USG Fast Facts
Ready-to-use facts related to and regarding public higher education, the University System of Georgia and its institutions. View the full USG Fact Sheet
- System Facts
- USG Institution Facts
- ARCHE Poll 2009
- Budget Reductions
- Budget Information
- Economic Development (ICAPP)
- USG Progress and Cost
- PPV
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 to the Board, who each serve seven years. Today the Board of Regents is composed of 18 members, five of whom are appointed from the state-at-large, and one from each of the 13 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 35 colleges and universities that comprise the University System of Georgia, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and The Georgia Public Library System. These institutions enroll approximately 318,000 students and employ approximately 41,680 faculty and staff members to provide teaching and related services to students and the communities in which they are located.
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 35 higher education institutions including 4 research universities, 2 regional universities, 13 comprehensive universities, 14 state colleges, 2 two-year 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.
University System of Georgia 75th Anniversary
Degrees, Majors and Rankings
System institutions conferred a total of 54,855 degrees in Fiscal Year 2011 consisting of 32,397 bachelor’s, 10,644 master’s and 1,346 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 a record of approximately 318,027 students for the Fall of 2011.
Higher Education
For recent University System of Georgia graduates, a college degree is worth an average of $21,000 a year more than a high-school graduate can expect to make. Over the course of a working career, the average graduate of a public college or university in Georgia can expect to earn nearly $1 million more than a high-school-educated neighbor.
Funding, Budget and Economic Impact
The University System employs 41,680 faculty and staff.
A recent ICAPP economic impact study, conducted by UGA’s Selig Center for Economic Growth, revealed that in Fiscal Year 2009 Georgia’s public colleges and universities generated 130,738 full- and part-time jobs – 3.4 percent of all the jobs in the state and infused $12.6 billion into Georgia’s economy.
ICAPP’s workforce development projects have resulted in more than 5,000 additional graduates in industries with critical workforce shortages.
ICAPP brings USG resources to Georgia’s economic development team, playing a key role in major relocations to Georgia in recent years including NCR headquarters, GE Energy Smart Grid Technology Center of Excellence, and ThyssenKrupp’s IT headquarters.
More than 2,300 Georgians have become licensed health professionals (registered nurses, pharmacists, medical technologists, imaging professionals and more) through the first four phases of the ICAPP Health Professionals Initiative. In Phase 5, 10 registered nurses are on track to become Master of Science in Nursing-prepared nursing faculty by June 2012, in a project that addresses a major obstacle to educating more nurses—the shortage of nursing faculty.
The University System’s total annual budget from all fund sources, state appropriations, tuition, fees, grants and contracts and other sources, is $6.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2011 and also in Fiscal Year 2012.
The System’s budget as a percentage of the total state budget is 9.6 percent in FY2012 or $1.7 billion.
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
Phone: 404-656-2250
USG Institution Facts
ARCHE Poll 2009
Budget Reductions
Economic Development (ICAPP)
The Office of Economic Development directs the economic development programs of the University System of Georgia. These include: ICAPP, Georgia LEADS, and GeorgiaHIRE.
USG Progress and Cost
PPV
Performance. Partnerships. Value. - The USG connects people to extraordinary opportunity and enhances the common good in uncommon ways. We do so committed to broad access and high quality. We do so by continually evolving to meet the needs of students for today and society’s expectations for tomorrow. We are your bridge from hope to success.
Partnerships: Armstrong Atlantic Partnering for Latino Student Success
Performance: Gordon College Nursing Grads Achieve 100 Percent Pass Rate
Value: Gainesville State College Counseling and Career Center Provides Job Board Access to Community