ATLANTA – The University System of Georgia (USG) has reduced the financial burden of attending college significantly in recent years, the system’s chief financial officer said Tuesday.
The state’s share of the cost fell as low as 47% in the aftermath of the Great Recession more than a decade ago, Tracey Cook told members of the university system Board of Regents. Students were forced to pick up the other 53%, Cook said.
The economic recovery since then has allowed the state to increase its share of the cost to 60%, while students now are paying 40% of the tab, she said.
Besides restoring cuts to the state’s student funding formula imposed during the pandemic, the General Assembly also has eliminated the special institutional fees the system began charging students during the Great Recession and restored full funding of HOPE scholarships, Cook said.
“We know going to college costs a lot,” system Chancellor Sonny Perdue added. “But the USG has done a good job in making it as affordable as possible.”
Cook said the federal government also played a role in boosting the system’s funding by allocating $1.6 billion during the pandemic, 40% of which went directly to students.
The findings she presented Tuesday came from an audit the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts released last month.