Could we see a 77 percent tuition hike at public colleges?
A week ago, we sat down with UGA president Michael Adams who was concerned about the ongoing hits to higher education in the state budget. His main concern was losing good faculty members to competing schools because of an inability to come up with counter offers. (He said some interesting things about the disparity in high school quality in the state, but I will write that up later.)
But his boss was at the Legislature today with even more dire warnings: It would take a 77 percent tuition increase at Georgia’s colleges and universities to meet the demand for a $385 million cut in the state’s higher education system budget, said Chancellor Erroll Davis.
That was not what lawmakers wanted to hear. They did not want Davis to tell them that the system could not sustain many more cuts or find any real money outside of raising tuition through the roof. “We are in a budget crisis,” state Sen. Seth Harp (R-Midland) told him. “We have got to cut another $200 to $300 million out of your budget. Please, prioritize where those cuts will come or we will do it blindly.”
Lawmakers threw out ideas for how the system could save money, but those cuts would not produce nearly enough in savings. For example, state Rep. Bob Lane (R-Statesboro) asked how much a 1 percent salary cut would save the system. Davis couldn’t answer, but my AJC colleagues checked and found out that a 1 percent cut to the systems’ teaching budget, the overwhelming majority of which goes to salaries, would save $19 million.
It seems the writing is on the wall for a tuition hike. In our visit, Adams noted that Georgia still is considered a great deal in public college tuition, and there is a fair argument for raising it.
A tuition hike at UGA is really a new burden on lottery dollars since so many Athens students are HOPE Scholarship recipients. The lottery folks already have warned of problems meeting demand, so that seems to point to a collision course between supply and demand.
Not sure how this is going to end, but I would suggest that college students start giving up those weekly Starbucks double shots and the iTune purchases. A tuition hike seems apparent unless lawmakers consider raising taxes or “fees” on something somewhere. (I still vote for the cigarette tax.)
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102 comments Add your comment
DeKalb Conservative
February 24th, 2010
3:49 pm
Cigarette tax? That taxes the poorest of the poor. Plus by further taxing it, you’ll get less of it (consumption of cigarettes), which will mean you’ll end up with even less money.
Why not tax organic foods?
Maureen Downey
February 24th, 2010
3:58 pm
DeKalb Conservative, Sure, but I doubt an organic food tax would produce anywhere near the revenue of a cigarette tax. Maureen
Norman
February 24th, 2010
4:12 pm
How about having pari mutuel gambling (horse racing) to raise additional revenue? I know the response will be that it will take away money from lottery funds. But it seems that Florida is doing just fine with a lottery and horse racing.
Sick&Tired
February 24th, 2010
4:18 pm
Just for Laughs
No, organic food is a good thing. We need more people to buy it. I would say put a tax on Red Meat, it’s bad for you.
I would suggest a tax on (restaurants, movies and gyms) to be used for educational purposes. I think we would earn more money in that area than if we raised cigarette tax.
DeKalb Conservative
February 24th, 2010
4:35 pm
Fair point, but I figured this was more about control over a consumer purchasing decision than actual tax generation. Second idea, since the 400 tolls are paid for, take a portion of that money. Third idea is a tempoary surcharge on all adult entertainment complexes and lap dances. Figured the group would at least find humor in that once, since most of the girls there are all “students trying to dance there way through college”
DeKalb Conservative
February 24th, 2010
4:37 pm
@ Sick&Tired
You can’t knock the organic food idea and then suggest taxes gyms. Aren’t gyms good things too?
DeKalb Conservative
February 24th, 2010
4:39 pm
How about this as a REALLY crazy idea-
$2.00 toll per car / $5.00 per truck for vechicles entering GA along I-95. NH and DE are quite effective with this along I-95
Now I'm just amused
February 24th, 2010
4:45 pm
Good for the chancellor. You have to pay for education: it costs money, lots of money of you want to do it right.
Why do those clowns and incompetents in the legislature think that tax cuts are always the answer to every problem?
high school teacher
February 24th, 2010
4:48 pm
Surely colleges can find waysto cut without raising tuition 77%. At this rate, I won’t be able to afford to put my kids through school – my pay is being cut, and HOPE won’t be around when my oldest needs it in 9 years – it will be drained dry.
retired
February 24th, 2010
5:34 pm
There really seems to be no good answer. Taxes will be raised some. Tuition will go up, as will fees. One idea to help students is to provide more on campus jobs to help them earn money. I spent four years working for the history department to off-set my college expenses. I did a lot of answering mail, filing, etc. Students may have to take more time to graduate and work more part time jobs. My parents could not pay my expenses and my dad maid too much for me to qualify for state aid. A private school was a better choice and I got a great education. Financial aid is more available.
Tony
February 24th, 2010
5:40 pm
Why is it that a college education is migrating into the entitlement arena? I know college costs a lot, but it sure is worth every penny. I was able to pay for my private college education and am now paying for my two children to go to college. College should not be free or too easy for students to pay for it. They will not value the time they put in.
Ole Guy
February 24th, 2010
6:03 pm
All these quick-fixes do is 1) piss people off, and 2) strangle education consumption, thereby rendering any long-term revenue gains moot. Anything these damn people do is destined to achieve minimal gain at max cost to the public. It is ONLY, I repeat, ONLY when the public sees evidence of “participatory pain”, on the part of those who come up with these idiotic schemes that we just might see some meaningful results. What do I mean by “participatory pain”? :
* Our educational elites do not need to go on a tax-funded junket to La La Land so that they can come away from said junket any better-prepared to serve those who (involuntarily) pay for such nonesense.
* Teacher furloughs can and should be shared BY ALL who, in one way or another, are a part of their “command structure”. For you non-military types out there, this simply means anyone in the “teacher food chain”…principals, superintendents, chiefs and demi-gods of all ilk who have any impact on front-line teachers.
Without elaborating any further, This entire comment can be summed up in three simple words:
LEADERSHIP BY EXAMPLE
It is highly disturbing to see Chancellor Davis’ reply to Representative Lane’s question as a simple “Dunno”, particularly when AJC staff was able to arrive at a viable analysis. Could the AJC staff somehow be more capable than the esteemed chancellor, or could it be the esteemed chancellor simply don’t give a damn.
AF
February 24th, 2010
6:09 pm
How about means testing the Hope Scholarships? According to something I read last year (I think it was last year) most lottery money comes from those below the line of the middle class. Most Hope Scholarships go to those above the middle class line.
Means testing the award of hope based on family income seems fair.
Besides, everyone’s state taxes pay for colleges. If a college education again becomes so expensive that only the wealthy can get it, that is like taxing the poor to pay for the education of the rich.
ga
February 24th, 2010
6:18 pm
doesn’t uga have a mansion that no one uses???? I am having a really hard time believing that cuts can’t be made and I don’t believe a 77% increase is necessary. Fire all the chancellors! That’ll save some bucks.
ga
February 24th, 2010
6:18 pm
and I am all for a cigarette tax
Maureen Downey
February 24th, 2010
6:26 pm
Af, As an editorial board, we supported an income cap on HOPE, but few readers agreed. At this point, HOPE is an expectation that I don’t think can easily be limited by income. (HOPE began with a cap way back when. I believe the income limit was $66,000 or so when Zell Miller introduced it.)
