A two-year study by the University System of Georgia shows classrooms are empty during most of the week.

Of the 440 classrooms at the University of Georgia, the average is used just 18.5 hours per 40-hour work week, and when used, just two-thirds of the seats are full, according to the study. That is a 31 percent utilization rate.

Georgia Regents University’s Summerville campus’ 73 rooms average 27.2 hours per 40-hour work week of use and are typically half empty when they’re used for a 37 percent utilization rate. At the Health Sciences campus, use is just 13.4 hours per week for the 26 rooms, but they are 82 percent full for a 28 percent utilization rate.

Savannah State University’s main campus averages 18.1 hours of scheduled use in a 40-hour work week for its 85 rooms, and just 61 percent of the seats are typically filled. Armstrong Atlantic State University also uses its 101 rooms about 18 hours per week, but with 72 percent of the seats occupied. That puts SSU’s utilization rate at 28 percent and Armstrong’s at 32.

College of Coastal Georgia’s 54 classrooms only average 14.7 hours of scheduled use per 40-hour work week, with 71 percent of the seats typically filled. That amounts to a 26 percent utilization rate.

The highest utilization rate, 77 percent at Georgia Gwinnett College, is five times higher than the lowest.

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