Class of 2030: GCSU hires 52 new faculty in preparation for historic first-year class

President Cox welcomed students to their residence halls during move-in on Wednesday. (Photo: Janelle Tyler)

By Amanda Respess

T he Class of 2030 arrives this week, and Georgia College & State University is welcoming a record 1,850 first-year students. Last year GCSU logged its largest total enrollment ever at 7,304, including both undergraduate and graduate students.

This largest-ever first year class follows a historic number of applications submitted over the past year, topping 10,000 as of April 1, 2026.

The current sustained period of growth for the university coincides with GCSU celebrating 30 years as the state's public liberal arts university, a designation bestowed by the University System of Georgia in 1996.

A hallmark of the university's mission is small class sizes and as of Aug. 1, GCSU has hired 52 new faculty members to maintain its average 17:1 student-to-faculty ratio.

In addition to the 52 new faculty hired into the university's corps of instructors, GCSU also welcomed three new department chairs and two new academic deans over the summer.

Most of the new class moves in Wednesday, Aug. 12, on main campus and Thursday, Aug. 13, at West Campus. Students can expect a quick and efficient move-in day thanks to 500 hundred Cat Crew volunteers who help students and their families unload their vehicles.

The new students will get to know each other, the campus community and their new hometown during Week of Welcome activities Aug. 12 through 21. GCSU Gives Day - the unique day of service completed by the whole first-year class - is Saturday, Aug. 15, at locations across Milledgeville and Baldwin County.

Class of 2030 Stats

• Avg. GPA: 3.8
• Avg. SAT: 1178
• Avg. ACT: 25

Top majors declared by the incoming class are Nursing, Biology, Finance, Marketing and Psychology.

GCSU pulls students from all 159 Georgia counties, but the top counties called home by the class of 2030 are Fulton, Forsyth, Cobb, Gwinnett and DeKalb. The incoming class also includes out-of-state students from Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Colorado and Ohio.

About 500 Cat Crew volunteers - including students from Georgia College Early College - will help students move in on Main and West Campus Aug. 12 and 13. (Photo: Caroline Wood)

Header Images: Move-in day for main campus was Wednesday, Aug. 12. Hundreds of Cat Crew volunteers from Georgia College Early College, Bobcat Athletics, student organizations and the community helped students and their families unpack and get settled. President Cox welcomed the new students to their residence halls. (Photos: Janelle Tyler and Caroline Wood)