University of West Georgia 2024

The University of West Georgia, a charter member of the University System of Georgia, is a comprehensive, residential institution providing selectively focused undergraduate and graduate education primarily in the West Georgia region. The University is also committed to regional outreach through a collaborative network of external degree centers, course offerings at off-campus sites, and an extensive continuing education program for personal and professional development. Intellectual and personal development opportunities provide quality teaching, scholarly inquiry, creative endeavor, and service for the public good.

The University of West Georgia has 106 active programs of study, including six certificates of less than one year, two Nexus, 46 at the bachelor’s level, 31 at the master’s and specialist levels, five at the doctoral level, and 16 at the advanced certificate level (Fall 2023).  The university conferred 3,175 degrees and awards in fiscal year 2023. This is a 4.2% increase over the number awarded in fiscal year 2022 (3,048) and a 48.6% increase over the number awarded in fiscal year 2012 (2,136), the baseline year for the Complete College Georgia initiative.

There were 12,769 students enrolled in Fall 2023: 8,454 at the undergraduate level and 4,315 at the graduate level. Overall enrollment at UWG has grown 11.03% since the Fall 2009 semester. UWG has a diverse student population: 54.04% Caucasian, 29.52% African American/Black American, 7.64% Hispanic, 4.08% two or more races, 1.30% Asian, 1.96% did not declare any race, 0.18% American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 0.08% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. (1.21% U.S. non-resident – formerly “non-resident alien”).  The student body is 69.3% female and 30.7% male (Fall Semester 2023).

Ninety-four (94.04%) percent of the student body was from Georgia and represented 158 counties. Carroll, Coweta, Douglas, Cobb, and Fulton were the counties with the largest student populations at UWG. There were 589 out-of-state students representing 32 of the 49 remaining states (plus Puerto Rico.) Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee were the top states sending students to UWG. Additionally, there were 172 students from 45 countries. Nigeria, India, South Korea, and Mexico were the countries sending the largest number of students to UWG.*

The University of West Georgia has long been committed to providing students with access to college in the western region of the state and students from across the state of Georgia and the nation. Student success is at the center of UWG’s 2021 Strategic Plan, which advances UWG’s Momentum work by prioritizing essential elements in developing student success: a growth mindset focused on a stronger sense of purpose and belonging through engaged mentoring and extra-curricular involvement; experiential / applied learning through High Impact Practices (HIPs) and co-curricular experiences that are connected to students’ future personal aspiration and professional goals; and stronger alignment and coordination of student support–inside and outside of the classroom–to strengthen recruitment, retention, and graduation. The strategic plan is also aligned with UWG’s proposed Quality Enhancement Plan (Career Readiness through Experiential Learning), which will begin implementation in 2025.  Through the strategic planning process, the university has identified and is now implementing high-impact strategies aligned to USG Momentum to help students successfully obtain a degree. In the following report, we describe these student success strategies.

Current USG Sector & Peer Institutions
The University System of Georgia (USG) Research and Policy Analysis (RPA), in cooperation with the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), devised the methodology and established parameters for clustering IPEDS data for the selection of comparator Peer Institutions for all
USG institutions. As a result of this process, UWG identified fifteen (15) peer institutions, as required. The UWG Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) team further refined the initial list of institutions.

The selections were reviewed and approved by the UWG President, Research and Policy Analysis at the University System of Georgia (USG) Office and subsequently approved by the USG Board of Regents. An updated list of UWG peer and aspirant institutions appears in alphabetical order below. The institutions benchmarked select Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as UWG works to achieve the goals set forth in its strategic plan.

* Geographic counts are by Sate of Origin and Country of Origin (if not USA) in each student's banner record.  This origin information may differ from their current residence, mailing address, or any other location information.