1-7ede45dc3b220fc-2009-2010 tuition

							                             2009-10 Tuition Frequently Asked Questions
                                                    April 2009



GENERAL STATEMENT: DEFINITION OF FULL-TIME STUDENT
The changes in the per credit hour tuition rate for new students in the University System of Georgia raise
questions regarding at what point is a USG undergraduate student considered as a full-time student for purposes
of insurance, athletics, financial aid and some other classifications. For purposes of financial aid, insurance,
athletics, USG undergraduate students are considered full-time if they are enrolled in at least 12 credit hours in
any semester and are considered part time if enrolled in less than 12 credit hours in any semester. The fact that
students will be charged tuition for up to 15 credit hours has no effect on full-time student classification for the
purposes of financial aid, insurance or athletics.

Pell students are on an hourly schedule based on tuition costs and normal and customary living expenses for the
school's location. For example, students enrolled 1-5 hours receive less than 50 per cent of the Pell allotment, 6
hours receive 50 per cent, 7-8 hours receive more than 50 per cent, 9 hours receive 75 per cent and so on
according to the Pell Grant schedule until they reach 12 hours.

1) Q: Is tuition increasing this fall?
   A: If you are a student who enrolled in fall 2006, fall 2007 or fall 2008, you are under the Guaranteed
   Tuition Plan, and will see no change or increase in your tuition this fall.
   If you are a freshman enrolling for the first time summer 2009 or later, your tuition has been frozen at the
   per credit hour rate set last fall (fall 2008). So, while you will be paying tuition for the first time as a USG
   student, there is effectively no increase for your tuition for the 2009 academic year. The decision was made
   in light of the tough economic times and to help Georgia families.
   If you are a current USG student who is not on a guarantee tuition plan, you will see an increase of between
   6-12 percent depending on the number of hours you take this fall.
2) Q: Is the Guaranteed Tuition Plan being discontinued?
   A: For all students enrolling as freshmen summer 2009 or later, they will not be under the Guaranteed
   Tuition Plan. A key support for the Guaranteed Tuition Plan was continued strong state appropriations. The
   University System’s budget has been reduced $275.6 million for the upcoming fiscal year. It is no longer
   possible to fix tuition for four years in these circumstances.
3) Q: What about those students already in the Guaranteed Tuition Plan? Does this mean that they program is
   being ended for them as well as new students?
   A: A guarantee is just that – the Board of Regents is committed to providing the guarantee to those students
   who previously enrolled under the Guaranteed Tuition Plan. Therefore, these students will see no change in
   their tuition this fall.




4) Q: Will the Board reinstate the Guaranteed Tuition Plan for future freshmen classes, say in fall 2010?
USG Tuition FAQ – April 2009                                                                                page 2


