Albany State University Georgia, Albany State University online
Albany State University, located in Albany, Georgia, is a public, four-year institution and a historically black university that offers a wide variety of degree programs and Albany State University online degree options. The school has two campuses in the small city of Albany: ASU East and ASU West. Its main campus has 232 acres and blends historical buildings with newer ones. ASU offers bachelors degrees, masters degrees, and postgraduate certificates.
Albany State University History and Offerings
Albany State University was founded in 1903 as the Albany Bible and Manual Training Institution. It eventually evolved into a four-year university and now has a College of Business, a College of Education, a College of Sciences and Technology, a College of Arts and Humanities, and the Darton College of Health Professions. ASU also offers distance learning and study abroad opportunities.
In addition to offering numerous student-centered opportunities—membership in fraternities and sororities, intramural sports, and NCAA Division II sports teams, for example—ASU offers students access to health services, counseling, disability services, and research facilities.
The school also has a Center for the African American Male, or CAAM, which was founded in 1988 to “enable [male] students to discover their authentic identities by allowing them to achieve their full potential as scholars and assume leadership roles in their community upon graduation.”i The CAAM works to “increase retention, promote positive self-image, [and] engage in mentorship collaborations while partnering with various departments at Albany State University to leverage [its] resources and assist more African American Males in [its] community."i
Albany State University Vision and Guiding Principles
Albany State University envisions itself as a “world-class comprehensive university and a powerful catalyst for the economic growth and development of southwest Georgia” and is “recognized for its innovative and creative delivery of excellent educational programs, broad-based community engagement and public service, and creative scholarship and applied research, all of which enrich the lives of the diverse constituencies” it serves.ii
The school’s guiding principles, in short, are as follows:ii
- Aspire to Excellence
- Embrace Diversity
- Expand Access to Higher Education
- Elevate Historically Underserved Populations
- Promote Economic Development
Albany State University Majors
Albany State University offers bachelors degrees, masters degrees, and postgraduate certificates.
Based on the number of students graduating with a bachelors degree in 2015-2016, here are some of Albany State University’s most common majors for undergraduate students:iii
- Business administration and management
- Criminal justice
- Biology
- Education
- General psychology
- Social work
And here are some of the most popular majors for graduate students based on the number of students who earned masters degrees in 2015-2016:iii
- Business administration and management
- Early childhood education and teaching
- Criminal justice
- Public administration
- Social work
Students earned a postgraduate certificate in just one subject in 2015-2016: educational leadership and administration.iii
Albany State University Online Tuition
Full-time beginning undergraduate students paid an estimated $5,490 for in-state tuition in 2016-2017. Out-of-state students paid an estimated $15,738 for tuition that same year. Both groups of students paid an additional estimated $1,298 for books and supplies. Graduate students, meanwhile, paid an estimated $3,402 for in-state tuition in 2016-2017. Out-of-state graduate students paid an estimated $13,590 for tuition. Both sets of students paid an additional estimated $1,602 in fees.iii
Albany State University Financial Aid
Undergraduates utilized financial aid by way of grants, scholarships, and loans to pay for tuition, books, supplies, and other fees at Albany State University. Of all undergraduate students, 74 percent, or 2,212 students, used grant or scholarship aid. Of those 2,212 students, 64 percent used federally granted Pell grants. Of the total number of undergraduate students, 75 percent, or 2,246 students, used federal student loans to pay for school.iii
Albany State University Application Process
Undergraduate Applicants
Albany State University requirements for undergraduate applicants account for the following:
- High school GPA (which must be 2.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale)
- High school record
- Completion of a college preparatory program
- Test scores for the SAT and/or ACT (applicants who have not taken these tests or who received a lower score than required must take an Accuplacer Placement Examination to determine whether or not they need support in the classroom)
To apply, prospective students submit an online application and the information listed above. Transfer and international students may have to meet additional requirements and submit additional materials.
For undergraduate students, the application deadline for fall classes is July 1st. The application fee is $25.iv
With an acceptance rate of 50 percent for undergraduate applicants, U.S. News ranks Albany State University as “Less Selective.”ii
Graduate Applicants
The requirements for graduate-school applicants vary by program. However, there are some common requirements across the fields, so to speak. Graduate applicants must submit:
- An application
- Official transcripts from all institutions they’ve attended
- A $25 application fee
- Program-specific supporting documents (check directly with the department that houses the program you’re applying to in order to see precisely what you have to submit). Some potential documents include:
- A statement of purpose
- A personal narrative
- A resume
- Recommendation letters
- MAT or GRE scores
The application deadline for fall classes is July 31st.
Albany State University Admissions and Enrollment
In fall 2016, 2,915 prospective students applied to Albany State University. Fifty-percent were admitted, and of those admitted, 30 percent enrolled. That same semester and year, Albany State University had 3,041 totals students. Of those students, 2,594 were undergraduate students and 447 were graduate students.iii
Of the undergraduate students, 85 percent attended classes full-time, and 15 percent attended part-time. The majority, 66 percent, were female. Seventy-nine percent of undergraduate students were aged 24 and younger (in 2015). Ninety-percent were African-American or black.iii
Of the graduate students, 52 percent attended classes part-time and, 48 percent attended classes full-time in fall 2016.iii
Albany State University Online Courses
A larger number of graduate students, 34 percent, took courses entirely online in fall 2016 with Albany State University Online programs. Just nine percent of undergraduate students did the same. Thirty-one percent of undergraduate students took some Albany State online courses, and 60 percent did not utilize Albany State University online classes and didn't engage in distance education at all. Of graduate students, 22 percent took some Albany State Graduate School classes online, and 44 percent did not utilize any distance education.iii
Albany State University Faculty and Classrooms
In fall 2016, Albany State University employed 150 full-time faculty and 61 part-time faculty. All of the faculty focused primarily on teaching; none, at least officially, focused on research. The school utilized just one graduate assistant for conducting research that same semester and year.iii
The student to faculty ratio at Albany State University is 19 to 1, and 55 percent of the school’s classes have fewer than 20 students. Nearly 44 percent of classes had between 20 and 49 students.v
Rankings for Albany State University
U.S. News ranked Albany State University number 27 (tie) in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and number 45 in Top Public Schools. Of Regional Universities South, the school tied for number 106, receiving an overall score of 36/100.vi
Albany State University Accreditation
Albany State University has regional institutional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges. Its baccalaureate- and masters-level nursing programs have programmatic accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. (formally the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission).iii
i asurams.edu/student-life-activities/24948-2/ | ii asurams.edu/vision-mission-guiding-principles/ | iii nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=138716 | iv usnews.com/best-colleges/albany-state-university-1544/applying | v usnews.com/best-colleges/albany-state-university-1544/academics | vi usnews.com/best-colleges/albany-state-university-1544/overall-rankings
