Ga. Regents to meet on tuition increases Tuesday

ATLANTA - The Georgia Board of Regents is set to raise tuition during its monthly meeting this week.

The board will meet Tuesday and Wednesday to deal with a massive shortfall because of state budget cuts, skyrocketing enrollment and dried up federal stimulus money. The state's 35 colleges and universities are set to lose $346 million in funding for the fiscal year starting July 1.

Students and families are watching tuition increases closely after state lawmakers cut back the HOPE scholarship program. Thousands of students who once received full tuition will only get a portion of that money starting this fall.

The changes were put in place to help save the HOPE program from going broke. The program was faced with flattened lottery ticket sales, growing enrollment and steep tuition hikes.