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Gordon
enrollment continues to rise
“Three thousand in 2000” was the slogan for Gordon College’s
Admissions Office, in terms of enrollment this fall, and it’s a goal
the college is fast approaching.
“I expect our enrollment to be 3,000 students, and once again, be
among the highest in the university system,” said Gordon College
President Dr. Jerry M. Williamson. “This is the highest enrollment
in our history and is the fifth straight year we have exceeded our projections
of a 5-percent enrollment increase.”
This year’s enrollment is impressive, considering that the college
grew 11.4 percent last year with 2,758 students enrolled. Over the past
three years, enrollment has increased more than 20 percent at Gordon,
making it one of the fastest growing colleges among the 34 schools in
the University System of Georgia.
One factor for the enrollment strides can be attributed to the increase
in the number of students attending from the south metro Atlanta area,
including Fayette County. Although Spalding County remains the college’s
largest service area, Henry, Fayette and Clayton counties now rank in
the top five for the number of residents who attend the college.
“We are attracting a larger and larger number of students from the
south metro area,” said Dr. Katrina Tobin, director of enrollment
services. “This fall, we expanded the number of classes at our south
metro off-campus locations and received a wonderful response.”
In addition to Gordon enjoying a record enrollment, the college also welcomed
a record number of students living on campus. The college has over 600
residents living in the residence halls, and Williamson says, the college
could have housed even more residence hall students.
“For the second straight year, we had to turn students away from
the residence halls because of space limitations,” Williamson said.
“We probably turned away enough students to fill another dorm.”
Williamson has served as Gordon’s president for 28 years. He said
the college has attracted many students by offering them Foundation Scholarships
provided through private funding, in addition to the state’s HOPE
scholarship. Approximately 50 percent of Gordon students earned the HOPE
scholarship last fall.
“We made a concerted effort to attract HOPE scholars,” Williamson
said. “Typically, HOPE scholars meet all the criteria for a Foundation
scholarship and are the type of students we want here at Gordon.”
At Gordon, HOPE scholars can use a Foundation Scholarship in addition
to the HOPE scholarship to pay for their college expenses. Students can
use the HOPE for tuition and books, then use a Foundation Scholarship
for resident housing or commuting cost.
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