Maureen
the prof
February 24th, 2010
6:45 pm
Sorry Maureen, but you and your editorial board are dead wrong about the income cap for HOPE. Why make it another giveaway when it should be EARNED. Take a simple standardized test and award HOPE based on scores.
OvenBaked
February 24th, 2010
6:46 pm
There will be an increase forever and ever. Amen. Nothing is stopping it and no one really cares as long as big money is being made off of college stupids.
Maureen Downey
February 24th, 2010
7:00 pm
@The prof, We can use HOPE for one of two things: To determine whether kids go to college or to determine where they go to college. Since the entire state benefits from every college graduate, it is a better investment of state dollars to send more kids to college rather than influence where they go. (In-state versus out-of-state.) It doesn’t make economic sense to pay for kids who would have gone to college anyway, if you are concerned about how best to deploy scarce resources.
Maureen
Hey, it's Enrico Pallazzo!
February 24th, 2010
8:06 pm
Instead of a B average for access to the HOPE scholarship, make it a 90 and above (encourge competition among the high school students) and then lower the out of state tuition by 20% (isn’t that the way to encourage growth (tax give-a ways)), and reap the rewards.
Hey, it's Enrico Pallazzo!
February 24th, 2010
8:53 pm
Maureen, I am all for continuing education but I think you are wrong on the HOPE scholarship. If we want to encourage high achieving students to stay in state, then we need a policy that encourages high levels of academia. If students are not up to national standards then those students need to go college out of state. We should encourage out of state applicants by giving them a slight reduction in tuition. Most college graduates stay in the state they attended college. Given the current state of affairs in Georgia, it would be best for the state of Georgia if they encouraged and incentivized out of state students.
Concerned Student
February 24th, 2010
10:22 pm
70% is just too much!! Pay cuts for educators seems more realistic, seeing that without students attending there will be no need for the educators. It’s in the hands of the “great” ones we elected, so I hope they make the right decisions!!
Student
February 25th, 2010
1:01 am
Just wondering where the extra funds from the “Super Speeder” fines were going? I think we are punishing the wrong people for a bad economy. I go to school off of student loans. Without that I can’t go to school because the FAFSA is already UNFAIR. Cant we raise tax on cigs. and Alcohol? Or even cut from somewhere else? I think the education system already needs an improvement,, We are what number on the list of education quality? like 46th?? I dunno, Cute somewhere else dont punish students AND educators! I’m so OVER this iTS CRAZY…
jim d
February 25th, 2010
4:59 am
one penny per gallon
Bill
February 25th, 2010
7:54 am
Tony, I am glad you have been able to pay for private education. The public education system however has a different mission. Public universities in this and other states were begun to provide broad access to higher education. I don’t think anyone is arguing that college should be free (although one might), the argument is that higher cost restricts access, and that flies in the face of their mission.
Jim D. How about 50 cents.
Ronin
February 25th, 2010
8:04 am
All of the issues of college costs and current k-12 budget for local schools appears to point to the same problem, education in the State GA is broken. The cost of a college education has out stripped inflation by double digit numbers, yet most people keep taking out loans to obtain a college degree.
Never mind that you start out 100k in debt, you have a degree from Hobokin University.
The sad fact is the “higher education” system and government has convinced employers of the need for a college degree. Case in point, the elementary school teacher who has her Phd to teach first grade. Many, not all positions in England or other areas of Europe start workers on an apprentice program, they may work for years as a jr. accountant or underwriter then advance, some of which to the CEO level of major companies. Under our current structure, without a “college degree”, these people would not even receive an interview for an entry level job.
Lawyers? 20 years ago, in the state of GA, you could clerk for a Judge for a number of years and then sit for the bar exam, pass it, the bingo, you’re a lawyer. The ABA hated the lack of control and quashed that program.
True, certain professions require high level training, medicine, engineering and a few others, but the vast majority of college degrees the student can obtain the same information by reading two or three dozen books off the shelf of the library. Geez people, it’s not magic, just turn off American Idol and start reading books.
Good luck on relying on the legislature and the educational bureaucrats on fixing the problem.
NOT GONNA HAPPEN.
blackbird13
February 25th, 2010
8:16 am
How about this compromise on HOPE: Raise required GPA out of high school to 3.25 and means test on GPAs below 4.0. Those A students would continue to qualify regardless of income.
mystery poster
February 25th, 2010
8:38 am
My answer for the HOPE scholarship is to make it revert to a loan if students don’t earn a degree within a set amount of time, say 5 years. There are a lot of students who go to college on the HOPE, lose it, then drop out. What’s wrong with having them pay for that year of tuition?
James
February 25th, 2010
9:24 am
Get rid of the “B average” requirement on hope and make it based on SAT scores instead. All the “B average” has done is create grade inflation so that we send kids to school on a HOPE scholarship that end up taking remedial classes and eventually lose their HOPE status.
JacketFan
February 25th, 2010
9:29 am
Ok, I feel obligated to chime in here as a faculty member working in the USG system. First, you start cutting salaries that are already dismally low for a majority of professors who already teach more for less, then you are going to see those professors moving on to other states where higher education is a bit more respected – we have options.
I think one issue is the general opinion that ALL academics are overpaid intellectuals who teach one or two classes a year and shuffle off the bulk of their teaching duties to graduate assistants. That is just NOT the case. Yes, at R1 institutions like UGA, GT, and GStateU, there are graduate assistants – however, the number of those graduate assistants depends on department and funding. Furthermore, the only profs with any significant access to such GAs are those who are at the Associate or Full Professor rank and who bring in boucoup research dollars. For the most part, instructors, assistant professors and the majority of associate profs at the R1s are teaching 3-4 courses per semester while also required to publish (or perish). These folks are paid fairly well, but they are not representative of the faculty base in higher education (and their contributions in their various fields, have earned the money they are receiving – this is how tenure works. If they aren’t earning it, they get passed over).
Now, the rest of us (the majority) are working in the lower-tier universities, state colleges and two-year institutions. We are teaching 4-5 classes/semester, without any graduate assistants and are making significantly less than some middle grades/secondary education teachers. We are also required to publish (professional development). Most of us are teaching-centered, but we also have a desire to further develop our particular disciplines through research. Most of us are in student-aid debt (unlike some of our counterparts in education, who can get the bill for graduate degrees picked up by the state). Many of us are PhDs earning well under what many in the education system earn with master degrees (as much as $30,000 less). All of us are required to fulfill other duties as tenure-track and full time profs, including student advisement, service to the college, community engagement and professional development (see above). Some of us are asked to teach on Saturdays and Sundays or late (until 10:30) courses. We are asked to take on “extra” courses (especially at the open enrollment institutions like Georgia Perimeter) for peanuts more.
