Cuts likely for state schools

Georgia colleges are bracing for even steeper budget cuts. According to the meeting agenda, tomorrow the University Board of Regents will be asked to approve 8 percent reductions for the current fiscal year. That's up from the 6 percent cuts the board already OK'd. The Regents will also vote on reducing employer contributions to health care plans. And students may have to pay a temporary fee of up to $100 to help fill the budget hole.

(Associated Press)

Grants to boost number of Georgia nurses

Sixteen of Georgia’s public universities will receive a total of $3 million in grants to produce more nursing graduates. The Board of Regents for the University System of Georgia hopes its Nursing Education Initiative will remedy the state’s shortage of registered nurses. The funding will be used to expand education programs and boost nursing faculty salaries around the state. Dr. Daniel Rahn is President of the Medical College of Georgia and a University System senior vice chancellor. He said the initiative is intended to increase by 50% the number of new registered nursing grads by 2010.

Tuition hikes loom

Some Georgia college and graduate students could see a big rate hike next year. The Athens Banner-Herald reports that the University Board of Regents is set to approve several tuition hikes today and tomorrow. The regents could sign off on letting heads of graduate and professional programs set their own rates. For some at the University of Georgia that would mean between 10 – and 65% increases. Now, graduate students across Georgia’s university system are gathering to protest the hikes.