Gordon College is once again experiencing record enrollment with a 4.59 percent increase this year.
There are 3,873 students enrolled this year, up from 3,703 last fall.
"We are very pleased that more students are selecting Gordon College as the place to begin their postsecondary education," said Lawrence Weill, Gordon College President. "We have an outstanding faculty and staff dedicated to helping our students succeed, plus a beautiful and growing campus, and of course our varied programs of study."
Fredrick Bailey, one of 1,036 students who live on campus, attends Gordon College because it suits several needs.
"I visited the campus and immediately liked it," he said. "It is affordable and I get the one-on-one attention I need in class. I'm a student, not just someone in a class of 100. And, it is close to home but not too close."
Bailey, a sophomore, hopes to continue at Gordon, earn a degree in education and eventually teach 5th grade.
Gordon College became a part of the University System of Georgia in 1972 with 550 students. Through the years the campus has grown and the curriculum has expanded to offer more than 80 programs of study.
The school's first bachelor degree -- early childhood education -- will be awarded to a group of 30 teacher-candidates next May. And in 2010, the school will begin offering a bachelor degree in nursing.
Gordon opened its newest apartment-style residential housing complex, Gordon Village, this year and anticipates opening its new Student Success and Retention Center in the fall. The Center will contain expanded study and counseling areas, and an expanded bookstore that will be open to the public.
Plans also call for construction of a new Nursing and Allied Health building to be completed in 2009 to meet the needs of the school's growing nursing and health programs of study.