Atlanta — April 9, 1997

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia today (April 9) approved a 6 percent general tuition increase, effective July 1, 1997. The action was taken at the board’s April meeting, held at Atlanta Metropolitan College.

At the System’s two-year institutions, resident tuition will increase by $22 per quarter, from $360 to $382. Undergraduate tuition at the University System’s regional and state universities and four-year colleges will increase by $32 per quarter for in-state students, from $528 to $560 per quarter. At the System’s research institutions, resident undergraduate tuition will increase from $705 to $747 per quarter for in-state students, a $42 difference over last year.

“The Board of Regents’ strategic plan makes a formal commitment to guaranteeing educational access and affordability, even as we pursue academic preeminence,” said University System Chancellor Stephen R. Portch. “We are moving forward in implementing the board’s ambitious plan for enhanced academic quality, yet Georgia is still a low-tuition state. Both among our peers in the Southern region and nationally, we are exceptionally competitive in keeping our costs low and quality high. Students are benefiting from unprecedented support for public higher education in Georgia, which allows us to offer such an outstanding educational bargain to our citizens.”

Nationally and regionally, Georgia enjoys excellent rankings for affordable tuition. According to an annual study conducted by the Washington University System, the 1996-97 average national cost for undergraduate attendance at a research university is $3,358 compared to $2,694 in Georgia. At the college and state university level, that average national cost is $2,645 compared to $1,932 in Georgia. At the two-year college level, the average national cost is $1,457, compared to $1,190 in Georgia.

Within the 15 states served the by Southern Regional Education Board, Georgia ranks sixth of 15 states for the cost of tuition at a research university. The regional average is $2,193 compared to Georgia’s $2,559 for university matriculation. Among SREB colleges and state universities, Georgia ranks seventh of 15, with a cost of $1,965 compared to the regional average of $1,917. Among two-year and community colleges in the region, Georgia again ranks sixth of 15, at a cost of $1,128 compared to the regional average of $1,000.

Out-of-state students attending University System institutions will pay from approximately 7 to 12 percent more than last year, depending on the category of institution they attend. In line with its Policy Direction on Tuition approved in 1995, the board continues to implement its four-year phase-in plan aimed at having out-of state-students pay their full cost of education. That policy results in the following tuition increases for non-resident undergraduate students: At The University of Georgia, 12.3 percent; at Medical College of Georgia, 12.3 percent; at Georgia State University, 7.4 percent; and at Georgia Institute of Technology, 7 percent. At the regional and state universities and the four-year colleges, out-of-of-state student tuition will increase by 12.4 percent overall, and by 8.4 percent at the two-year colleges.

Board of Regents’ tuition reform policies also call for a 5 percent differential between graduate and undergraduate tuition charges. To implement this policy in-state, tuition will increase by approximately 11 percent (excluding the professional degree programs). Non-resident tuition at The University of Georgia, The Medical College of Georgia, the regional universities and the four-year colleges will increase by approximately 18 percent. At Georgia State, out-of-state graduate tuition will increase by about 12 percent.

By 1998, out-of-state students will pay 100 percent of their educational costs.

The Board of Regents also voted to approve a tuition differential for professional programs at the state’s research universities, to bring tuition rates for those programs more in line with rates at identified peer institutions. The policy will impact the doctoral-level pharmacy, veterinary medicine and law programs at UGA; the master’s program in management at Georgia Tech; and the master’s of business administration and the graduate-level nursing program at Georgia State. Current rates are not competitive with comparable regional and national institutions.

“Professional programs in Georgia’s University System are enjoying national preeminence, yet we are providing these programs at bargain prices,” Portch state. “We are extremely proud of the academic quality and the national reputations of our professional degree offerings, and we must charge the market rate in order to pay for the investments we are making in these high-profile programs,” Portch stated.

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