Editor’s note: This story will be updated with a response from the university.
For the second year in a row, the Georgia Board of Regents decided to freeze 2021-22 school year tuition and fees for public college students. Like their previous decision in April 2020, the board’s Tuesday cited financial insecurity during the pandemic as the main contributing factor in their decision.
Tuition for the upcoming fall semester at Georgia State will stay at $4,474 for in-state students and $13,993 for out-of-state students, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
“It is more important than ever for the Board of Regents to remove barriers that may stand in the way of students’ success,” University System of Georgia Chairman Sachin Shailendra said. “That work must include keeping the cost of our colleges and universities affordable so that students and their families can successfully get their degrees, improve their quality of life and help increase Georgia’s economic competitiveness.”
USG Chancellor Steve Wrigley applauded the decision, noting that it aided in the USG’s goal to make higher education more affordable for students and their families.
“We are grateful for the support of the Board and state leaders toward this priority, and recognize students’ hard work especially over the past year to maintain success toward graduating and entering Georgia’s workforce with college degrees,” Wrigley said in a statement.
The USG announced in early March that campus would resume regular in-person instruction in the fall because of increased vaccine availability.
Georgia ranks lowest in the nation for the number of residents vaccinated. As of Tuesday, 3.25 million Georgians have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, about 30% of the state’s population. Over 1.7 million, or 16%, are fully vaccinated.
States with similar populations sizes rank much higher, such as Michigan, with 2.3 million people fully vaccinated, or about 23% of the population.