We don’t do this because we have no other choice. Many of us are “homers,” who love our state and teach here so that we can be close to our families. However, we do have options and are capable of leaving for greener pastures in more education-friendly states. I’m not advocating tuition hikes either. Students are already paying a great deal and are getting less for their dollar with every hiring freeze and furlough day the USG tacks on.
What needs to happen is that the people of Georgia need to make some decisions. They need to answer some very important questions: What price to you put on education? How important is it to provide your children with the best possible education? What is more important; a short-term inconvenience in the form of some kind of tax hike, or increasing the state’s educated workforce? Are we ready to really invest in the future of our state’s economic development? Tough times, tough choices, right? Except, who is being affected by the choices? Right now, it seems they are trained on two groups – educators and students – who carry the burden of Georgia’s future. That just doesn’t seem right, does it?
JacketFan
February 25th, 2010
9:29 am
Maureen – I’m getting filtered
James
February 25th, 2010
9:44 am
Large state universities in Georgia have virtually no competition in the marketplace. They can effectively raise tuition there without any fear of losing customers because their customers do not feel like they are paying anything for the product. HOPE kids are not paying tuition at all, and non-HOPE students are generally getting grants or education loans (that they may or may not ever pay back) so the tuition is really meaningless to them. The kids taking out educational loans will realize how much school cost 5 or 6 years down the road when they start paying for it.
Therefore the University doesn’t care how much they raise tuition; or even the concept of “cutting costs” – why should they? They can just raise tuition – nobody cares.
Husband of a teacher
February 25th, 2010
9:45 am
My wife “currently” teaches kindergarten and I get sick of the state cutting pay, mandating furlough days or keeping her worried if she will have a job or not. She graduated from UGA then attended a local university to get her masters degree. She received a merit raise for the masters degree only to have it taken away last year with education cuts. Now she faces furlough days and the day to day guessing of who will be on the chopping block next. As someone on the outside looking in, it is amazing the first thing the general population complains about is education, but it seems like the first thing that suffers from cuts. I’m telling you now if the cuts keep coming you will have out of work fast food or mall employees teaching your kids. (I’m not bashing fast food or mall workers, I’m saying that we keep getting closer and closer to not caring about whether our teachers are trained to teach.) Our kids will be the ones that suffer.
I also attended UGA and my parents paid for my education, some how. I love the idea of the HOPE scholarship. Let us not forget that “ZELL YES” , who I like, sold us the lottery on that basis so let’s not change the rules now. We have three kids that we will put through school some how. Raising tuition costs or cutting teacher pay is not the answer for budget short-falls! It’s definitely not the smart thing, it’s the easy thing. I do not have the answer but that is why we have elected officials and faculty administrators. Both of which will have short tenures if we continue on the current path.
Our politicians and administrators do not have to “reinvent the wheel” when it comes to education. Just look around at other countries that are having success such as Finland. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Finland ) Cuts in pay and hikes in taxes are the easy way, let’s try something that requires effort and scholarly thinking.
I was born and raised in GA and when I was younger I thought I knew everything. I realize now that if you move out of your comfort zone and try things that seem “wierd” that you may just learn a better ways to do things.
Think about this quote:
“The teachers are respected; high talent is attracted into teaching; it is considered to be one of the most important professions.”
-Finnish Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen
Do we have this attitude toward our educational system or our teachers?
JustAnotherGeorgian
February 25th, 2010
9:59 am
JacketFan, you’re spot-on. The elitist academics that so many people are upset about are a tiny percentage of the state’s faculty, and they DO bring in dollars to the system because of how elite they are. The other part that people are missing is that enrollment has been growing through the roof. Yes college costs are going up faster than inflation, but that’s because we’re teaching more students. It’s like complaining that the cost of 2 gallons of milk today is higher than the cost of 1 gallon last year.
The end is this… our state colleges are already underfunded and continue to have their budgets cut. You can only “do more with less” to a certain point, and then you simply have to do less. If government would figure that simple math out, maybe the country wouldn’t be in the mess it is.
So I pose the same questions to the citizens of Georgia that you do, but I add a few more…
1) Do you want affordable, quality education available if you lose your job?
2) Do you want a University System that attracts businesses (and therefore jobs) to our state?
3) Are you willing to get off the sofa and tell your representatives to pay for it?
JacketFan
February 25th, 2010
10:02 am
JustAnotherGeorgian – just to add some support to your post. This year, Georgia Perimeter College had a record-breaking enrollment … 25,000 students. That’s the third highest student population in the state and GPC is a two-year college. Next year, GPC is looking at 28,000 students. It’s like triage over there.
James
February 25th, 2010
10:59 am
@JustAnotherGeorgian – some of your examples are bad.
“college costs are going up faster than inflation, but that’s because we’re teaching more students.”
No that’s not why. If teaching a student costs on average $x then each year it should normally go up by the same amount as inflation. The economies of scale would normally make the costs go DOWN as you teach more students each year because overhead costs for a 300 seat teaching amphitheater do not change regardless of if you have 100 students or 300 students in it.
“It’s like complaining that the cost of 2 gallons of milk today is higher than the cost of 1 gallon last year.”
Again; that’s not the complaint that we have. It’s that tuition costs have gone up faster than inflation.
>1) Do you want affordable, quality education available if you lose your job?
You mean, do I want to pay MORE in taxes so that unemployed people can go to school for free? To be sure, education is ALWAYS a good cause that I support. More taxes is not something I ever support.
>2) Do you want a University System that attracts businesses (and therefore jobs) to our state?
sure. But would higher taxes attract more business?
>3) Are you willing to get off the sofa and tell your representatives to pay for it?
I’m willing to get off my sofa and tell my representative to find ways to cut taxes. Period. Find government services to cut, find government spending to cut.
mystery poster
February 25th, 2010
11:41 am
But on a much more important note:
Should we make the chicken the state bird?
Husband of a teacher
February 25th, 2010
11:49 am
FYI per http://www.atlantaunfiltered.com/2009/07/14/michael-f-adams-631922/
Michael F. Adams, University of Georgia president: $631,922 salary
July 14, 2009 —
President, University of Georgia, FY 2008 salary and benefits. Adams also collected $16,090 for expenses from the university and two foundations supporting it, tax records show.
—————————–
The average k-12 teacher salary in Georgia is $48,300 and getting smaller day by day. We personally spend about $2000 per year out of our pocket for needed supplies. The teachers run out of paper on a daily basis. Paper for God sake!
There is a desparity in the country that we live in when we give a man $110 million dollars to play golf or $45 million dollars to play basketball and yet we struggle to find a better way to fund our education system.
Maybe we could get Tiger or Kobe to donate us the $200 million to help them with their PR. Or maybe we could get the UGA atheletic department to take over Adams’ job. They have no trouble raising money. Go Dawgs!
