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Quarterly Tuition Cap Raised |
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TCSG State Board Raises
Quarterly Tuition Cap
For Students Taking
More Than 12 Credit Hours
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| Atlanta – The state board of the Technical College System of Georgia voted last week to raise the technical colleges’ tuition cap from 12 hours to 15 hours. Currently, full-time technical college students pay an average of $432 for 12 credit hours; they are not charged for additional credit hours. |
Now, those taking between 13 and 15 credit hours will see the cost rise by as much as $108.
Two-thirds of Georgia’s technical college students are taking 12 credit hours or less and will be unaffected by the increase. Of the remaining third, many will see the extra cost covered by the HOPE grant. Less than 10% of the TCSG’s quarterly enrollment, or approximately 9,000 students, will incur the additional out-of-pocket expense.
Because Altamaha Technical College has had to implement a budget cut, amounting to nearly $500,000 with additional budget cuts looming, this action by the state board will assist the college with a slight budgetary improvement to bridge the gap. “My concern is for the students who will be impacted by this full-time tuition increase cap,” stated Altamaha Technical President Lorette M. Hoover. Hoover went on to say, “For winter quarter, we know we have a few cash paying students who will be hit by this increase. We will encourage those students to apply for hardship scholarships from the Altamaha Technical College Foundation Inc.”Students on Financial aid should not be impacted.
Altamaha Technical College Foundation, Inc. President Eric Denty spoke about the hardship and merit scholarships that the foundation currently has in place for Altamaha Technical College students. “We are very proud of our supporters who invest in our Foundation to support student success. Contributors this year include 100% of ATC full-time employees, members of the Board of Directors and Trustees, graduates, retirees, businesses and organizations, and community citizens,” stated Denty.
“The Foundation is focusing the annual campaign on improving instruction and replenishing our scholarship funds which are more greatly needed this year due to these economic times,” stated Dana Worth, Director of Institutional Advancement. Contributions for this year are being accepted through December 31. The Foundation is a 501.c.3 organization and contributions are tax deductible. If you are interested please call (912) 427-5838 to make a contribution.
The increase will take effect beginning with the Winter Quarter 2009. It is expected to generate an extra $10 million annually for the technical college system.
Despite the credit hour increase for some students, the cost of a Georgia technical college education remains among the lowest in the nation, and most of those costs are paid for under the Georgia HOPE and federal Pell grants.
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