Shorter University

Shorter University is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university located in Rome, Georgia. Founded in 1873, it is a Christian university historically affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention.

Shorter offers undergraduate and graduate degrees through seven colleges and schools and has a current enrollment of 1817 as of fall 2016. The 155-acre (0.63 km2) main academic and residential campus is located 72 miles (116 km) northwest of Atlanta, Georgia in Rome. There are adult education and graduate programs at distance learning facilities in North Atlanta and Rome.

In 2005, the college enrolled approximately 1,000 students in its traditional programs with an additional 1,500 individuals enrolled in its professional studies programs. Shorter offers bachelor's degrees in 30 fields of study as well as some master's degrees.

Shorter University claims to have had a graduate school acceptance rate of 80 per cent and an 87 per cent acceptance rate to medical colleges over the past fifteen years.

Shorter athletic teams are known as the Shorter Hawks. The university currently sponsors 21 varsity sports programs, including ten men's teams, nine women's teams and two co-ed cheerleading squads. In May 2011, Shorter announced it would apply for membership into the NCAA at the Division II level. It was accepted into the NCAA reclassification process in July 2011 and joined the Gulf South Conference. The University became a provisional member of NCAA Division II in the summer of 2013.

In its final year in the NAIA, Shorter University athletics finished ranked second in the final NAIA Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings. Shorter's No. 2 final ranking was the highest in school history. The Hawks scored in 12 sports and claimed the softball and men’s outdoor track and field championships – Shorter won an outdoor track title for the second straight year. Shorter also placed second in men’s indoor track and field, third in men’s basketball, fourth in women’s indoor track and field and fifth in women’s golf. Shorter’s No. 2 final ranking is a culmination of a journey to the top of the NAIA that began to build momentum five years ago.