Tuition to rise at state public colleges

Georgia State, $4,056; $3,900; $3,768

University of Georgia, $4,295, $4,014; $3,823

Kennesaw State, $2,549; $2,487; $2,426

Southern Polytechnic, $2,761; $2,694; $2,628

Georgia Southern , $2,549; $2,487; $2,426

University of West Georgia, $2,549; $2,487; $2,426

Clayton State, $2,370; $2,312; $2,256

Georgia Perimeter, $1,330; $1,298; $1,266

Georgia Gwinnett, $1,774; $1,731; $1,689

Source: University System of Georgia

Undergraduate tuition at Georgia’s public colleges and universities has risen the past several years. Some years have seen double-digit increases, followed by much lower recent increases of 2.5 percent. Here is the rate of increase in tuition in over the past five years:

Institution, fall 2014 increase, fall 2013 increase, fall 2012 increase, fall 2011 increase, fall 2010 increase; Five-year total

Most USG institutions*, 2.5%, 2.5%, 2.5%, 3%; two-year colleges 14.9%; state universities & colleges 20.8%

Georgia Tech, 9%, 7%, 6%, 3%, 16.5%; 41.5%

University of Georgia, 7%, 5%, 5%, 3%, 16.5%; 36.5%

Georgia State, 4%, 3.5%, 3.5%, 3%, 16.5%; 30.5%

Georgia Regents, 4%, 3.5%, 3.5%, 3%, 16.5%; 30.5%

*Fall 2010: Two-year colleges, 4.4%; State universities and colleges, 10.3%; Research universities, 16.5%

Source: University System of Georgia

For another year, tuition at Georgia’s public colleges and universities is rising, with the largest increases to be paid by students at Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia.

The state Board of Regents approved a 2.5 percent tuition increase Tuesday for 27 of the 31 institutions in the University System of Georgia. The rate hike means these students will pay between $32 and $85 more per semester, depending on where they are enrolled.

For students attending the state’s four research institutions, the rate hike is higher:

Tuition has risen at University System institutions for at least the past 10 years. Georgia’s tuition hikes mirror the national trend that has seen the cost of college going up and tuition growing faster than the rate of inflation.

Before the recession, state funding covered about 75 percent of college expenses; the remaining 25 percent was covered by tuition. But as state revenue declined and agency budgets were cut, the University System increased tuition to make up the losses. Now, the funding split has leveled out to 50-50, with tuition covering about half of college costs.

Another year of tuition increases could mean more debt, said Shea Garrett, 22, a senior at the University of North Georgia. Garrett, one of seven children, receives a state scholarship and a federal grant to pay for college in the fall and spring semesters. The summers she covers with loans.

“Any tuition increase means I could have to take out more loans,” she said. “That just makes it harder to pay back and increase the amount I owe and the interest that accumulates.”

With the state portion not likely to increase, the University System has to focus on controlling costs, Chancellor Hank Huckaby.

“Ideally we’d love to get to the point where for a couple of years we would have no increase; we’re striving for that but we’re not there yet,” he said. “We’ve got to do an ever better job of decreasing expenses. We’re not going to solve this issue on the revenue side so we’ve got to be more diligent at controlling costs wherever we can.”

To help cuts costs, some students will be able to rely on the HOPE scholarship. About 30 percent of University System of Georgia students receive the lottery-funded scholarship, system officials said. The state budget, which still has to be signed by Gov. Deal, includes a 3 percent increase in award allotments for HOPE recipients, but the scholarship does not cover the full cost of college.

The tuition increase outstrips the HOPE gains in the budget and creates a financial burden for the thousands of students who don’t get HOPE scholarships, said Claire Suggs, senior education policy analyst for the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.

“Georgia continues to shift responsibility for funding higher education from the state to students and families,” Suggs said. “That makes it harder for Georgia students to attain a college degree and for the state to realize its goal of adding 250,000 more graduates by 2020.”

This is the third year that the regents have approved a different tuition rate for the research intuitions. The difference is needed to keep those schools competitive, system officials said, and is a result of the high demand of students wanting to enroll at those schools.

This is also the third year that regents have approved a 2.5 percent rate hike for the other 27 institutions, which is the lowest increase in the past decade.

The University System’s financial picture could have been much worse, noted John Brown, the University System’s vice chancellor for fiscal affairs and treasurer, if lawmakers had cut its budget based on declining enrollment. The University System saw enrollment drop 1.6 percent last year, which could have resulted in a $20 million cut to its budget, Brown said. And despite the rate increases approved Tuesday, tuition at Georgia’s institutions remains lower than in other Southern states like Florida, Arkansas and North Carolina.

Along with the tuition hikes, the board also approved several student fees at various institutions covering activities, transportation and technology fees.

When taken together, the annual tuition increases and student fees are troubling, said Andrea King, a psychology student attending Kennesaw State University.

KSU students adopted a $100 per semester student fee in 2010 to fund the university’s new football team, which is set to play its first game next year.

“It’s awesome that our college is getting football,” she said. “But it’s frustrating to know that we’re paying for something that we will not be around to be a part of.”