Bryan
February 25th, 2010
12:12 pm
To James: Do you think the fact that legislators who will not raise taxes under any circumstances have consistently cut the percentage of funds given to the USG has anything to do with rising tuition (note that by percentage here I mean the percentage of the USG budget that comes directly from the legislature, a percentage that has been dropping for years)? Don’t get me wrong, this is the case in most other states, as well. Moreover, if you think it is bad now, wait to fiscal 2012 when stimulus dollars go away. One way our legislators balanced the books without raising taxes was to remove an amount from their allocations to the USG equivalent to what the system got in stimulus dollars. Before we discuss tax revenue in fiscal 2012, the system will be down another $140 million, which represents a percentage of the USG budget much higher than the current rate of inflation.
Mjordan
February 25th, 2010
12:20 pm
The State of Georgia never learns. I have been in higher ed for thirty years and this is the same things we heard in the late 70’s and 80’s. When ever there is an economic down turn the taxes dollars to fund education go down and at the same time the number of students attending college goes up. So when times were good what does the State of Georgia do….they spend it all…every year, every penny with out a thought of what might happen down the road. We have such short memories. In a very years (I hope) when things improve and tax revenues are back up and every thing looks wonderful again, we will turn around and do the same thing again. Like I said the politicians never learn.
Jonathan
February 25th, 2010
12:24 pm
Tax Tax Tax…Look at all the new buildings being built. Every school I looked at had millions and millions committed to new buildings. Why all of a sudden do all the schools need new buildings? Does anyone ever think to save for a rainy day. Why not control expenses, reduce costs, improve the quality of the education, not the facilities. We Americans can not longer think to solve constricted parameter problem, we only know to ask for more money. taxing the public to pay for something keeps the public from spending, which then causes new problems. Makes me sick.
Cora in Roswell
February 25th, 2010
12:44 pm
A little history…
The original intent of the HOPE scholarship was to increase the Participation Rate of college attendance in Georgia. (A greater % of GA 18 year olds would attend college.) The thinking at the time was that there existed vast numbers of economically-disadvantaged but academically-qualified 18 year old Georgians who were not attending college because they couldn’t afford to.
Several years later, studies showed something quite surprising. Rather than increasing the participation rate of college attendance, the HOPE scholarship seemed to be having a great effect on car sales. Why? Parents who had been putting away money for college were now offering it to their college-bound children to purchase cars – on the condition they attend college IN STATE and take advantage of HOPE. These students would have gone to college anyway, but were staying in Georgia, rather than going out of state. A further effect was that colleges in border states (AL, TN, SC) began to offer academically-qualified Georgia students IN-STATE tuition to attempt to lure them back.
So college attendance in Georgia has soared, partly due to the baby boomlet of 1989-92 (boomers’ last chance at baby-making), and partly because of HOPE. Combine these with a loss in state revenue and you’ve got crowded classrooms, a decrease in course offerings, and faculty with less time to advise. Yes it may now take longer to graduate, but what jobs are waiting for graduates anyway? And don’t forget the 4 year graduation rates of many Georgia colleges was not very high PRIOR to the economic downturn (less than 50%)
My son is currently benefitting from the HOPE scholarship and selfishly, I don’t want anyone tinkering with it. It is still the envy of parents in every state. And while it is not accomplishing what it was intended to, is it so bad that Georgia is keeping our best students in-state, where they are likely to remain after graduation? This fact should not be lost on companies who consider relocating to Georgia.
charlierobert
February 25th, 2010
12:47 pm
All state universities impose a large fee for out of state students. Why not add an additional charge — say, $1,000 per semester — for students who are foreign nationals?
JT
February 25th, 2010
1:00 pm
CUT SPENDING….look at the Red & Black’s article on teachers’ salaries. $300k for an accounting professor? Are you kidding me?
http://www.redandblack.com/2010/02/08/pay-day-eighteen-of-the-20-highest-paid-univ-employees-received-raises-in-2009/
GTdad
February 25th, 2010
1:05 pm
Being a teacher, I see no other way than to close all the colleges and schools until we can afford them. 77% increase in tuition, and cutting my days at work. It’s got to be the new math that we are teaching in high schools today.
Jason
February 25th, 2010
1:10 pm
As a current student in the USG I am seeing these “temporary” institution fees being spent first hand. If you were to walk into a current university all you would see is 42 inch and larger HDTV flat panel tv’s. At my school, Southern Polytechnic, in our Student Center I can not count how many of these tv’s have been mounted within the past year, most of which are never used. We had a Frisbee Golf course put on campus, which I’ve never seen used, over the summer. The frivolous spending needs to stop! HDTV’s are not needed in every classroom, at least not right now since we can’t afford them. I would love to sit down with Erroll Davis and go over the budget with him. The problem with the USG is the politics and people not thinking about the problems logically but rather the Democrat way, raise taxes! Of course in this situation, it’s tuition. I’m just glad I will be graduating this summer.
why not
February 25th, 2010
1:12 pm
If you get government regulation out of higher education, you can slash prices by about 30% according to some studies. Why not start there?
Level Playing Field
February 25th, 2010
1:14 pm
I’m perfectly happy to have tuition at government colleges go up by 77%. This puts them on more equal footing with privates which receive no direct state govt subsidies. And if tuition hikes cause HOPE problems then all the better b/c it should be a flat amount per student rather than a payment tilted in favor of govt run colleges.
mystery poster
February 25th, 2010
1:16 pm
@Cora:
I don’t believe that the main idea of the HOPE was to help economically disadvantaged students attend college. They would have made it income-dependent if that was the case.
It was to prevent a “brain drain,” the best and brightest going elsewhere to college and eventually settling there.
My son is also benefiting from the scholarship right now and I don’t want them to mess with it, either.
tax-tax-tax
February 25th, 2010
1:19 pm
all this talk about taxing. Why not cut some non essential services from the budget to fund the things government was supposed to do from the beginning, like schools. The governor talked about goverment 2.0. I want it now. Don’t just cut the “waste”, cut everything that isn’t specifically the job of the government. Revamp the tax code and lets have the recovery start in GA!
Ole Guy
February 25th, 2010
1:34 pm
Last I heard, USMA/West Point was still free…ANY TAKERS?
Cora in Roswell
February 25th, 2010
1:37 pm
mystery poster…
My source for information participated in the HOPE planning. The original terms did have an income cap of $66,000, which was later removed, due to the popularity of the Lottery.
Maureen Downey
February 25th, 2010
1:38 pm
Mystery Poster; Your comment sent me back to the AJC archives to read about early HOPE debates. I thought this story was particularly interesting, given it involved a state senator named Perdue. Maureen
What?
February 25th, 2010
1:58 pm
Does anybody really care about some one so stupid as to smoke in 2010? If they are so poor as DeKalb Conservative implies, how in the hell do they buy cigarettes. A better question is ” is it fair to tax continuous poor judgment? Hell yes! Make better choices. It affects us all, rich or poor.
I heard a true conservative say hes not against education but against paying for the inflationary and unnecessary bureaucracy that is leeching of education. To than gentleman I say Amen!
What?
February 25th, 2010
1:59 pm
*to that gentleman.
What?
February 25th, 2010
2:01 pm
*leeching off education. The rising cost is in salaries and pension being paid for forcing repeat classes and fees, etc.
