Georgia’s public college students won’t see a tuition increase next year and will pay less to enroll in some online courses.
The state’s Board of Regents, which oversees Georgia’s public college and university system, formally approved the tuition freeze and e-course discount Wednesday during a called meeting.
The board also approved the system’s amended budget of just over $2 billion for the current year, and a $2.14 billion budget for the upcoming year, which awaits the governor’s signature. Next year’s budget is a 5.8 percent spending increase over the current year’s funding from the state, and includes $59.5 million in state money for merit-based pay raises for employees.
The Regents had announced the tuition freeze in February as some state lawmakers were questioning the years of tuition hikes in the University System. Legislation had been proposed during the legislative session that would have barred the system from tuition increases greater than the rate of inflation. Another bill would have required the Board of Regents to become an elected, rather than an appointed body. Neither item passed this year.
Students at some of the system’s 29 institutions will see some fee increases next year. The Board approved 13 hikes for the upcoming school year for things like health and transportation fees. System officials said they worked hard with each institution to reduce the number of fee increases each year, which has been a goal of system Chancellor Hank Huckaby. Fee increases have dropped from 67 in fiscal 2012 to 13 for next year.
About the Author
