia,” Winters stated.

“I believe this is a testament to the faculty of the RCOB as well as the tougher admissions standards."

Fall 2005 enrollment includes1,808 graduate students and 8,346 undergraduates. Females account for 62.8 percent of the total while males represent 37.2 percent. Minority enrollment totals 2,873 which includes Black American, American Indian or Alaskan native, Asian or Pacific Islander, Hispanic and multiracial. There are 130 international students on campus this fall.

In addition to Georgia, 37 states are represented by 272 out-of-state students. The counties in Georgia with more than 100 students enrolled at UWG include Carroll with 1,384; Coweta with 882; Douglas with 871; Cobb with 773; Fulton with 609; Gwinnett with 592; Paulding with 398; Dekalb with 586; Fayette with 582; Clayton with 298; Haralson with 259; Floyd with 182; Henry with 181; Cherokee with 136; Polk with 123; Ben Hill with 120; Heard with 108; and Troup with 103.

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