Georgia Board of Regents Freezes Tuition and Fees

Georgia Board of Regents Freezes Tuition and Fees

Bailey Ballard | Asst. News Editor

The Georgia Board of Regents in acknowledgement of financial hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic voted on Tuesday for all tuition and fees to stay at their current prices at the University System of Georgia’s 26 public colleges and universities for the upcoming school year.

“Georgia College’s tuition and rates will also hold steady at previous levels,” Cindy O’Donnell, media specialist stated in an email.

For the 2020-2021 school year undergraduate flat rates of tuition and fees was $4,762.00 for an in-state student registered over 7 hours and out-of-state tuition was $14,352.00. According to the business office, tuition and fees have been frozen since the 2019-2020 school year and will remain the same for next school year.

“We hope this measure provides some financial relief to our students and their families after a difficult pandemic year,” said O’Donnell.

According to the Georgia Student Finance Commission, the Hope Scholarship will be $2,748 for a full-time student at 12 hours while the Zell Miller Scholarship will offer $3,754 for a full-time student at 12 hours.

According to the IRS website, for the third economic impact payment, eligible individuals who did not file a joint tax return will receive up to $1,400.

Comparing these numbers to the current frozen tuition and fees, a full-time student may save up to $4,148 if they have the Hope Scholarship or $5,154 if they have the Zell Miller Scholarship.

According to the Office of Financial Aid, students who are required to pay out-of-state tuition due to their non-Georgia residency status are not eligible for the HOPE Scholarship or Zell Miller Scholarship.

When asked about other COVID relief decisions, financial aid assistant director Alyson Smith stated in reference to COVID relief scholarships, that they do not currently have any scholarships that serve as COVID relief funds.

“The COVID relief funding that our office has awarded is in the form of grants through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) from the U.S. Department of Education. We have had two allocations of these funds in the last year,” said Smith.

GC and the University System of Georgia continue to acknowledge the hardships and struggle of students during this time and have continued to offer opportunities to help students facing the negative effects of COVID-19 and the pandemic.

 

 

 

The original version of this article that appeared in the April 28, 2021 edition of the Colonnade contained an error. The following statement is incorrect: “For out-of-state tuition, this would reduce tuition and fees to $10,204 under the Hope Scholarship or $9,198 under the Zell Miller Scholarship.” In fact, according to the Office of Financial Aid, students who are required to pay out-of-state tuition due to their non-Georgia residency status are not eligible for the HOPE Scholarship or Zell Miller Scholarship.