East Georgia State College (EGSC) is an associate degree granting, liberal arts institution providing access to academically transferable programs of study and targeted baccalaureate degrees at low cost to its students. As a unit of the University System of Georgia (USG) within the State College Sector, EGSC extends its access mission from its home campus in Swainsboro to instructional sites on the campuses of Georgia Southern University in Statesboro and Augusta University in Augusta.
At its April 2025, the USG Board of Regents approved Chancellor Sonny Perdue’s recommendation that East Georgia State College and Georgia Southern University be consolidated. A substantive change prospectus detailing the consolidation was submitted to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACSCOC). The prospectus is scheduled to be reviewed and voted on by the SASCOC Board of Trustees at the SACSCOC 2025 annual meeting in December. Both USG institutions are accredited by SACSCOC. Upon approval of the consolidation by the SASCOC Board of Trustees, the consolidation will take effect on January 1, 2026. Following a successful on-site peer review in April 2026, the SASCOC Board of Trustees and the USG Board of Regents will take final actions to complete the consolidation process.
Because of the consolidation process, East Georgia’s presence on the Augusta University campus will end at the conclusion of Spring Semester 2026. A teach-out plan for EGSC Augusta has been approved by SACSCOC.
Presented in Tables 1a and 1b below are the number and percentages of EGSC fall semester students broken down by location and mode of delivery for Fall 2016 through Fall 2025. The declines in fall-to-fall enrollment experienced in recent years have been reversed by a 3.3 percent enrollment increase in Fall Semester 2024 and a 7.7 percent increase for Fall Semester 2025.
Table 1a: Enrollment by Location/Delivery Mode: Fall Semesters 2016-2025
|
Fall Semester |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
High School |
115 |
101 |
96 |
33 |
76 |
100 |
151 |
191 |
208 |
182 |
|
Online Only |
260 |
383 |
443 |
493 |
797 |
680 |
558 |
490 |
509 |
732 |
|
Augusta |
462 |
429 |
386 |
357 |
246 |
236 |
193 |
191 |
175 |
181 |
|
Statesboro |
1,249 |
1,078 |
1,075 |
973 |
634 |
425 |
413 |
370 |
361 |
340 |
|
Swainsboro |
1,066 |
1,012 |
942 |
885 |
662 |
582 |
585 |
526 |
573 |
531 |
|
Total Enrolled |
3,152 |
3,003 |
2,942 |
2,741 |
2,415 |
2,023 |
1,900 |
1,768 |
1,826 |
1,966 |
Table 1b: Percentage of Enrollment by Location/Delivery Mode: Fall Semesters 2016-2025
|
Fall Semester |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
High School |
3.6% |
3.4% |
3.3% |
1.2% |
3.1% |
4.9% |
7.9% |
10.8% |
11.4% |
9.3% |
|
Online Only |
8.2% |
12.8% |
15.1% |
18.0% |
33.0% |
33.6% |
29.4% |
27.7% |
27.9% |
37.2% |
|
Augusta |
14.7% |
14.3% |
13.1% |
13.0% |
10.2% |
11.7% |
10.2% |
10.8% |
9.6% |
9.2% |
|
Statesboro |
39.6% |
35.9% |
36.5% |
35.5% |
26.3% |
21.0% |
21.7% |
20.9% |
19.8% |
17.3% |
|
Swainsboro |
33.8% |
33.7% |
32.0% |
32.3% |
27.4% |
28.8% |
30.8% |
29.8% |
31.4% |
27.0% |
EGSC Academic Program Review
Prior to the consolidation EGSC offered the five associate degrees and one bachelor degree listed below:
- Associate of Arts in Elementary Education
- Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts (formally Associate of Arts, Core Curriculum)
- Associate of Arts in Social Sciences (introduced in Fall Semester 2021)
- Associate of Science in Business Administration
- Associate of Science in Natural Sciences (introduced in Fall Semester 2021)
- Bachelor of Business Administration (introduced in Spring 2025)
In addition, EGSC was approved to offer its students the following eMajor degrees in cooperation with USG eCampus:
- Associate of Science in Financial Technology (begun in Spring Semester 2023)
- Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice (begun in Fall Semester 2023)
- Bachelor of Science Degree in Organizational Leadership (beginning in Spring Semester 2024)
As part of the consolidation, EGSC’s three associate degrees and one bachelor degree with disciplinary distinction will be terminated. The Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership is the only eCampus degree that will be retained by the consolidated Georgia Southern University.
