Georgia technical colleges follow tuition increase trend

Higher tuition awaits students returning to Georgia’s public technical colleges this fall, as the impact of years of state education cuts continues to be felt.

The 4.7 percent jump — from $85 per credit hour to $89 — means students carrying a full, 15-hour course load will pay $60 more per semester, not counting books and fees.

The board of the Technical College System of Georgia approved the increase Thursday at its monthly meeting in Atlanta. The new rate applies to all 24 institutions within the system.

“We are still recovering from all the budget reductions we’ve had in the past,” system Commissioner Ron Jackson said. “Although our budget was very good this year … it does not make up for all the losses we had over that period of time.”

The technical system vote follows a similar across-the-board tuition increase approved last month for public colleges and universities within the University System of Georgia.

Jackson said technical colleges’ operational costs are rising. For one thing, about 160,000 students are expected this fall versus enrollment of about 195,000 three years ago, and fewer students means less money coming in.

But there’s also this: The technology involved in some course offerings is more expensive, Jackson said.

“Many of the programs that we provide, being technical programs with laboratories, are high-cost programs that are actually more than $89 a credit hour. But when you average it out over all the programs we have, it’s the appropriate amount,” he said.

The tuition hike is expected to generate $8 million and help the Technical College System increase its full-time faculty. Right now about 70 percent of its teachers are part-time.

“As much as we regret raising the cost of tuition, it is just the cost of doing business, and it’s still the best buy,” Jackson said. “Georgia’s tech college tuition rate has been on the lower end of states within the Southern Regional Education Board, with only three of 17 states’ students paying a lower tuition.”

A national study out this week from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities found that higher education funding remains well below pre-recession levels in almost all states.

In fiscal 2003, state funding accounted for about 59 percent of the Georgia Technical College System’s budget. But with the start of the Great Recession, state funding began to slide, falling to 44 percent by fiscal 2013. Tuition and other funds made up 47 percent, and federal allocations made up about 9 percent.

“For both four- and two-year institutions, as state spending has gone down, tuition has come in to fill that gap,” said Michael Mitchell, an analyst with the budget and policy center.

And while tuition increases at community and technical colleges have been lower, when combined with rising costs for transportation and other living expenses, the burden on students can be significant, Mitchell said. Many students at technical colleges are older adults juggling job demands, as well as family responsibilities.

“Each student’s situation is different. Some of us get (federal) Pell Grants and HOPE grants, but some students are paying for school out of pocket,” said Veronica Bass, 28, a human resources management student at Atlanta Technical College. “For them, $60 can be kind of steep, especially when you add books and fees.”

Yet the higher tuition “is worth it,” said Terence Whitehead, 41, an Army veteran whose Atlanta Tech tuition is paid through a Pell Grant and the G.I. Bill. “If students would just take advantage of the activities available here, they will see a return on that $4 (per credit hour) increase.”

About 16,000 tech students will see relief in a newly approved expansion of the lottery-funded HOPE grant that will pay the full tuition for tech students receiving at least a 3.5 grade-point average. Another 12,000 tech students will have their tuition paid as part of a plan by Gov. Nathan Deal to steer more graduates into the state’s most-needed areas of employment, such as commercial truck driving and practical nursing.