New fees approved for college students

The state Board of Regents on Wednesday morning voted unanimously to levy new fees on students for the spring 2009 semester.

The fees will raise about $20 million for Georgia’s university system, which is facing funding cuts from the state.

Students at Georgia’s research universities will be charged $100. At most of the state’s other four-year colleges and universities, the fee will be $75. Students at two-year colleges will pay $50.

The regents also voted to cut the employer share of University System workers’ health care plans from 75 percent to 70 percent.

Changes in health-plan funding should save the university system about $8 million.

The regents also gave officials of university system institutions permission to defer a total of about $12 million in maintenance in order to avoid cutting their operating funds.

In mid-October, the regents approved 6 percent cuts in the current budgets at the state’s 35 public colleges and universities. Officials at each institution submitted individual plans for those cuts.

The new adjustments will be imposed systemwide and will help to meet or offset an expected additional decrease of 2 percent in state funding.