Chancellor defends temporary student fee

ATHENS - The Chancellor of Georgia's University System is defending a decision to charge students at the state's public colleges and univesities a temporary $100 fee for Spring semester.

Erroll Davis says the fee, imposed as part of an 8 per cent cut in the University System's budget, does not dilute the fact that Georgia's colleges and universities are the least expensive in the South. Comparing the cost of an education at one of the state's 35 public colleges and universities to a gallon of gasoline, Davis says Georgia schools are a bargain. As an example, Davis says if Georgia is charging $1.50 a gallon, the average cost in surrounding states would be $2.15. Even with the temporary student fee included, the
cost rises to just $1.59.

Speaking to state lawmakers meeting at the University of Georgia in Athens, the Chancellor says the University System will do its part to hold down costs. He reminds members of the legislature that the University System is managing risks that are very different from risks in other agencies.

Instead of being concerned about longer lines at the the Department of Driver
Services, or longer wait times on the phone, Davis says the state's colleges and universities are managing "the production of future leaders" and "we have to get it right." Davis says the "unique and special" missions of the state's public colleges should remain untouched but "everything else" is a candidate for " either standardization or consolidation." As a first step he says separate
payroll departments will be consolidated.