Hundreds of Brenau University’s new and returning students arrived on campus in August for the 2026-27 academic year. Classes began Aug. 17 for most students, while some graduate programs began on Aug. 24.
Students celebrated the start of the new academic year with a busy schedule of events that blended fun, community and university tradition. Welcome Week activities featured a Greek block party and the reopening of the Student Union Building. On Aug. 20, students, faculty and staff gathered for the annual fall convocation, where new students signed the honor code and participated in the First Steps tradition. Panhellenic recruitment for The Women’s College began on Aug. 25.
Early enrollment figures indicate a continued surge in traditional undergraduate enrollment, up 29% since fall 2023.
Though official headcounts will not be finalized until October, early numbers show 339 new, incoming day undergraduate students across The Women’s College and Undergraduate School. Of those, 284 are first-year students, officially exceeding Brenau’s goal for incoming freshmen and just one short of last year’s largest-ever first-year class.
Additionally, the Ernest Ledford Grindle Athletics Department reported a highly successful recruiting year. The university will field 207 student-athletes in total for the 2026-27 season, including 97 freshmen.
The new semester rollout began with student-athletes, resident assistants and student leaders moving in at the historic Gainesville Campus during the first week of August. New residential students moved in at the historic campus Aug. 12-13, and returning students arrived on campus Aug. 15.
