Augusta University
Eric JohnsonOn Tuesday, April 14, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG) approved the tuition rates for the 2015-16 academic year. GRU students will experience a 5.5 percent increase.
“To ensure we can continue to offer quality public higher education, we must continue to invest in our institutions,” said Chancellor Hank Huckaby. “We have carefully assessed the tuition rates for our institutions to make sure we are balancing the increasing costs of providing public higher education while keeping tuition and fees as affordable as possible.”
GRU is among 10 USG institutions to have an increase of more than 2.5 percent, though several of the 10 received a more substantial increase. The University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Middle Georgia State University, and Atlanta Metropolitan State College each received a 9 percent increase, while tuition at Georgia Gwinnet College will rise 8.3 percent.
The Board of Regents considers the increase necessary to keep the costs of public higher education balanced at a level that’s roughly 50 percent state funding and 50 percent tuition, and while a tuition hike obviously increases the financial impact of a college education on students and their families, the USG continues to offer some of the lowest tuition rates among its peer public higher education systems.
Of the 16 states that make up the Sothern Regional Education Board, the USG is the seventh lowest in tuition and fees for four-year institutions.
Student fees for Health Sciences students will increase by $45, while students at the Summerville Campus will see a $75 increase. Students across both campuses will see a $30 increase in athletic fees, a $5 increase in student health fees, and a $10 increase going toward technology. The activity, wellness, and transportation fees will remain unchanged.
Staff
Karen Klock
Milledge Austin
Boo! Tuition hikes are the worst! Those other schools might have increased tuition at a higher percentage than GRU, but they also don’t double up fees like GRU does. Most of the fees we’re paying for are unnecessary. We pay for the gym, we pay for the wellness center, we pay for the OTHER gym. It’s absurd! What’s more, we cannot opt out of any of those fees–even if we don’t use any of those amenities!
It would be nice if those tuition increases actually benefitted the students academically. I’ve seen little to no change in supplies/ academic funding while we keep building more buildings that can wait. If GRU wants to move forward, we need to invest in the academics first. It’s dumb that we can afford to build million dollar facilities but when I travel to present GRU research I have to come out of pocket for half of my trip.
I believe our governor needs to revisit his promise to help and improve academics in the state of GA. If he’s going to help, then he needs to offer more scholarships to students to cover these fees. Tuition and fees have gone up every year since 2013. Most professors were not even getting raises until recently and even then, enrollment was higher until the merger. Some things are not adding up.
We need to find alternatives then to help students not have to cover higher operation costs.