Regents approve $200 mandatory fee; 8 percent budget cuts loom - MIMI ENSLEY, Red and Black

Students will pay a $200 fee next semester, the Board of Regents decided Tuesday. The Regents agreed to double the mandatory special institutional fee as the University System of Georgia braces itself for 8 percent budget cuts - up from 6 percent - in the coming year. Eight percent cuts will total budget losses at $176 million for fiscal year 2010. Some students are already worried about covering the fee hike. "[The fee] hurts me. It's already hard enough for my family and me to pay," said Stephanie Tiv, a senior from Winder. "I wasn't very happy about even the $100 [fee], so to raise it again, that really hurts."