FORT VALLEY, Ga. — Fort Valley Mayor Barbara Williams says when it came time for her to choose a college years ago, Fort Valley State University was a no-brainer.
"If I don't promote Fort Valley State University, not just because I'm an alum, but because I'm the mayor of Fort Valley, everybody needs to talk and tell our story," she says.
Enrollment numbers for the last five years do tell a story.
"We are not an island here," Williams says,"I think all the HBCUs are experiencing some decline that way."
According to the state, the university's enrollment dropped from almost 2,800 students to 2,624 in a year, which is a 5.5 percent different. The university says they are aware of the drop, and they are working to improve that for future years.
Over the past eight years, Fort Valley State has lost nearly a third of its enrollment.
Mayor Williams says as an adjunct professor and former full-time employee of the university, she sees how the school is recruiting to turn things around.
"With fine arts and the STEM program we have and our agriculture program, if we don't travel and tell our story, then the numbers will continue to decline," she says.
Other colleges in Georgia that have seen a drop in enrollment include Savannah State University, which is down almost 10 percent, and Gordon State College, which is down almost five percent.
Thursday evening, the university released a statement about their enrollment numbers, stating:
"We acknowledge that it has become increasingly more challenging to recruit students to institutions of higher learning not only in Georgia but across the United States. That reality is even more so pronounced at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) like Fort Valley State University as similar declines are reflected across the country at our peer institutions.
Although our university has enjoyed an increase in enrollment over the past two years, including 2.7% in the Fall of 2017 and a.9% increase in Fall 2018, we have continued making investments in recruitment, marketing and technology.
The University has put new staff in place to enhance recruitment efforts and additionally, we forged new partnerships with key admissions organizations to enhance our use of data analytics in support of a more refined recruitment strategy that is responsive to today’s prospective students.
Of course, FVSU continues to be proud of the nurturing and high-quality learning environment we continue providing to our students and we are confident that future enrollment trends will reflect that unyielding commitment."
To see the full list of fall enrollment numbers, you can look on the University System of Georgia's website here.
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