The future of some Georgia students uncertain
By Micco Caporale
Students across the state of Georgia have been protesting proposed budget cuts to colleges and universities, which may lead to tuition increases and discontinuation of degree programs.
In late February, the State House and Senate Appropriations Higher Education subcommittees requested a draft of the University System of Georgia (USG)’s budget with $300 million revised out of it. The budget cuts were proposed on top of the governor’s $265 million in recommended cuts, but the General Assembly has yet to vote on them.
The Board of Regents also has to approve them before money can be allocated to the 35 colleges and universities that comprise the USG, so the cuts are not set in stone. That said, however, potentially affected students and faculty fear the future. SCAD, however, is not a member of USG and will not be affected by the proposed budget cuts.
USG Chancellor Erroll Davis released the revised budget as an institution-specific list. Over 4,000 jobs and dozens of programs would be eliminated. Satellite campuses would be closed. Enrollment would be capped. Library hours would be scaled back along with bookstores, student centers and food vendors. Thousands of students would be out of an education, despite their investments.
Campuses have quickly rallied to respond. Students and faculty diligently write letters to legislators, organize demonstrations, and meet with various figureheads hoping to see some action in their favor. They have also reached out to their communities for awareness and support.
Some schools have even begun preparing students for the cuts, like North Georgia College and State University, which began an awareness program with presentations on alternatives for students most affected.
Students at Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU) have been meeting to discuss their options, but like a lot of students, they do not have many from which to choose. One of the programs facing the axe at AASU is speech and pathology, which only four other schools in the state offer. Students would have to travel 140 miles to the nearest alternative, and with caps on enrollment it is uncertain whether they would even get in.
If the cuts pass, speech and pathology will be absorbed into a general science and biology degree. The problem is, as Keisha Williams, student and key organizer at AASU, put it, “Many students are already far along in their degrees. Many of them are older or already know what they want to do, and these cuts are just not fair to them.”
