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Georgia Gwinnett College officials reported a 14% increase in its summer enrollment—its highest summer enrollment increase in the college’s 15-year history.

“In times of economic trouble, people turn to higher education as a path to a brighter future,” said Dr. Jann Joseph, GGC’s president. “And with GGC’s affordability, quality of instruction and a convenient location to such a large population, we know that many people will turn to us.” 

Michael Poll, GGC’s vice president, Enrollment Management Services believes the college’s retention initiatives contributed to the spike.

“GGC implemented retention initiatives in fall 2019 based on University System of Georgia (USG) data on student retention and success,” he said. 

Studies suggest students who complete at least 15 credits per semester are more likely to retain and graduate. Moreover, Poll explained that students who choose a major as they enter college are far more likely to retain than those who enter college with undeclared majors. 

“We ensure every single freshman has a major or program choice,” Poll added.

The two retention efforts are associated with the Momentum Year approach, a USG initiative that provides data-based strategies to improve student success. The initiative focuses on students in their first year of college, which is said to be a crucial time in their college experience. 

Although the fall semester is a few months away, Poll said fall enrollment looks strong and applications are still being accepted. GGC’s free application week is June 10-17.

“While it’s always a challenge to predict, particularly with all that’s going on in the world, we do feel good about the numbers,” Poll said.