State Representative Matt Dollar (R-Marietta) announced that he is introducing The Tuition Certainty Act, which would provide a legislative mechanism to limit annual tuition increases at University System of Georgia institutions. The bill was originally introduced during the 2016 legislation session.

“The cost of completing post-secondary education has increased exponentially in the state, and our students and families have been forced to bear the brunt of the consequences either by accumulating enormous debt from student loans, or by having to make the tough choice of deferring college due to its high costs,” said Rep. Dollar. “These cost increases have had a continued negative impact on our constituents and it is time that we explore options that will restrict these out-of-control costs and help our students achieve academic success without extreme financial burdens.”

The bill would provide a tuition limitation formula that considers the previous year’s average state tuition at two and four-year institutions, as well as the annual rate of inflation to determine the amount in which institutions would be permitted to increase annual tuition costs. Under this legislation, institutions whose previous year’s tuition was equal to or below the state average, tuition increases would be limited to the rate of inflation multiplied by the average tuition. And for those institutions whose previous year’s tuition was greater than the state average, tuition increases would only be limited to the rate of inflation. This bill would also allow this same formula to be used to determine student fee increases, unless otherwise approved by the institution’s student body.

Further, the bill would allow USG institution’s the opportunity to seek a waiver from these tuition increase limits, subject to the approval of the House Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee and Senate Higher Education Committee. Instances in which a wavier would be approved include: a recession; a decline in state appropriations; a change in institutional mission; the consolidation of institutions; and any additional circumstances deemed appropriate by the committees.