Cora in Roswell
February 25th, 2010
2:16 pm
Zell Miller deserves much praise for the HOPE scholarship. My job takes me all over the US where I frequently talk with college financial aid officers. Although many states have copied HOPE, none seem to have secured its source (Lottery) in such an iron-clad way as Georgia. In other states, I’m told Lottery funds are frequently raided for pork barrel purposes, so that there’s never enough left for college scholarships.
Georgia Prof
February 25th, 2010
3:46 pm
I teach at a University System four-year college. We are building a new building because our enrollment has more than tripled since 1990. The building was approved years ago–and it’s sorely needed. We literally have no classroom space left–all the classrooms on campus are crammed full. Our particular school ranks near the bottom in the pay scale for colleges in Georgia. Our student/teacher ratio is too high. Our student/staff ratio is far too high. We have no fat in our budget to cut–none. Education at our school is bound to suffer. We can’t hire new faculty because we don’t have the money. We are forced to use part-timers, who receive no benefits, to fill in the gaps–and though they are fine people, they have no commitment to the school in the way that a full-timer would have, and they can’t relieve the load of advising and committee service that full-timers must shoulder in addition to teaching. I have a few more years to retirement–but I may just give up and retire.
By the way, if you’re curious, you can find out what every USG employee earns at http://www.open.georgia.gov/sta/viewMain.aud (though the figures are somewhat inflated–the State of Georgia subcontracted its payroll system to California last year, and the California company duplicated one month’s salary, so many if not all of these are too high by 1/10 to 1/12 of the total).
John Peterson
February 25th, 2010
4:16 pm
The government has only one option — legalization of marijuana.
Ken
February 25th, 2010
4:49 pm
Lay offs, rate hikes, cigarette taxes — the same old tired proposals. How about LEGALIZING card rooms in the state of Georgia? Not casinos but card rooms — poker only! California determined many years ago that poker was a game of “skill” thus separating it from roulette, craps and other “games of chance”. Put a big card room up I-85 in the Gwinnett area with all of the new arenas and people would fly in, limo to the card room for the weekend and head-out. The state collects mega-taxes from card rooms and there profits plus the tourist taxes of everyone coming in for quick poker weekends. The “old guys” in under the Gold Dome need to move into the 21st century and think of other ways to raise money for the state!
Ronin
February 25th, 2010
4:50 pm
@ John Peterson, you may be on to something. The tax proceeds from the legal sale of marijuana would more than cover the expense for higher education, with enough left over to give all k-12 teachers a 10% raise. a true win-win.
the only exception is that you CAN’T LEGALLY SELL MARIJUANA ON SUNDAY, so it would be on the same field as alcohol.
CollegeStudent
February 25th, 2010
7:12 pm
I have an idea! How about all college students drop out and then work our way to the legislative board. That way when this comes around again (probably next year) it will not be a problem because we work for them!!!
CollegeStudent
February 25th, 2010
7:16 pm
Another point! Why is it when we try and better ourselves, the dang government and politicians screw it up!
Another GA Prof
February 25th, 2010
8:11 pm
As a prof at a “lower tier” university….we were informed that there will be programs cut and layoffs next year. There will be enrollment caps. There will be tuition increases. Faculty at my university make modest salaries, most about 40-60K, teach 5 classes and have tons of other responsibilities. We are not elitists. We have taken pay cuts this year (called furloughs) with NO CHANGE in our job or responsibilities. How would you like that–be laid off for a day, but still have to do the same amount of actual work! At least when the DMV employees are off, they don’t have to work. We have been told to expect blood. Rumors are flying….1 out of every 6 or 7 faculty to be gone. Good luck retaining the best faculty and good luck taking Biology I so you can go to med school, better think about plan B. Kiss your educational system in GA good bye. There is no value placed on education in GA. There is no respect for faculty and what we are trying to do to educate (actually, re-educate the mess given to us by the high schools!) the citizens!
bootney farnsworth
February 25th, 2010
8:30 pm
well, the poo has really and truly hit the fan now.
we’ve seen this coming for years, and both the state and the regents just chose to look the other way. and now the citizens of Georgia are
left to pay the freight.
and you’re gonna for a long time
bootney farnsworth
February 25th, 2010
8:35 pm
@jacketfan
you’re right about GPC, but not necessarily for the reasons you think.
the enrollment spike has less to do with the economy – both national and GPC’s relatively cheap costs – than it does with Anthony Tricoli’s
delusions of grandure.
from the moment he got to GPC he has flaunted every bit of rational thinking in his quest to have the largest enrollment in Georgia.
it’s ego, pure and simple. and its gonna kill GPC
bootney farnsworth
February 25th, 2010
8:45 pm
@another Ga Prof:
like you, I work for the BOR. but for whatever its worth, you’re one up on me. at least faculty has tenure, which is some form of protection
against presidents on a rampage. those of us who are classified as professional staff have no such buffer, slender as it might be for you.
at GPC, we have had our workload steadily increased, and some folks have been compelled to work on furlough days.
whatever system of checks and balances which supposedly exist for college administrations have failed completely.
otter
February 25th, 2010
8:58 pm
From the Atlanta Journal Constitution
“We’re becoming a socialist society when we say that you shouldn’t raise tuition at all,” Balfour said, adding that his son attends college in Georgia and that tuition “is embarrassingly cheap.”
“I don’t want a commitment from you you’re not going to raise tuition,” Balfour said. “I’d rather have a commitment from you that you are.”
According to the National Conference of State Legislators:
(state Senator Balfour, A Republican, Sen. Balfour is Chairman of the powerful Senate Rules Committee. In addition, he serves on the Senate Appropriations, Education and Youth, and the Health and Human Services committees. He is on the board of both the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce, and represents Georgia on the Executive Committee of the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee (RLCC). He also is an appointee to the Executive Committee, the governing board of the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC)….He is an executive with the Waffle House, Inc., and has been with them for over 25 years.
Sen. Balfour is a graduate of Bob Jones University. He and his wife, Ginny, are the parents of a son, Trey. They attend Grace Fellowship Church.
From the state’s web site:
2312 Waterscape Trail; Snellville, GA 30078; Phone: (770) 729-5764 (office phone)* Email: don.balfour@senate.ga.gov
According to followthemoney.org:
Total accepted contributions to date :$32,740,088.
Top contributors in 2008 alone: Finance, real estate and insurance $4,592,396. The Republican Party itself 4,147,697. “Health” lobby, $3,928,557. Lawyers and lobbyists $2,996,556. ….et alia
In my opinion:
Another charter member of the of the “Just Us League”. Limiting educational opportunities for the poor in order to protect the elite status of big contributors. I highly recommend the website “followthemoney.org”
this state needs to do better by its uneducated, for financial and practical reasons. the more educated the population, the more they will contribute, and yes, pay.
bootney farnsworth
February 26th, 2010
8:19 am
why not a casino or two in underground?
tax that.
jim d
February 26th, 2010
10:05 am
Ole Guy,
last I heard it was valued at roughly $350,000 of tax payer money.
