ATLANTA — A possible tuition increase could be coming to the University System of Georgia following recent cuts in state funding that amount to $66 million in total.
On top of that, the university system said 20 of the 26 colleges and universities will already be receiving less money due to declines in enrollment.
Georgia Gwinnett College sophomore Eulvin Garcia said depending on the tuition hike, he may not be able to take the amount of classes he wishes to.
"It could make me want to decide to not go into school anymore because it’s too much for me," he said. "It can be overwhelming for me and my parents.”
Those costs, on top of the money being taken out of state funding, will amount to $71.6 million not going to those universities in the 2024 fiscal year, officials added.
“This is an incredibly disappointing outcome, given the work done over the years by our state leaders to elevate higher education and send Georgia on a path to ascension,” USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue said in a statement. “It will have a significant impact on institutions and the services that students and families depend on to advance their prosperity and help Georgia succeed.”
In a phone interview with 11Alive, Perdue explained that staff and students will be most impacted by this.
"I’m not trying to talk about doom," he said. "But when you have virtually most all of your budget being utilized by personnel, the only way you can realign that is to have people impacted and affected on our campuses. That’s unfortunate but there’s no other way."
Perdue said larger schools are best positioned to deal with a smaller budget, but added that the loss would be more problematic for smaller colleges.
"We've got... 22 other colleges, universities out there that are just really almost living hand to mouth right now," he explained.
He adds that this comes at an especially difficult time as schools in the system have been experiencing decreased enrollment.
"They earn these funds by formula, and 20 out of the 26 institutions were going to have less money this year than they had the last year had the cut, not even taken place," he said.
Mallory Tullis is also a sophomore at Georgia Gwinnett College.
"I think the attendance would drop a lot," Tullis said. "A lot of people might not be able to afford it anymore and then I don’t know what would happen to the programs here because they’re already kind of small for what we have."
As of now, there is no word on how much university system officials hope to raise tuitions by.
The University System of Georgia previously released a full breakdown of how much in funds each university under its control is expected to lose. Those results can be viewed here.
"I think education is very important to everybody, especially higher education because you’re trying to compete for a job now," Tullis added. "But if you’re going to sit here and cut it, then how am I supposed to have a fighting chance in the job market?"
Recently, Gov. Kemp vetoed a bill that would have prevented state universities from raising tuition and fees by more than 3% without approval from Georgia lawmakers.
In a statement, the university system said that while tuition increase is an option under consideration to combat the budget decrease, no official decision has been made. They add that an official recommendation on the matter is expected to be made in May.
This story has been updated to better reflect the university system's status on the decision regarding tuition increases.