University System of Georgia

USG Facts

The Board of Regents

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia was created in 1931 as a part of a reorganization of Georgia’s state government. With this act, public higher education in Georgia was unified for the first time under a single governing and management authority. The governor appoints members of the Board to a seven year term and regents may be reappointed to subsequent terms by a sitting governor. Regents donate their time and expertise to serve the state through their governance of the University System of Georgia – the position is a voluntary one without financial remuneration. Today the Board of Regents is composed of 19 members, five of whom are appointed from the state-at-large, and one from each of the state’s 14 congressional districts. The Board elects a chancellor who serves as its chief executive officer and the chief administrative officer of the University System. The Board oversees the public colleges and universities that comprise the University System of Georgia and has oversight of the Georgia Archives and the Georgia Public Library Service.

The University System

The University System of Georgia (USG) is a part of the community in each of Georgia’s 159 counties and provides services across the state. The USG is composed of 26 higher education institutions including four research universities, four comprehensive universities, nine state universities and nine state colleges. It also includes the Georgia Public Library Service, which encompasses approximately 389 facilities within the 61 library systems throughout the State of Georgia. Additionally, the USG includes the Georgia Archives which identifies, collects, manages, preserves and provides access to records and information about Georgia.

Degrees, Majors and Rankings

The University System of Georgia’s institutions conferred a total of 72,929 degrees in fiscal year 2021, including 44,040 bachelor’s, 14,785 master’s and 1,822 doctorate degrees.

The majority of baccalaureate-level degrees awarded within the University System of Georgia are in the fields of business, psychology, education and nursing.

Georgia is one of only three states with two or more institutions in the U.S. News 2021 Top 20 Public National Universities. Georgia Tech is ranked No. 10 on the list and the University of Georgia is No. 16.

Enrollment

The University System of Georgia enrolled 340,638 students for Fall 2021.

Economic Impact, Employment and Budget

The University System of Georgia’s economic impact on the state was $18.6 billion in Fiscal Year 2020 according to the most recent study conducted by the Selig Center for Economic Growth. Of the 155,010 jobs noted in the report, 34 percent are on the campuses while 66 percent, are off campus. For every person employed at the USG or a member institution, two people have jobs that support the presence of the institution in the local community.

The University System has an annual budget of more than $9.8 billion for fiscal year 2022.