The cost of attending a public college in Georgia increased 77 percent between 2006 and 2015.
Why?
That is the question the state Department of Audits and Accounts Performance Audit Division attempts to answer in a new audit.
The main culprits: Slashes to higher education funding and reductions to the HOPE Scholarship by the Legislature.
Forced to find more money, the University System of Georgia turned to higher tuition and more mandatory fees. all of which land on students. The audit also found increases in housing and meal plan costs, both more than double the inflation rate.
And the audit discovered hefty fees to underwrite sports teams and expanded athletic programs, fees paid by all students.
To read more about this issue, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog.
