Georgia College & State University's goal of continually improving academic, student support, and administrative services is facilitated by a systematic, multi-pronged assessment system. GCSU is committed to the belief that the quality of degree programs and support services improves as faculty and staff evaluate performance-based student learning outcomes and services and respond to that analysis of data.

Student learning and student success are at the core of the mission of all institutions of higher learning. Effective institutions focus on the design and improvement of educational experiences to enhance student learning and support student learning outcomes for its educational programs (SACSCOC, Student Achievement). GCSU seeks to document and share the results of many indicators of student achievement to demonstrate multiple measures of student success.

Progress and Planning reports detail the quality, viability, productivity of academic programs on an annual basis. These parallel the reporting requirements for comprehensive program reviews but are more narrow in scope, covering a shorter timeframe than CPRs. Programs use annual Progress and Planning results to make informed, data-driven decisions regarding operations, programming, and instruction for the following year.

The purpose of Comprehensive Program Reviews at GCSU is to ensure the continuous improvement of academic degree programs. GC's CPRs are data-informed and culminate in the development of a plan for improvement. CPRs are a state system requirement and are submitted to the USG for review every 7 or 10 years.

The Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) is an integral component of the reaffirmation of accreditation process and is derived from an institution’s ongoing comprehensive planning and evaluation processes. It reflects and affirms a commitment to enhance overall institutional quality and effectiveness by focusing on an issue the institution considers important to improving student learning outcomes and/or student success.