Bainbridge College now has 3,736 students, an increase of 5 percent from last fall’s number of 3,558.

The percentage increase was the highest of any southwest Georgia college.

The University System of Georgia’s (USG) fall 2010 enrollment has climbed to 311,442 students, yet another record high, USG Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. announced Wednesday.

The 2010 enrollment is an increase of 9,550 students, or 3.2 percent, over last fall’s total, which at the time was the record.

“Individuals continue to seek out the opportunity that higher education uniquely offers,” said Davis. “We must bear this in mind as we continue to be challenged by budgets and shrinking state resources.”

Bainbridge College is one of two colleges that are both part of the University System and the Technical College System. The other institution, Dalton College in North Georgia, saw an enrollment increase of 4.6 percent, from 5,722 to 5,988.

Minority students continued to enroll at a higher percentage rate than the overall student population in fall 2010.

The biggest percentage growth came in Hispanic enrollment, which jumped 14.5 percent, or 1,847 students, from fall 2009 to fall 2010. Total Hispanic enrollment is now at 12,734, or 4.7 percent of total enrollment. In 2009, Hispanic enrollment was 4.2 percent of all students.

Enrollment growth by Asian students increased 6.5 percent, or 979 students, from fall 2009 to fall 2010. Asian enrollment for fall 2010 stands at 20,235 students, or 6.4 percent of total enrollment.

The System’s African-American enrollment increased from fall 2009 to fall 2010 by 5.1 percent, or 4,130 students. Total System African-American enrollment now stands at 84,106, or 27 percent of all students.

Looking at gender, females make up 57.5 percent of total enrollment statewide, and 69.9 percent at Bainbridge College. The average age of BC’s students is 29.7, higher than the systemwide average of 23.9, and the college has 1,492 students classified as non-traditional undergraduates.

The system’s full-time equivalent enrollment (FTE) for fall 2010 is 276,111, an increase of 3.6 percent over fall 2009, adding 9,536 students. At Bainbridge College, the FTE is 3,091 students, an increase of 7.4 percent from 2009. The increase in FTE enrollment means that more students are taking additional hours of courses, compared to students in fall 2009.

The USG Fall 2010 Enrollment Report is available on the web at: http://www.usg.edu/research/students/enroll/fy2011/