Piedmont University

What Piedmont University does

Piedmont University is a private, non-profit comprehensive liberal arts institution founded in 1897 in Demorest, Georgia, operating primarily as an undergraduate-focused residential university with a growing graduate and certificate portfolio. It enrolls roughly 1,900 students across a 300-acre main campus in the Appalachian foothills of Northeast Georgia, a satellite campus in downtown Athens, and online delivery channels, employing approximately 251-500 staff (with broader headcount in the 1,900+ range inclusive of the broader campus community referenced in public materials). The university structures academics across four colleges — Harry H. Walker College of Business, R.H. Daniel College of Nursing & Health Sciences, College of Education, and College of Arts and Sciences — offering 80+ programs of study ranging from bachelor's degrees across more than 40 disciplines to master's, doctoral, and Education Specialist programs, plus certificates in teaching, coaching, and business analytics.

The university's revenue model is a subscription-recurring tuition-and-fees engine (undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs) supplemented by recurring room and board income from approximately 76% on-campus residential students, plus a fundraising stream (Annual Fund, Student Support Fund, Athletics P-Club, Piedmont Arts Circle, Endowment/Planned Giving). Pricing is heavily subsidized: 99% of full-time students receive financial aid, with $18.4M in institutional scholarships/grants awarded annually and a $27,000 average award for first-time, full-time students. Operational technology is conventional enterprise software — a Salesforce-based event registration platform for admissions tours, a Student Self-Service portal for records and billing, and a live streaming radio station (WPCZ, Z98.7 FM) — with no disclosed proprietary AI/ML systems.

Piedmont's go-to-market is direct-to-consumer: prospective students apply through an online portal or in-person admissions, supported by campus visits, Preview Piedmont events, graduate tours, dual-enrollment high school recruitment, and email/newsletter communications. Customer segments are horizontally distributed across first-time freshmen, transfers, dual-enrollment high schoolers, graduate students, returning/adult learners, and international students, with partnerships spanning professional associations (NSCA, ACSM), the Habersham County Rotary Club, debate associations (NPDA, GPDA), and Greek organizations (Zeta Tau Alpha, Sigma Gamma Rho). Leadership is headed by Marshall Criser, the 14th president and former chancellor of Florida's university system and ex-president of AT&T Florida.

Name

Piedmont University

Legal name

Piedmont University

Website

https://piedmont.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1897

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Piedmont University is a private, non-profit liberal arts institution in Northeast Georgia serving roughly 1,900 students across bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and certificate programs via four colleges from a 300-acre Demorest campus and an Athens satellite.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

General Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAA), Secular/Nonsectarian Liberal Arts Colleges (EDAHACAG)

Keywords

• Higher education services
• Liberal arts programs
• Undergraduate degrees
• Graduate degrees
• Professional certifications

Headquarters

HQ city

Demorest

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Revenue from undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs. Financial aid is heavily customized per student, with 99% receiving some form of aid. Institutional scholarships and grants awarded amount to $18.4 million annually.
2. Room and Board: Revenue from housing deposits and meal plans. Housing deposits range from $50-$350 depending on student status.
3. Donations and Fundraising: Annual Fund donations, Student Support Fund, Academic Support Funds, Campus Beautification Fund, Athletics P-Club, Piedmont Arts Circle, and Endowment/Planned Giving programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Piedmont University is a private, non-profit comprehensive liberal arts institution that delivers higher education through four colleges: the Harry H. Walker College of Business, R.H. Daniel College of Nursing & Health Sciences, College of Education, and College of Arts and Sciences. It sells undergraduate bachelor's degrees (40+ disciplines), graduate master's and doctoral degrees (including MBA, MS in Management, MAT, Ed.S., Ed.D.), and professional certificate/endorsement programs to traditional freshmen, transfer students, graduate students, dual-enrollment high schoolers, international students, and adult learners. Instruction is delivered through a 300-acre residential main campus in Demorest, Georgia, a satellite campus in Athens, Georgia, and online learning options.

