USG Fast Facts

University System of Georgia Facts

The Board of Regents

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia was created in 1931 as a part of a reorganization of Georgia’s state government. With this act, public higher education in Georgia was unified for the first time under a single governing and management authority. The governor appoints members of the Board to a seven year term and regents may be reappointed to subsequent terms by a sitting governor. Regents donate their time and expertise to serve the state through their governance of the University System of Georgia – the position is a voluntary one without financial remuneration. Today the Board of Regents is composed of 19 members, five of whom are appointed from the state-at-large, and one from each of the state’s 14 congressional districts. The Board elects a chancellor who serves as its chief executive officer and the chief administrative officer of the University System. The Board oversees the 31 colleges and universities that comprise the University System of Georgia, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and the Georgia Public Library System.

The System

The University System of Georgia, a part of the community in each of Georgia’s 159 counties, provides services across the state. The University System is composed of 31 higher education institutions including 4 research universities, 2 regional universities, 12 state universities, 13 state colleges and the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. The Georgia Public Library System, encompassing approximately 389 facilities in 61 library systems throughout Georgia, is also part of the University System.

Degrees, Majors and Rankings

System institutions conferred a total of 56,845 degrees in Fiscal Year 2012 consisting of 33,687 bachelor’s, 10,925 master’s and 1,445 doctorate degrees.

The majority of baccalaureate-level degrees in the USG are awarded in the fields of business, education and nursing.

Georgia is one of five states with two or more institutions ranked among the top 25 national public colleges and universities in the 2012 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s college rankings. Georgia Tech is ranked No. 7 on the list and the University of Georgia is one of two universities tied at No. 23.

Enrollment

The University System of Georgia enrolled approximately 314,365 students for the Fall of 2012.

Funding, Budget and Economic Impact

The University System employs 42,623 faculty and staff.

A recent ICAPP economic impact study, conducted by UGA’s Selig Center for Economic Growth, revealed that in Fiscal Year 2011 Georgia’s public colleges and universities generated 132,000 full- and part-time jobs – more than 3 percent of all the nonfarm jobs that exist in the state and infused $13.2 billion into Georgia’s economy.

The University System’s total annual budget from all fund sources, state appropriations, tuition, fees, grants and contracts and other sources, is approximately $7.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2014.

The System’s budget as a percentage of the total state budget is just under 9.5 percent.

The System owns over 3,200 buildings with 68 million gross square feet, the largest owned inventory of any state agency. Through its Public Private Ventures program, the System has developed 6 million gross square feet of building space, over 40,000 housing beds, and 27,700 structured parking spaces that will be owned by the System upon the retirement of project debt.

Board Officers

Hank M. Huckaby - Chancellor
Burns Newsome - Secretary of the Board
John Brown - Treasurer

Further Information

Board of Regents, Office of Media & Publications
270 Washington Street, S.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Tel.: 404-962-3050