Ole Guy
February 26th, 2010
10:12 am
Thanks, Jimmy D…and that’s before flight School!
jim d
February 26th, 2010
10:18 am
one penny per gallon
We consume 21 million barrells a day—or 882,000,000 gallons
@.01 per gallon = $8,882,000 per day x 365 day = $ 3,241,930,000 per year.
just guessing here but seems since money is always the solution that this amount would buy a lot of extra smarts.
Ole Guy
February 26th, 2010
10:18 am
Joe College, your’s is the most astute question of the century. It dovetails nicely with the not-so-calming refrain “I’m from the government and I’m here to help”. Perhaps as you venture into life, you might find an answer to that perplexing question.
jim d
February 26th, 2010
10:20 am
provided they don’t crash—it’s still a bargin
Ole Guy
February 26th, 2010
11:44 am
Jimmy, every landing’s a crash…it’s all a matter of degree.
DreamsofOne
February 26th, 2010
12:33 pm
Not all College Students are double shot Starbucks esspreso guzzlers. I for one fall under the category of impoverished and struggling college student barely making rent. Since I was sixteen I dreamt about becoming a Shovel Bum or Archaeology Professor. Since I am very poor I am on the eight year graduation track. Will this bill be a mercy killing to a struggling young man’s dream?
college student
February 26th, 2010
12:40 pm
These issues we’re having with the education are so serious, infuriating, and frightening that my professor postponed our class discussion to have a group discussion about these problems. I had no idea that things were getting this bad. It’s upsetting and angers me that my education and the people who work in education are going to suffer because the government doesn’t know how to prioritize. I want to be able to graduate on time and get the degrees I want so that I can make a good leaving. However, it doesn’t look like I’ll be so fortunate to have the opportunity to get a good education because I’m either going to not be able to afford it or the schools I want to go to are going to be shut down because they can’t meet their budget requirements. Something has to be done and I understand that sacrifices have to be made and some decisions that are going to be made are going to be hard to live with. The decisions that have already been made are hurting us really bad now and it’s sad to admit that it’s only going to get worse. It isn’t fair.
It isn’t fair to the teachers who have paid to get their masters to get better pay have had to get their pay cut to meet budget. Knowing that kills my hopes of getting my masters. My hopes of getting a college education are being threatened and I’m scared and angry. What’s going to happen if kids like me don’t get a college education? We’re not going to have as many people in the future who have the knowledge to do anything to help improve our country and it will be all because of money. I don’t think that we should have to go to the extreme of raising tuition 77%. If that happens then no one except the rich are going to go to school, so there goes more that half of the students population which will result in closing down the school because there aren’t enough students to keep up with the costs or more teachers and staff will be let go. There are other things that can be done to find the money.
In class we talked about raising tuition maybe 10-15% which will allow students who receive HOPE and other financial aid to stay in school, like myself. Some fees will have to be raised, some programs at school will have to be cut, and there will be furlough days for faculty and staff but all this is bearable. I think that some taxes should be raised and that the cigarette and alcohol tax is a great idea. One student brought up the idea that even lottery tickets should be taxed because these are all things that people are going to continue to buy and a little raise in price won’t be that bad. I think that the “elite” people in education and in government seats should get furloughed too. I just don’t want things to get too extreme. Something needs to be done that isn’t so extreme that it will crush students’ dreams and educators careers. I can’t afford school with how things are now. I go to school off of financial aid and am so blessed to have this help and because I receive financial aid I appreciate my education I’m getting more and put more effort into it because other people are paying for me to do well. If financial aid gets cut and everything else rises I won’t be able to afford school. It’s not easy going to school and working at the same time and to out all this money, time, and effort into it just to have it snatched up from underneath me isn’t something I want. I get things are really bad not just in education but everywhere but it doesn’t need to get worse. We need to start caring more and start to really think about what is important.
Kate
February 26th, 2010
3:21 pm
Newsflash: Cigarettes hurt the poorest of the poor.
bootney farnsworth
February 26th, 2010
5:22 pm
@ college student
in this society, you can’t not get your degree. no matter how long it takes. if you don’t you’ll end up poor and unable to get a decent job.
while the 77% is a scare tactic, the problems are very real. I suspect about 1 of every 7 non protected BOR employees are gonna have to go. the protected ones get raises.
the sad truth is the legislature and the Regents have been asleep at the switch for so long this is unavoidable.
Concerned Parent
February 26th, 2010
7:14 pm
This subject fills me with dread for the future of our children. When will the Governor’s office wake up and realize that by cutting the budget for education, he is cutting the throat of the state?? Kids are our future! We need to INVEST in our kids’ education, not cut the daylights out of the school budgets! This is totally ridiculous! I think the Governor and legislature should take a pay cut and leave the education budget alone!
I was an adjunct instructor at a technical college until Sonny Purdue decided to cut the budgets for the technical colleges in the state, and I have only now been able to find a job paying minimum wage. Does he not realize that when he cuts the budgets of the schools, the first ones to suffer are the students and instructors, because the colleges have a knee-jerk reaction to cut the number of instructors, which in turn decreases the classes that the school is able to offer.
Sonny Purdue, WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL OF THAT STIMULUS MONEY THAT WAS GIVEN TO GEORGIA????????? Some of that money was to go to education! Where did it go??
This is totally ridiculous! We need to elect someone to the governor’s office that has run their own small business, or who has been a single mom and actually had to live on a budget. These legislators do not know how to handle money, and as for budgets – Don’t get me started!
bootney farnsworth
February 26th, 2010
9:35 pm
At GPC we’re wondering where the axe will fall, and how hard.
At the same time we’re wondering how Tricoli will defend his decisions.
No one believes the new Atlanta Center for Civic Engagement and Service Learning will be touched.
Ole Guy
February 26th, 2010
11:36 pm
Hey Dreams, stay focused. I know that’s easier said than done, but as long as you maintain that goal, it’ll happen. During my undergrad years, I thoroughly enjoyed studies in anthropology by way of archaeological digs. It’s a field which I know is going to be in great demand, both in the medical disciplines and in the social sciences. Good luck, Guy!
Concerned Student
February 27th, 2010
10:01 am
I see alot of great ideas on this board that would be very beneficial to raising the needed funds for education. We need to get our priorities right or this country will continue to fall from the ranks of the elite!! Raise taxes on smokers, drinkers, and excessive gas users. If that doesn’t fix the problem then we have way more issues than a 300 million dollar problem!!!!
Ole Guy
February 27th, 2010
12:37 pm
Concerned, are you referring to funding sources for the educational establishment or for Concerned? There are already train loads of monies within the establishment. The problem, in ultra-simplistic manner, lies in the lack of responsible fiscal management. If your issue is one of funding sources for the purpose of assisting students, I couldn’t agree with you more in that we do need to reorient our priorities. However, simply taxing the excesses of society is not the answer. You might check for possible funding sources within the field you wish to enter. Scholarships, of one flavor or another, are often hidden somewhere in the weeds. You’re absolutely right…starting a career, in earnest, at an early age, with that deficit hanging in the air, is tantamount to starting the swim portion, in the triathelon of life, with an anchor tied to your foot.