  A: No one can speak for the Board in terms of what decisions they may make in the future. And certainly,
  future economic and other conditions are not known. While the plan certainly has provided greater stability
  in terms of budgeting year-to-year for students, an analysis of student course taking indicates that the plan
  has not had the desired effect of encouraging more students to take more classes and graduate within four
  years. When the progress-to-degree rate for the first class of students under the Guaranteed Tuition Plan (fall
  2006) is compared to the class of fall 2005 (who are not covered by the guarantee), results are clear. Students
  under the guarantee are not taking any more credits than non-guarantee students. At the halfway point of the
  four years, only two of every 100 students with the guarantee are taking more classes in order to graduate
  within four years. It is clear that the guarantee has not appreciably changed student behavior. This was one of
  the primary reasons for implementing the Guaranteed Tuition Plan. The failure to change student behavior,
  when coupled with a lack of continuing strong state support, makes the reinstatement of Guaranteed Tuition
  Plan in future years unlikely.
5) Q: What does this mean that you are charging a “per credit hour rate?” How will that affect my tuition?
   A: Historically, tuition has always been charged at a per credit hour rate up to 12 credit hours. There was
   no additional charge for taking more hours. Given the current budget picture, it is difficult to maintain
   academic quality and provide classes for free. At all institutions except Georgia Tech and the University of
   Georgia (UGA), students wishing to take more than 12 hours will pay for those hours (in addition to the
   standard semester tuition) up to the 15 hours. Students attending Tech and UGA will be charged a flat rate
   fee: $1,800 per semester for 6 hours or less, and $3,035 per semester for more than 6 hours.
6) Q: So will students in the Guaranteed Tuition Plan now have to pay additional tuition if they take the three
   credit hours above 12?
   A: No, this new policy doesn’t affect students on the Guaranteed Tuition Plan. Students on the Guaranteed
   Tuition Plan will see no change in their tuition rate, regardless of the number of hours taken. That is part of
   the guarantee.
7) Q: Will the new per credit hour tuition rate apply to students who enrolled prior to fall 2006 and who are
   not on the Guaranteed Tuition Plan?
   A: Yes, any student not on the Guaranteed Tuition Plan will pay the per credit hour tuition rate (and at
   UGA and Tech, the flat tuition rate).
8) Q: What does it mean that students enrolled at Georgia Tech and UGA will pay a “flat tuition rate?”
   A: In order to encourage students to take 15 hours a semester and to graduate in four years, the flat tuition
   rate means that students at Tech and UGA (only) pay one rate: either $1,800 per semester for 6 hours or less
   or $3,035 for more than 6 hours. Students who take more than 6 hours may choose to take fewer hours than
   15, but they will still pay for 15 credit hours.
9) Q: So it is not true that freshmen at UGA and Tech will see their tuition frozen at the fall 2008 credit hour
   rate – they will be paying more than new students enrolled at those two institutions in fall 2008.
   A: Fall 2009 freshmen at UGA and Tech will pay a flat rate that is calculated at a per credit hour rate of --
   $203 -- the exact same credit hour rate as charged in fall 2008. The difference is that they will pay a flat rate
   based on 15 hours, instead of the per credit hour rate set at 12 hours.




10) Q: Is there an institutional fee for student this fall?
USG Tuition FAQ – April 2009                                                                              page 3


   A: Yes. All students will pay a special institutional fee in the upcoming academic year: $100 a semester at
   the research universities, as well as at Georgia Southern University, Valdosta State University, Georgia
   College and State University, Kennesaw State University, Southern Polytechnic State University, and
   University of West Georgia; $75 a semester at the regional and state universities, and $50 a semester at the
   state and two-year colleges.
11) Q: I thought this was a temporary fee. Why is the fee being extended?
   A: The fee was originally set in December 2008 for the spring 2009 semester. At that time it was labeled as
   a temporary fee because, while the regents understood the economy was worsening and had been told to
   plan for budget cuts, the Governor had not yet made his budget recommendations and the General Assembly
   had not yet acted on those recommendations to set an amended budget for the current fiscal year or a new
   budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The temporary fee was part of the regents’ budget reduction plan. Now
   that the System’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget has been set and we have a much clearer picture of the state’s
   declining revenues, the board has decided that a special institutional fee must be part of the overall strategy
   to ensure access and academic excellence for students. This is not a fee that the regents want to put in place,
   but the times leave the board little choice. Otherwise, in order to ensure the academic quality, it would have
   been necessary to place the entire financial burden on new students and those students enrolled prior to fall
   2006, who are not part of the Guaranteed Tuition Plan. This would have been an unfair and very expensive
   burden, and the special fee spreads the cost equitably among all USG students.
12) Q: So is this new fee permanent?
   A: We do not know what the economy and consequently, the state’s budget picture will look like for fiscal
   year 2011 and beyond. The special fee applies for the Fiscal Year 2010. Next year the board will make
   decisions on tuition and fees based upon the budget adopted by the General Assembly. No one can say – or
   should predict – what options the regents will have and decisions they will take with respect to tuition and
   fees.
13) Q: So the institutional fee applies to students on the guaranteed tuition plan?
   A: Yes, the fee applies to all students, including those in the Guaranteed Tuition Plan.
14) Q: Is the fee covered by HOPE?
   A: No, HOPE does not cover fees approved by the regents after January 2004. This fee is not HOPE
   eligible.
15) Q: Last December, when the institutional fee was passed, there was concern expressed by students about a
    lack of consultation. What, if any, input did students have on the new fee?
   A: Students did voice their concerns last December and we listened. In February, at the Student Advisory
   Council Meeting, both Vice Chancellor for Fiscal Affairs Usha Ramachandran and Chancellor Erroll B.
   Davis Jr. spoke at length with student leaders about the fee, the budget, and possible options for Fiscal Year
   2010. Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan Herbst spoke to student government associations
   at both UGA and Georgia Tech. Prior to the April Board Meeting, USG presidents briefed student leaders
   on the campuses regarding the options. And of course, the Chancellor and Ms. Ramachandran again briefed
   the Student Advisory Council before the Regents’ April board meeting. Those meetings, particularly in
   February, allowed for significant student input. For example, student dissatisfaction with the Guaranteed
   Tuition Plan was an important – though not the only – factor in the recommendation to end the program. We
   have listened closely. The decision to implement the new fee will not be endorsed by all, but the decision
   reflects what, in the board’s consideration, is the most equitable solution to maintain academic quality in the
   face of extraordinary budget pressures.
16) Q. Will HOPE continue to cover my tuition? What about the flat tuition rate at Tech and UGA?
USG Tuition FAQ – April 2009                                                                                page 4