Product overview

Piedmont University is a comprehensive liberal arts institution offering a portfolio of educational programs through four colleges: the Harry H. Walker College of Business, R.H. Daniel College of Nursing & Health Sciences, College of Education, and College of Arts and Sciences. The university provides bachelor's degree programs across disciplines (business, education, health sciences, arts, sciences), master's degree programs (MBA, MS in Management, Education MA/MAT, Athletic Training, Forensic Science, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Speech-Language Pathology), and professional certificate programs. Additionally, the institution offers specialized Fine Arts programming including the Conservatory of Music (notably an All-Steinway School) and theatre/visual arts through dedicated facilities like the Swanson Center for Performing Arts, Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art, and Arrendale Amphitheater.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% of full-time students receive financial aid; Average scholarship award of $27,000
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• National Strength and Conditioning AssociationminorOthersThe Health Science Club cooperates with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and the American College of Sports Medicine to provide professional development opportunities for exercise science students.
• American College of Sports MedicineminorOthersThe Health Science Club cooperates with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and NSCA to provide opportunities for students in the College of Nursing & Health Sciences to develop professional and social relationships.
• Habersham County Rotary ClubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRotaract is a student service-learning organization sponsored by the Habersham County Rotary club with the goal of introducing students to the ideals of Rotary International. Membership is open to all students who support Rotary's mission of 'Service Above Self.'
• National Parliamentary Debate AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPiedmont Debate competes in the National Parliamentary Debate Association (NPDA) and the Georgia Parliamentary Debate Association, hosting the biennial Mayflower Classic tournament.
• Georgia Parliamentary Debate AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPiedmont Debate participates in the Georgia Parliamentary Debate Association (GPDA) alongside other collegiate debate programs in the state.
• Sigma Gamma RhominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSigma Gamma Rho Sorority, founded in 1922, has a chapter at Piedmont University. The sorority promotes service, scholarship, and sisterhood with programs including Operation Big Book Bag, Wee Savers, and breast cancer awareness.
• Zeta Tau AlphaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZeta Tau Alpha Lambda Rho Chapter at Piedmont focuses on love, loyalty, and friendship. The sorority supports breast cancer education and awareness through its philanthropy programs.

Scale indicators22 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• LaGrange College: Small private liberal arts college in LaGrange, Georgia offering undergraduate and select graduate programs; similar scale, religious-affiliation-light profile, and Georgia-based recruitment footprint as Piedmont.
• Covenant College: Private Christian liberal arts college on Lookout Mountain in Georgia with similar small enrollment and residential model; competes with Piedmont in the regional private-college segment, differing mainly in religious affiliation.
• Brenau University: Private university in Gainesville, Georgia offering undergraduate and graduate programs with a focus on women in leadership and health sciences; comparable to Piedmont in regional private-college scale and Northeast Georgia footprint.
• Wesleyan College: Small private liberal arts college in Macon, Georgia serving a similar undergraduate profile with comparable program breadth and small-school culture; another Georgia-based private liberal arts peer competing for the same regional applicant pool.
• Berry College: Private, residential liberal arts college in Mount Berry, Georgia serving ~2,000 students with strong athletics and high on-campus living rates — directly comparable to Piedmont on size, geography, and residential liberal arts positioning.
• Agnes Scott College: Private liberal arts college in Decatur (metro Atlanta), Georgia with similar small-college culture and graduate offerings; comparable to Piedmont in mission and Georgia-based recruitment, though located in a more urban market.
• Oglethorpe University: Private liberal arts university in Atlanta, Georgia with comparable undergraduate program breadth and small-class culture; competes for the same Georgia private-college applicant pool as Piedmont.

Regional players

• Toccoa Falls College: Small private Christian college in Toccoa, Georgia in the same Northeast Georgia region as Piedmont's Demorest campus; very close geographic proximity and overlapping rural recruitment market make it a regional competitor.
• Young Harris College: Small private liberal arts college in Young Harris, Georgia in the Appalachian region; competes for similar rural Northeast Georgia high-school talent as Piedmont, though smaller in scope.

Broad incumbents

• University of North Georgia: Public university system with multiple North Georgia campuses including a Dahlonega location close to Demorest; competes directly with Piedmont for regional students on price (in-state tuition) and program breadth as a much larger public incumbent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PiedmontGA
• YouTubeyoutube.com/piedmontcollege
• Facebookfacebook.com/PiedmontU
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/piedmont-college
• Instagraminstagram.com/piedmontuniversity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Piedmont University