The University System of Georgia to Increase Tuition by 2.5% Next Year

Georgia Public Colleges and Universities to Increase In-State Undergraduate Tuition by 2.5% Next Academic Year.

The Board of Directors of the Georgia University System approved a tuition increase on April 16th for in-state undergraduate students at public colleges and universities in Georgia. This marks the first tuition hike in the past eight years for all institutions in the system except for one out of the 26 schools within the University of Georgia system, where tuition remained unchanged. Out-of-state students will see a 5% increase in tuition, with a 2% higher rate for new third-tier out-of-state student tuition compared to in-state rates.

System Chancellor Sonny Perdue attributed this growth to inflation, stating, “Our institutions are facing increasing operational costs, and we must maintain our momentum as one of the best institutions in the country to help students succeed in campus and beyond.”

Despite the tuition increase, Georgia’s average tuition and required costs rank as the third lowest among the 16 states in the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) region, according to state data. Middle Georgia State University was the only institution to raise tuition in the previous academic year, aiming to align its undergraduate tuition with other system universities within the same academic field as part of a three-year plan.

The Board also introduced a new mandatory fee structure for the growing number of fully online students. Among the 26 schools, 20 will now charge online learning fees equivalent to their technology fees, as well as 50% of their mandatory fees, for students taking courses entirely online.

On April 16th, the Board also voted to extend the temporary waiver of testing score requirements. As state universities have the option to include test scores in their admissions process, 23 out of the 26 schools will not require test scores for admissions during the 2025-26 academic year. This waiver does not apply to the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Georgia College & State University.

Applications for the Zell Miller scholarships will still require test scores. These scholarships are awarded to students with a high school GPA of at least 3.7. Starting in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the university system waived testing requirements, and this waiver has been valid for the past ten months.