By Morgan Quattlebaum |ContributorThe Georgia Board of Regents has voted to raise tuition by 2.5 percent starting in Fall 2019. A 2.5 percent increase roughly translates to between $35 to $125 more per semester for each USG student.While students know that tuition is not cheap, they all end up paying it usually without questioning the amount.The number of students who were aware of the Georgia tuition increase was relatively low. Indeed, several students at Augusta University were completely unaware of the increase in tuition.The increase brought out several strong reactions from students.“I feel like college is already expensive, so why keep raising the prices,” said Sarah Hemphill, a nursing student at Augusta University.Many of the students who were interviewed seemed to all agree on one thing: the fact that they had no idea where the money is going. The majority said that they would feel a better about paying extra if they knew the dollars were going toward AU offering the best educational experience possible.“I would feel better about it if I knew why,” said Mathew Tuten, an education major at Augusta University. “If I could be shown tangible data actually showing that the money that’s increasing with tuition is going toward important things, then great.”According to the Board of Regents, for fiscal year 2020, all full-time students who will be attending AU’s Summerville Campus will see a 2.5 percent increase in tuition and fees. This means the usual tuition cost of $3,362 per semester will rise to $3,446. Fees were $960 a semester this past academic year, according to the university.“Limiting tuition increases to 2.5 percent will help enable institutions to balance the critical needs of affordability and quality for students and families," said University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley.Many of the basic services of a college campus are costly, and some are on the increase because of rising gasoline prices, which has an effect on other materials and services.According to Collegetuitioncompare.com, USG still has some of the lowest tuition rates in the Southeast. The highest tuition average among the states that border with Georgia is South Carolina at $7,906, and the lowest is North Carolina at $3,343. Georgia's average tuition comes in at $4,502.AU students paid tuition at a cost of $224 per credit hour for 2018-19. Contact Morgan Quattlebaum at MQUATTLEBAUM@augusta.edu.