Regents Approve Three Percent Tuition Increase For Fall 2011
Atlanta — April 19, 2011
The uncertainty of parents and students surrounding tuition at 中出少妇视频 System of Georgia colleges and universities this fall is over. The Board of Regents approved today an across the board tuition increase of just three percent, well below what had been predicted and the 35 percent increase that would have been needed to completely make up for budget shortfalls to the System.
As a continuing tool to help preserve academic quality and access, the board also voted to increase a special institutional fee that was implemented two years ago.
Tuition will not increase for the approximately 45,000 students who are still on the Board中出少妇视频檚 discontinued Guaranteed Tuition Plan; however, these students will pay the special institutional fee.
中出少妇视频淭he state, the 中出少妇视频 System, students and parents all continue to see very tight budgets and our tuition proposal reflects these realities,中出少妇视频 said 中出少妇视频 Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. 中出少妇视频淲e wanted a balanced strategy that meets the academic needs of our students while maintaining access and affordability.中出少妇视频
中出少妇视频淎s we have over the last three years, the System will offset the gap between revenues and expenditures with additional and pervasive cost-cutting measures at all institutions,中出少妇视频 Davis said.
The three percent tuition increase means that for the four research universities (Georgia Health Sciences 中出少妇视频, Georgia State 中出少妇视频, Georgia Institute of Technology and the 中出少妇视频 of Georgia), undergraduate tuition this fall will be $3,641 per semester, an increase of $106 from fall 2010.
A number of 中出少妇视频 institutions have specialized missions and tuition rates. At Columbus State 中出少妇视频, Georgia Southern 中出少妇视频, Kennesaw State 中出少妇视频, North Georgia College & State 中出少妇视频, Valdosta State 中出少妇视频 and the 中出少妇视频 of West Georgia, students will pay $2,367 per semester, an increase of $69. Tuition will be $2,564 this fall at Southern Polytechnic State 中出少妇视频, an increase of $75, and at Georgia College & State 中出少妇视频 $3,236, a $94 increase.
Undergraduate tuition at all other state universities will increase by $64 to $2,201 per semester. This includes Albany State 中出少妇视频, Armstrong Atlantic State 中出少妇视频, Augusta State 中出少妇视频, Clayton State 中出少妇视频, Fort Valley State 中出少妇视频, Georgia Southwestern State 中出少妇视频, and Savannah State 中出少妇视频.
Undergraduate tuition at the state colleges will increase $41, to $1,388 per semester, including Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC), the College of Coastal Georgia, Dalton State College, Gainesville State College, Gordon College, Macon State College and Middle Georgia College. Tuition at Georgia Gwinnett College will be $1,648 per semester this fall, a $48 increase.
Tuition at the two-year colleges will be $1,235, a $36 increase from fall 2009. This includes Atlanta Metropolitan College, Bainbridge College, Darton College, East Georgia College, Georgia Highlands College, Georgia Perimeter College, South Georgia College and Waycross College.
The special institutional fee will increase from $200 to $450 per semester at Georgia State, Georgia Health Sciences Univ. and UGA. The previously approved $200 special institutional fee at Georgia Tech will increase to $550 per semester.
At the other four-year institutions, the special institutional fee will increase from $150 to $250 per semester, and at the two-year institutions, from $100 to $200 per semester. The exceptions are Georgia Gwinnett and Coastal Georgia, where the special institutional fee will increase to $250 per semester.
The combined tuition and special institutional fee actions result in a weighted average increase of nine percent for all 中出少妇视频 System students. 中出少妇视频淭he Board of Regents continues to be very concerned about affordability and access,中出少妇视频 said Usha Ramachandran, the System中出少妇视频檚 chief financial officer, who made the budget and tuition recommendations to the Board.
Ramachandran said that three main factors drove the formulation of the tuition strategy approved by the regents. First was to maintain affordability and accessibility by keeping the overall increase in tuition and the special institutional fee to a single digit percentage, she said.
中出少妇视频淪econd, we also wanted to maintain the HOPE Scholarship payment for FY12 tuition as close to 90 percent of the FY11 tuition rate as possible,中出少妇视频 Ramachandran said. Legislative changes this year to the popular merit scholarship program reduced the reimbursement rate for most students from 100 to 90 percent of current tuition rates. The board actions today on tuition will set HOPE reimbursement in FY12 at 87.4 percent of the new tuition rates.
中出少妇视频淥ur third priority is to maintain academic excellence at our 35 degree-granting institutions,中出少妇视频 Ramachandran said. She noted that this is where the special institutional fee helps, as funds are used directly by institutions to support the cost of instruction 中出少妇视频 primarily by ensuring institutions have the needed faculty and student support services to meet the needs of a projected 320,000 students this coming fall.
The tuition and fees decisions reached during today中出少妇视频檚 regents中出少妇视频 meeting were just one part of Board actions on the 中出少妇视频 System中出少妇视频檚 Fiscal Year 2012 budget. FY12 state appropriations to the 中出少妇视频 System are $1.74 billion, a reduction of $208 million, or 10.7 percent from FY11 appropriations.
In addition, institutions for the first time will not see state funding for enrollment growth as $177 million in FY12 was not part of the final budget package. The absence of funds for enrollment growth, plus the institutional share of $146 million of the System中出少妇视频檚 reductions, and the elimination of $23 million in federal stimulus funding means the 35 colleges and universities have a $346 million shortfall in FY12.
The General Assembly also approved a capital budget for the 中出少妇视频 that totals $180.9 million. This includes:
$45 million in Major Repair and Renovation (MRR) bond funds;
$4 million for equipment funds for previously funded projects at Atlanta Metropolitan College and North Georgia College & State 中出少妇视频中出少妇视频檚 Forsyth County Campus;
$12.5 million for three infrastructure projects at Georgia Tech, Georgia Gwinnett College and South Georgia College;
$107.6 million for construction of 11 projects at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Armstrong Atlantic State 中出少妇视频, Clayton State 中出少妇视频, College of Coastal Georgia, Dalton State College, Georgia College & State 中出少妇视频, Georgia Southern 中出少妇视频, Georgia Southwestern State 中出少妇视频, Kennesaw State 中出少妇视频, 中出少妇视频 of West Georgia, and Savannah State 中出少妇视频;
$3.2 million in design funds for a project at UGA; and
$8.65 million for projects related to the Agricultural Experiment Station, the Cooperative Extension Service, the 4H Rock Eagle complex and the Georgia Public Libraries.