Fall Semester 2025 Student Profile
Throughout the Complete College Georgia initiative (2012 to 2025), EGSC’s four largest demographic cohorts have been African American (Black) Females; African American (Black) Males; White (Non-Hispanic) Females; and White (Non-Hispanic) Males. As indicated in Table 2 below for Fall Semester 2025, EGSC serves higher proportions of Black students and lower proportions of Asian and Hispanic students compared to the USG State College Sector.
Table 2: EGSC/State College Sector Fall 2025 Ethnic Comparisons
|
Ethnic Comparisons |
EGSC |
State College Sector |
||
|
Count |
Percent |
Count |
Percent |
|
|
Asian |
35 |
1.8% |
2,059 |
5.0% |
|
Black |
857 |
43.6% |
10,829 |
26.5% |
|
Hispanic |
165 |
8.4% |
8,612 |
21.1% |
|
Multiracial |
95 |
4.8% |
1,366 |
3.3% |
|
White |
781 |
39.7% |
16,931 |
41.5% |
|
Other |
33 |
1.7% |
1,010 |
2.5% |
Fall Semester 2025 First-Time Freshmen (FTF) Profile
Presented in Table 3 below is a breakdown by percentage of first-time freshmen (FTF) based on course load for Fall Semester 2025. Most first-time freshmen who attend one or more classes at an EGSC location are full-time. In contrast, a smaller majority of FTF taking classes online only are full-time students.
Table 3: Fall 2025 First-Time Freshmen by Course Load
|
FTF Fall 2025 Course Load |
Augusta |
Statesboro |
Swainsboro |
Online Only |
Overall |
|
Full-Time Percentage |
79.8% |
87.6% |
92.6% |
61.1% |
82.6% |
|
Part-Time Percentage |
20.2% |
12.4% |
7.4% |
38.9% |
17.4% |
Presented in Table 4 below is a breakdown by percentage of Fall 2025 first-time freshmen are first generation college students and who receive a Pell Grant.
Table 4: Fall 2025 First-Time Freshmen First Generation and Pell Grant Recipients
|
FTF Fall 2025 First Generation /Pell Recipient |
Augusta |
Statesboro |
Swainsboro |
Online Only |
Overall |
|
First Generation Percentage |
4.8% |
6.5% |
6.2% |
7.6% |
6.4% |
|
Pell Grant Recipient Percentage |
63.5% |
62.9% |
72.4% |
72.2% |
68.4% |
EGSC Comparisons with Peer Colleges
The following analysis is based on the IPEDS Data Feedback Report 2024 for East Georgia State College.
In 2017, EGSC selected fifteen colleges, including three within the USG, as its comparison group for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Each EGSC data feedback report generated from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) compares the College to this group. According to the IPEDS Data Feedback Report 2024 for the College, 40 percent of EGSC enrolled students in Fall Semester 2023 were Black, in contrast with 7 percent for its comparison group. In addition, 43 percent of EGSC enrolled students in Fall Semester 2023 were white, in contrast with 58 percent for its comparison group. In Fall Semester 2023, EGSC 42 percent of its students did not take any distance education courses, in contrast to 30 percent of its comparators. As in previous years, tuition and fees charged by EGSC to full-time, first-time (FTFT) students were lower than its comparison group. In contrast, the average net price of attendance for FTFT students was slightly higher at EGSC than for its comparison group.
The 2024 feedback report included three-year associate degree graduation and transfer-out rates for the Fall Semester 2017 FTFT cohort. While EGSC’s graduation rate of 14 percent was lower than the 34 percent average for its comparison group, EGSC’s transfer-out rate of 54 percent was substantially higher than the 15 percent average for its comparison group. The combination of these two rates for the Fall 2017 FTFT cohort indicates a success rate of 68 percent for EGSC in fulfilling its access mission.
