The University of Georgia continues to invest in additional key student success efforts on enhancing academic support and cultivating an active, engaging learning environment that equips students for success at UGA and beyond. Additional ongoing initiatives include:
• Active Learning Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP): UGA’s Active Learning QEP aims to transform undergraduate teaching and learning through instructor development, student preparation, and classroom redesign.
• Innovative Learning Spaces: The Willis Center for Writing, the Presentation Collaboratory, and the Makerspace in the Miller Learning Center’s Creative Engagement Wing expand access to active learning environments and creative technologies.
• Georgia Commitment Scholarships (GCS): The GCS program provides need-based aid and support resources to undergraduates (renewable up to 8 semesters). The program has grown from 94 recipients in 2017-18 to 756 in 2024-25.
• ALL Georgia Program: UGA continues to provide a network or resources, common experiences, and a student scholars program for rural students.
These efforts reflect UGA’s sustained commitment to a student-centered learning environment that promotes engagement, persistence, and achievement across all levels of study
Observations and Next Steps
The University of Georgia has built a vibrant, world-class learning environment, supported by innovations such as the Active Learning QEP, the Experiential Learning requirement, and other strategic initiatives that deepen engagement and prepare students for success beyond graduation.
Looking ahead, the University of Georgia is advancing plans to broaden its academic portfolio through the creation of two new schools: the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing. The School of Medicine received candidate status from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) in February 2025, with a decision on preliminary accreditation anticipated in February 2026. If granted, the School of Medicine will begin recruiting its inaugural class of medical students, followed by the launch of the School of Nursing, expected to enroll students as early as fall 2027. Together, these initiatives will strengthen Georgia’s healthcare workforce pipeline and enhance access to high-quality care across both rural and urban communities.
Fall 2025 enrollment reflects early results aligned with the priorities of UGA’s 2024–2028 Strategic Enrollment Plan, which focuses on sustaining a strong, balanced, and diverse student body while expanding academic capacity and improving student outcomes. Key initiatives include maintaining the size, residency balance, and academic quality of the first-year cohort through new housing, dining, and parking facilities and enhanced geographic representation. We are also placing a greater emphasis on the use of data to increase student retention and persistence, developing key dashboards to inform decisions and guide targeted investments. These insights help identify and address barriers to student success, particularly for first-generation and transfer students.
The university aims to grow transfer enrollment to one transfer per two first-year students by tightening admission standards, expanding Georgia-based pathways, and improving advising resources. Graduate enrollment will increase through support for new online programs and a venture fund to develop high-demand offerings. To match enrollment growth, UGA will add 115 new tenure-track faculty to maintain our 17-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio. Finally, through continuation of the initiatives described in the preceding sections, UGA seeks to improve economic and social mobility by reducing student debt, removing barriers to timely graduation, and expanding graduate pathways that boost career earnings.
Through these Momentum-CCG goals and more, UGA is translating record performance into scalable systems that improve both access and student success outcomes. Investments in experiential learning, transfer pathways, peer learning, and academic coaching position UGA to sustain excellence in student success in the years ahead.
