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ANALYSIS: UGA slowly alters contracts with students, faculty
HAYLEY PETERSON
Issue date: 4/16/09 Section: News
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These moves reflect more than just a slashed state budget.
The Regents and the administration are stripping students and faculty of their contractual guarantees. Fueled by the uncertainty of state funding, the administration is positioning itself in a way that will allow for spontaneous changes - whether it is a new fee, further tuition increases or faculty furloughs. The administration is preparing for the worst in its fight to keep the University out of the red and up to par with its competitors.
Tuesday's tuition increases come without much surprise - University President Michael Adams has been pitching that proposal all year. Even the $100 semester fee was to be expected.
It was the hike in credit hours that slipped through the cracks and blindsided the University community. To be clear, none of the Regents' decisions will directly affect University students currently enrolled in the "Fixed for Four" guaranteed tuition plan.
But increasing demands for credits among incoming freshman could affect class size and availability in the coming years.
Breana Bittman, a sophomore from Bainebridge, said demand for classes in her major is so high that she picked up a second major, just so she could enroll in upper-level courses. "I'm running out of electives to take," said Bittman, an international affairs and political science major.
And more credit hours doesn't equal more tuition dollars under the University's new flat-rate tuition model.
So what is the Regents' motive here?
Credit-hour enrollment is a critical factor in determining the University's state funds - which are 38 percent of the University's overall budget.
"The funding formula is a mathematical calculation based on credit hours students take and is used to generate the instructional formula," said Regents' spokesman John Millsaps in a phone interview Wednesday. The state uses the instructional formula to determine how much money every state school and college will receive each fiscal year, he said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 18
Why don't you do it...
posted 4/16/09 @ 7:30 AM EST
"that way we can get students through college in four years"...
why the sudden urge to rush us through? You say 15hrs a semester is not an unreasonable request? well finishing college in 5 years is not an unreasonable achievement. (Continued…)
Sarah
posted 4/16/09 @ 9:18 AM EST
I'm still left wondering what is happening with graduate students and their full-time class load and tuition rates? Could we get some info on that please?
Phonics for College Students
posted 4/16/09 @ 10:25 AM EST
"Why don't you do it..." wants "'high standing officials' to 'loose' their 6-figure jobs, go back to college..."
I just want students to learn the difference between "lose" and "loose"--two completely different words! PLEASE invest in a spelling lesson and stop relying on your spellchecker before publicly embarrassing yourself (and your former teachers). (Continued…)
Courtney
posted 4/16/09 @ 10:40 AM EST
I am taking 12 hours each semester and working 25 hours per week, on top of a 35 hour load of field experience/student teaching. There is absolutely no way I could make the grades necessary to get into the early childhood education program with 15 hours per semester with everything else. (Continued…)
Robert
posted 4/16/09 @ 12:18 PM EST
Come on R&B. Us graduate students need to here about our situation.
like I said, why don't you do it
posted 4/16/09 @ 12:42 PM EST
"phonics for college students" is apparently "so tired of seeing errors such in this in posts by students"
oh my! It seems we apparently all make little typos. (Continued…)
the other side
posted 4/16/09 @ 1:06 PM EST
It seems to me that this is a great opportunity for a teachable moment...
Tuition is going up - that is unfortunate because we will need to come up with more money to cover tuition (or find more scholarships and grants or loans) OR make a decision to not take as many classes or any at UGA b/c of the being outpriced. (Continued…)
amber stancil
posted 4/16/09 @ 2:16 PM EST
what about those of us who worked our tails off taking 18 hour semesters so our last year wouldn't be as stressful and hectic? i am about to start my senior year and was so excited about only having to take 12 hours for each of my last two semesters, i guess that is over now. (Continued…)
Mary
posted 4/16/09 @ 2:56 PM EST
Another Educational Opportunity:
UGA is a public university. It gets funding from four primary sources:
1) State taxes (The College Republicans were opposing taxes yesterday, and they will be happy to know that the state legislature has been following a doctrine of lower taxation for many years. (Continued…)
Daniel
posted 4/16/09 @ 3:02 PM EST
Having just read two different documents from the Board of Regents, this change seems to effect nothing more than the tuition of students--pre-08/06 or post-08/08--who take less than 15 hours. (Continued…)
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