   A. Yes, HOPE will cover the tuition per credit hour rate up to 15 hours and it will pay new flat rate for
   students attending Tech and UGA.
17) Q. If I am on the Guaranteed Tuition Plan and I want to transfer, what rate will I pay? What if I transfer to
    Tech or UGA?
   A. Students who are on the Guaranteed Tuition Plan and who elect to transfer to another USG institution
   will pay the receiving institution's guaranteed tuition rate that was in place when the students first enroll on
   the Guaranteed Tuition Plan.
This includes students on the Guaranteed Tuition Plan who transfer to either
   Tech or UGA. Tuition changes for fall 2009 do not affect any student who is currently on the Guaranteed
   Tuition Plan, including those who transfer from one USG institution to another.
18) Q. I was on the Guaranteed Tuition Plan but it expires summer term. What will I pay if I enroll fall term?
   A. If you are on the Guaranteed Tuition Plan and it is set to expire this summer, then this fall you will pay
   the credit hour rate set for new students this fall. If you take more than 12 hours, you will pay for the
   additional hours up to 15 credit hours. If you are enrolled in either Tech or UGA and your Guaranteed
   Tuition Plan expires in summer 2009, for fall 2009 you will pay the flat rate for new students.
19) Q. I am on the Guaranteed Tuition Plan and I am on a 5-year program. What rate will I pay when my
    Guaranteed Tuition Plan expires?
   A. Students who are enrolled in a 5-year program or in a category which was previously approved for a
   Guaranteed Tuition Plan extension (active military) should consult with the Business Office of the
   institution they are currently attending to determine eligibility and tuition rate.
20) Q. I am a part-time student and my Guaranteed Tuition Plan will expire this year. What fee will I pay the
    next time I enroll?
   A. Students attending a USG institution with an expired Guaranteed Tuition Plan will pay the current per
   credit hour rate charged all students not on the Guaranteed Tuition Plan, up to 15 hours, at their institution,
   regardless of whether they were previously enrolled part-time of full-time. Part-time students attending
   Tech and UGA will go to the flat fee rate once their Guaranteed Tuition Plan expires.
22) Q. My insurance company requires that I be enrolled as a full-time student. I am taking 12 hours. Am I still
    considered a full-time student?
   A. Yes, for financial aid and verification of enrollment purposes, 12 hours is still considered full-time.
   However, it is important to remember that in order to complete your degree in 4 years you must take a
   minimum of 15 hours per semester.