Yours, Concerned, is no easy task. But you know, it never was. In time to come, you will look back and view these challenges as my generation views our challenges of yesteryear…SEIZE THE DAY!
Educator
February 27th, 2010
3:30 pm
Means-testing HOPE by standardized test scores would exclude a lot of the lower income folks that actually fund HOPE. Maybe that’s not a concern in some circles, but this should be for everyone: standardized test scores don’t predict success in college very well at all. It’s a one-off test. High school GPA (unweighted) even with all the variability, is a much better predictor of sucess in college.
Educator
February 27th, 2010
3:47 pm
While I might argue that we have priority problems (more money should go here vs. there), the real issue is a structural tax problem: the income tax brackets were last meaningfully updated in the 1930s. In theory, we have a progressive tax structure, but the top tax bracket is 6%, which workers reach when they hit $7,000 in income (for single filers) and $10,000 for married/head of household filers. We essentially have a flat tax in Georgia, one that is woefully inadequate to meet the needs of the state the 21st century. Let’s reform the tax code! See http://www.gbpi.org/documents/20090713.pdf (pages 9 and 10).
bootney farnsworth
February 27th, 2010
4:07 pm
fixing education is structurally very easy, politically next to impossible. in 20+ years working in education, I’ve truly learned
on thing.
as a collective, especially the administrative arm, educators would rather see everyone on Earth starve than to let go even the slightist bit of their particular pet projects
Ole Guy
February 27th, 2010
7:22 pm
Farns, you have just provided an excellent description of American politics at its finest.
ACovington
February 28th, 2010
7:46 pm
I believe that Georgia’s budget cut is more of a problem than a solution. According to Morgan Quitno Press, Georgia ranks #41 in a study of the smartest states and It will only get worse with each frequent budget cut. How do you expect for our upcoming generations to successfully control our country if the government keeps downplaying the importance of education? I cannot comprehend how we, as students and future workers of America are going to be forced to pay more for our education when there will be less services and education provided. What about the students who are already struggling to pay for their schooling? What about those students who have worked their asses of f for academic or sports scholarships only to learn that the scholarships will soon be worth nothing because of the lack of finances? This budget cut is a set-up for failure. It is a lose-lose situation in which citizens of America are being cheated out of their money in order to compensate for economic troubles and a situation in which America get cheated out of a high-quality generation on account of the lessened importance placed on education and the ever-rising cost of it. I believe that whoever is seriously considering raising tuition either has no knowledge or has no interest in what is really important, which is the students. Without the students all higher educational institutions would just be big office spaces. So what would possess one to believe that taxing the individuals that they are benefitting from will create profit. It may create a small increase in its finances but people will then begin ruling out the possibility of attending college after high school or going back to school because of its increasing price tag. Many are beginning to wonder, “Is it really worth it?”
ACovington
February 28th, 2010
7:48 pm
Enter your comments I believe that Georgia’s budget cut is more of a problem than a solution. According to Morgan Quitno Press, Georgia ranks #41 in a study of the smartest states and It will only get worse with each frequent budget cut. How do you expect for our upcoming generations to successfully control our country if the government keeps downplaying the importance of education? I cannot comprehend how we, as students and future workers of America are going to be forced to pay more for our education when there will be less services and education provided. What about the students who are already struggling to pay for their schooling? What about those students who have worked their asses of f for academic or sports scholarships only to learn that the scholarships will soon be worth nothing because of the lack of finances? This budget cut is a set-up for failure. It is a lose-lose situation in which citizens of America are being cheated out of their money in order to compensate for economic troubles and a situation in which America get cheated out of a high-quality generation on account of the lessened importance placed on education and the ever-rising cost of it. I believe that whoever is seriously considering raising tuition either has no knowledge or has no interest in what is really important, which is the students. Without the students all higher educational institutions would just be big office spaces. So what would possess one to believe that taxing the individuals that they are benefitting from will create profit. It may create a small increase in its finances but people will then begin ruling out the possibility of attending college after high school or going back to school because of its increasing price tag. Many are beginning to wonder, “Is it really worth it?”
Jamal
February 28th, 2010
10:20 pm
Sure, tax luxuries(cigarettes, organics and those foods that are often required for those with diet sensitivities)that working folks pay for while our social welfare programs continue to suck us dry. Lot’s of good folks are out of work and deserve a break. Unfortunately, those programs, which are designed to help those who at least attempt to contribute to society are being taken up by those who prefer to sit on rear ends and do nothing but rob the rest of our working society. Taxes aren’t needed, we have plenty of that, look to fix or rid ourselves of the broken programs currently in use.
Olivia Huff
March 1st, 2010
11:24 pm
AJC,
Not only is this budget increase unfair it is a mockery to our educational system in the United States! Starting with this tuition hike our educational system will cease to exist. I say why have education at all if you can now afford to pay for the bills on minimum wage and with our newest free healthcare system paying for our medical needs. The value of education is slowly decreasing. Why cant our educational system be restored to its simpler times of the “Little House on the Prairie” where children would strive for higher education and work hard to achieve it to contribute to the world one day. The educational system is very close to seeing its worst starting with this tuition increase and pay cuts for teachers and professors.
One of the many stress points during a student’s desire for a higher education is how to pay for it. Especially those who were not blessed with scholarships and grants have to pay for tuition out of pocket, much similar to my own experience. I worked full time all summer for my college tuition in the fall. I worked full time in the fall and went to school full time to pay for my spring tuition as well. I am now attending an affordable local college that I have paid for both semesters on a minimum wage income. If tuition is raised 77% my dreams for my future is shot. I will have no future. Students like me will not be able to attend college to further their education and make a career for themselves.
My hats off to those who teach at college. Professors dedicate most of their lives during their education to teach students who deserve a chance. And to have their pay swiped from underneath them is beyond me.
I say no pay cut. I say no tuition hike. I say tax the things in our society that doesn’t really even matter. I say tax the bad. Tax cigarettes, tax alcohol, tax the lottery. Why should the educational system have to suffer? Why shouldn’t we tax everything that is wrong with our society to 1. Make it a better one and 2. Leave the educational system alone or at least back to where it should be! (In the “little house on the Prairie” days!)
Olivia Huff
MARCH 2 ANNOUNCEMENTS « GSU Progressive Student Alliance
March 2nd, 2010
12:08 am
[...] actually pondered not just cuts to staff, faculty, and departments on individual campuses, but tuition increases of up to 77% to cover the budget cap. This is because, as they say, “everything is on the [...]
