Schools

Regents Hike Tuition at Georgia Universities and Colleges

The rate change means most students will pay between $32 and $85 more in tuition each semester, depending on their college or university.

For the third year in a row, the majority of students in the University System of Georgia will face a 2.5 percent tuition hike in the 2014-2015 academic year. Georgia regents decided on the raise this afternoon at at the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega during a monthly meeting.

The raise applies to 27 institutions. That's in addition to tuition hikes at Georgia’s top research universities: a 9 percent increase at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a 7 percent increase at the University of Georgia, and a 4 percent increase at Georgia Regents University and Georgia State University. The rate change means most students will pay between $32 and $85 more in tuition each semester, depending on their college or university, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The new tuition values enable the state to continue covering 50 percent of instruction costs, with tuition covering the other half, John Brown, vice chancellor for fiscal affairs, said in an April 15 press release on the University System of Georgia website.

“Our differential tuition strategy gives us the flexibility to set tuition at rates that ensure our institutions can fulfill their instructional mission but also address the affordability concerns of students and parents, particularly at our access institutions,” Brown said.

Rates at the research universities, which have higher operating costs than the other institutions, will help retain nationally recognized faculty, keep classes small and maintain high-quality academia, according to the release. The hikes were market-driven and based on comparative tuition data for peer institutions.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from East Atlanta