Tue., January 18, 2011 5:38pm (EST)

Budget Cuts Could Up Tuition

By Susanna Capeleouto

Updated: 2 years ago

ATLANTA  —   Board of Regents Chancellor Errol Davis told lawmakers today that tuition at Georgia's 35 colleges and universities will go up if budget cuts of $185 million are approved. Davis warned that the system cannot take another year with deep cuts.

In the proposed budget for 2012 the Board of Regents is taking one of the largest cuts. Chancellor Erroll Davis says the universities will work through the cuts but per student funding he says has declined by 33 percent since 2009. The system has raised tuition over the year and may do so again next year says Davis.

"We can always raise tuition, but when you do that there are fewer and fewer people who can go to school," he says. "And that is not in the best interest of the state if you essentially privatize the university system. "

Any tuition increase will need to be approved by the Board of Regents once lawmakers finalize the state budget.