VALDOSTA -- Interim President Louis H. Levy announced that Valdosta State University’s official fall enrollment is 13,089 students (10,728 undergraduate and 2,361 graduate students).

“Valdosta State’s enrollment profile remains strong and appropriate for a dynamic regional university,” Levy said. “In order to capture emerging patterns of growth in enrollment, we are constantly monitoring our new students, as well as the progression of current students.”

Students this semester represent 157 Georgia counties, all 50 states, and Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Washington, D.C. Within Georgia, Lowndes, Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb and DeKalb counties account for the most students.

Graduate enrollment experienced a 12 percent increase from fall 2010; and a 14 percent increase in the past three years.
“More and more graduate students need flexible course delivery, this is a growing trend across Georgia and nationally,” said Provost Phil Gunter. “We are also seeing an increase in the number of graduate students enrolling in our online programs from other states.”

According to VSU’s office of Strategic Research and Analysis, enrollment in fully online graduate programs accounts for approximately 45 percent of the total graduate enrollment; and 14 percent of current graduate students are from out of state.

Within the online graduate programs, Valdosta State has had a 38.6 percent increase in enrollment during the past three years. This semester, 511 VSU students are taking classes through the Georgia ONmyLINE (GOML) academic franchise program--a 21 percent increase from last year.

“As a regional university, the growth in Valdosta State’s graduate programs helps improve the overall professional integrity of this region,” Gunter said. “Professionals working in social agencies, public administration and education are able to obtain graduate degrees, while they continue to work. This produces a highly educated workforce for our community.”

Gunter added that VSU has begun offering more doctoral programs in the areas of education and public administration. This semester, 353 students are working towards one of VSU’s four doctoral programs, an increase of 41 percent.

With a strong global presence, VSU welcomed 327 international students, from 76 countries--an increase of 11 percent from fall 2010. The three countries with the highest student enrollment include South Korea, India and Germany.

According to International Programs Director Ivan Nikolov, the increase in students from South Korea is the result of a new agreement with Dongguk University. During the first year, students remain at Dongguk University and become more proficient in the English language before transferring to Valdosta State to finish their degrees.

For more information on VSU’s fall enrollment, visit the Strategic Research and Analysis website at http://www.valdosta.edu/sra/.

The USG Fall 2011 Enrollment Report is available on the web at:
http://www.usg.edu/research/students/enroll/fy2012/fall_ser_2011.pdf

University System Fall Enrollment Hits a Record of 318,027 Students: http://www.usg.edu/news/release/university_system_fall_enrollment_hits_a_record_of_318027_students/