Following record high enrollment in summer courses, the University of North Georgia is "on track" for the upcoming fall semester, according to Jim Conneely, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at UNG.
Conneely said that university officials cannot rely on their usual predictors to determine enrollment for the upcoming semester.
“We’re going based on what we’re trying to anticipate looking at our trends,” Conneely said. “But recognizing that some of the metrics we’ve used in the past are probably not as equitable this fall because of COVID.”
Fall classes will begin Aug. 17 and will be a combination of in-person and online.
This year, enrollment in summer courses increased by 9%. Because of COVID-19, more classes were offered online than in previous years. The state of the economy also played a part in the growth.
“With some of the challenges in the economy, there were fewer summer employment opportunities because of COVID,” Conneely said. “People have a little bit more additional time to take classes this summer.”
While the spike this summer may be partially attributed to COVID-19, the numbers have been increasing for years. From 2015 to 2020, there was a 30% increase in summer enrollment, which Conneely said is because of access to federal financial aid as well as student advisement to help students stay on track to complete their degrees on time.
