Academics
Metric One
Metric 1: First-Year Retention - Associate Degree Students
South Georgia State College's (SGSC) first-year retention has climbed steadily from about 50% in Fall 2020–2021 to 52.9% (Fall 2022), 54.0% (Fall 2023), and 55.3% (Fall 2024), now within 0.8 percentage points of the 56.1% target. This sustained upward trend reflects the growing impact of SGSC’s student success and retention initiatives and parallels broader system-wide gains (2024 averages: 60.4% institution-specific; 67.2% system-wide). For SGSC’s Fall 2024 cohort, system-wide retention reached 65.5%, underscoring both continued progress and remaining opportunity to close the gap with system peers.
- Institution-specific: The institution-specific retention rate divides the institution-specific number of cohort members enrolled or graduated by the total cohort number.
- System-wide: For the system-wide retention rate, the system-wide number of cohort members enrolled or graduated is divided by the total cohort number.
| First-Time, Full-Time Associate Degree-Seeking Freshmen One-Year Retention Rates |
Institution-Specific for State Colleges |
System-Wide for State Colleges |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Institution-Specific Rate for SGSC | System-Wide Rate for SGSC | Avg institution-specific rate for State Colleges |
Avg rate within the System for State Colleges |
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| Year | N | N | % | N | % | % | % |
| Cohort | Retained | Retained | Retained | Retained | Retained | Retained | |
| Fall 2020 | 419 | 210 | 50.1% | 258 | 61.6% | 51.7% | 58.8% |
| Fall 2021 | 380 | 191 | 50.3% | 230 | 60.5% | 53.2% | 58.5% |
| Fall 2022 | 448 | 237 | 52.9% | 295 | 65.9% | 55.1% | 61.3% |
| Fall 2023 | 411 | 222 | 54.0% | 278 | 67.6% | 57.3% | 63.9% |
| Fall 2024 | 342 | 189 | 55.3% | 224 | 65.5% | 60.4% | 67.2% |
| Source: USG ADC Census; USG Retention Rate Reports - https://www.usg.edu/research/usgbythenumbers. | |||||||
Analysis and Evaluation of Metric 1
The Fall 2024 retention rate of 55.3% marks SGSC’s fourth consecutive year of improvement and brings the college within reach of its 56.1% goal. This steady progress validates the effectiveness of ongoing student success initiatives. To sustain and accelerate momentum, SGSC will continue expanding programs such as BOOST Mindset, increasing faculty engagement in retention efforts, and refining academic advising and early intervention strategies for at-risk students. Additional priorities include improving course scheduling flexibility and strengthening academic support resources to further enhance student persistence and achievement.