Christina Dowse
March 2nd, 2010
12:55 am
We should be prioritizing education over things like chancellor salaries, for instance the chancellor makes $572,000 a year http://www.jobnob.com/board-regents-university-system-georgia-salary We can’t sit by and let this happen to us, to our children, to our communities, to our state, to our country. Please join one of the many organizations that are fighting these unnecessary cuts. If the board of regents alone cuts their salaries to more human levels, we could pay for this “crisis.” Across the nation, including in the Georgia colleges of Kennesaw, Tech, UGA, GSU, etc, students and teachers will ban together to stand up against this ridiculous attack on education.
college student-as
March 2nd, 2010
11:26 am
why!! why are you doing this to us. you are pratically taking away everything we’ve worked for with this tuition increase. true enough the stuents that have money will have nothing to worry about because they can still pay for school buit those of us that have college as a last resort to make something out of ourselves!1 so not fare!
g girl
March 2nd, 2010
11:55 am
I think this whole thing is rediculous. It’s offending as a college student that the schools are one of the first things thought of to help our country’s economic problem. We are trying to get the education we need to grow and get the jobs and help our country. It also adds an extreme amount of stress on our lives by adding a 77 percent tuition hike. Some can barely afford it as it is. How are we supposed to continue our education if it is causing more pain to our pockets.
In my opinion, the cigarette tax could be good but could also backfire. It could help raise money for a while but after that while people will probably get tired of paying a tax on top of paying for the carton and stop all together which wouldn’t help the money problem at hand. Either way, our economy is in a crisis and raising the already expensive tuition for college students is, in my opinion, rediculous and very stressful and I pray that it doesn’t happen.
Ms. K
March 2nd, 2010
1:44 pm
Enter your coAs being a student in the UGA system it is very hard to gather all the information discussed in Feb. 25 AJC paper about our school system. I have been attending college for quiet so time and I have enjoyed the help with the proccess of getting. Raising out tution will not only affect me but also affect our environment as a whole, especially in the state of Ga. Many students have looked forward to getting there degree the minute they stepped out of highschool, but raising the tuition will make it difficult for many to even step into the door of any college. If students cant afford to go to school next year that will affect their life tremedously. Its possible that they wont be able to get a job especially the way the economy is at the moment. I think that the government should take iniative that many students and even ther parents are going to be very upset, and agree that the government should find a better solution to raising the money that is due without afeecting our lives. Georgia students are going to fight until justice is made on our behalf because we believe our government has gone to far. I think you should come up with a good strategy to get this money by taxing other things besides our educatuion.mments here
Pamela
March 2nd, 2010
2:56 pm
To Whom It May Concern,
As a college student it hurts to know that when the government goes thru issues with money they begin to attack the college students. They may have once been students as well, and they seem to not care. There are may ways to go by gaining money other then trying to bring down those that are trying to make something out of their lives. There has been so many standards that has brought the students into the schools and to know that now it can be taken all away is traumatizing. Jobs that have been place before the world have very high expectations as to the requirements for seeking that particular job. Now days there is not much that can be done with out a higher education. I am aware that this is just a different stage of life, but something is also being taken away from those that are trying to do something productive and not turn towards the streets. The government has some many ways of obtaining money but yet they are will to go and help other countries before helping themselves. Not only are we in need in the education system but many other areas as well. When will they realize that government founding will not exist for long. What will we do? Is this country ready for what will be in store having so many uneducated people in the society. This may result to more violent crimes in all aspects. It is funny how there is NO money for schools and education, but there is plenty of money to build prisons!
Kaitlyn
March 3rd, 2010
1:50 pm
Being a student in Georgia, this whole thing really makes me mad. My grandmother was decent enough to start a college fund for me, and the Pell Grant takes care of my tuition… I don’t make a decent enough grade to get Hope, but then again, they are raising the requirements to get and keep hope. When my brother started college, to get Hope, all he needed was about a 2.5 GPA. When I graduated HS in 09, to get hope, I needed a 3.0… but i had a 2.6… beginning this fall semester, to get Hope one would need a 3.6 GPA.
since this is only a proposal right now, IF the tuition is raised 77%, it would end up being cheaper to go out of state than being in state.
Really honestly, i believe that the superintendents and boards should get the first cuts and furlough days. My mother is a 5th grade teacher and she is barely able to make ends meet as it is with the furlough days and pay cuts that have been forced upon her. And!! the superintendent of her county is getting a pay raise! Seriously?!?!
I support raising the cigarette tax… maybe raising the alcohol tax, putting a luxury tax on for people who get their nails done, sales tax for certain items other than food and basic household items…
hunting items, fishing items,… yadda yadda yadda… Plus, if people are sucking up all this money working all the time, just have furlough days for everyone… maybe for medical and law enforcement, have half staff certain days…
But all that aside, education may be the easiest thing to take money out of, but education is what needs the money most… and college funds only go so far.
Being a bio major, my funds need to go as far as possible.
C. Amey at Gordon
March 3rd, 2010
9:24 pm
Unfair, it’s just unfair. I feel that they have went to far.Don’t you think that 77% is just a little to much to put on the price of college tuition. Teachers also have one of the lowest paying jobs when they should be making a fortune when they got us fighting for a education. There are a lot of unnecessary things we use that could be taxed in order for the state to keep from raising the taxes on colleges. A college education is very useful to become successful in our society. Life is filled with a lot of stumbling blocks, but if put our heads together we can go around these stumbling blocks. Education is a must to become successful individals in the world we live in to make a difference
megan burkett
March 3rd, 2010
11:32 pm
Being a freshman at Gordon College, I did not understand the importance of the list submitted to be removed next year if no other solution could be made. The Board of Regents is demanding millions of dollars to be cut by many Georgia colleges. Through my intriguing desire to learn more about this scandal, I have learned that all the resources planning to be cut are vital to Gordon College. Hearing my fellow student body protest this idea of losing all these wonderful resources made me realize how important this matter is, and that all students should be worried about the effect it will have on them. The Board of Regents needs to put themselves in the place of the students when deciding how to solve the problem. When a student looks for a college, they look for the attractions, campus landscape, and the quality of the faulty. Once these things are cut the student’s interest is also cut (no students, no school). This reaction could be fatal to Gordon as a growing college. Gordon, from what I understand, had big growing plans for next year. In order for Gordon to grow, these plans need to be set forth. With growth of the campus and dorm life, the result is more students, and more tuition money coming in.
Jennifer Neill
March 4th, 2010
9:46 am
Wow! An increase is budget for college tuition, is exactly what we need…NOT! If this takes place in the Georgia College system it will have the total wrong affect. Does anyone who is making these decisions think about all the bad things that are going to happen if they force these changes? First of all, there is no way that as many students can attend college after these changes. Because some students cannot afford to pay a higher cost and for many other reasons as well. So how can high school counselors and teacher and pretty much the whole society pressure you into to going to college and tell you how much better it will benefit you when you might not even be able to have that option after the cuts. The main reason that we go to college is to graduate. Well if the classes are full that we need to take to achieve that goal then what is the point. So they want us to just take pointless classes so that we can be taking a class but it’s not the one that we need which makes that a waste of money for us. I realize that not every professor at every school has time to chat with students one on one but they at least have office hours so that if you need them you can go there. But if faculty members get cut at schools then the ones that are there will have to teach more classes and then they will rarely ever if all have time to even be in their office. This cut will do nothing good for the students and professors that attend and teach at Georgia Colleges and Universities. So please take a step back and think about more things than money.