Atlanta — January 13, 2004

University System of Georgia Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith today opened the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Board of Regents with “a few facts and figures regarding the University System of Georgia’s tuition and fees.”

Meredith said that as the legislative session kicks off, he felt it was imperative to set the record straight regarding the University System’s reputation and credibility. “Georgia has a documented and undisputed record of some of the lowest tuition rates in the nation,” the chancellor stated. “That record is due to this board’s long-term commitment to maintaining access to our 34 institutions through low tuition and fees.”

Meredith emphasized that Georgia’s tuition and fees remained undeniably low even as the price of higher education skyrocketed nationwide. “In the current academic year, one that was plagued by some of the highest tuition increases in the past decade - in some cases as high as 37 percent - Georgia ranked among the lowest increases in the nation,” he said. “Tuition at our most prestigious universities - Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia, which both rank in the Top 20 nationally - ranks 35th nationally, meaning 34 states charged higher tuition than Georgia, and only 15 states charged less.”

The chancellor also cited the steadily increasing student demand for access to the University System. “Public higher education in Georgia is a bargain, demonstrated by the fact that over the past two years, we’ve been bursting at the seams with record numbers of students - which now total close to a quarter million students enrolled in our colleges and universities.”

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