The number of students enrolled in summer classes at Georgia Perimeter College is up slightly overall and significantly greater on the college’s Alpharetta Campus.

Enrollment increased by 1.4 percent across Georgia Perimeter’s five campuses and 26 percent in Alpharetta.

“It’s huge,” says Theodora Johnson, Alpharetta’s interim assistant dean of student services. “We had a great open house in early May, and I think that—coupled with our efforts in the community—made a difference.”

Johnson also points to the convenient location of Georgia Perimeter in Alpharetta, just off Ga.  400, and new commerce in the area, such as a mixed-use development called Avalon, a shopping and entertainment district similar to Atlanta’s Atlantic Station.

Last year, 383 first-session summer students attended Alpharetta Campus, compared to 484 this year. It’ll be a few weeks before a complete profile of the Georgia Perimeter-Alpharetta summer school student emerges, but preliminary data shows that the greatest percentage of new students are transient—students from other colleges and universities taking classes at GPC during summer. There also are a number of freshman and transfer students.

Tina Philpot, Alpharetta’s acting academic dean, is encouraged by the strong summer enrollment and says it’s a testament to Georgia Perimeter’s growing reputation. She believes part of the increased support stems from the pending consolidation of Georgia Perimeter and Georgia State University, which will form the state’s largest university.

“I think they [parents] see this as an opportunity for their children,” she says. “They don’t know how it will work just yet, but they see it as an opportunity.”

In Alpharetta, the Georgia State and Georgia Perimeter campuses are adjacent to each other.

Total summer enrollment for Georgia Perimeter rose from 12,804 in 2014 to 12,979 this year. Enrollment at the Georgia Perimeter College Clarkston and Decatur campuses, as well as the distance learning program, increased 1.7, 1, and 2.2 percent respectively. Summer enrollment dipped slightly for Georgia Perimeter campuses in Dunwoody (2.8 percent) and Newton (4.2 percent). 

Registration for Georgia Perimeter second-half summer term classes is June 3-24. Web registration closes at 2 p.m. on June 24 for online second-half summer term courses. Web registration for all second-half summer term courses will end on June 24. Admission for fall continues until July 1, and registration for fall classes continues until Aug. 11.

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