The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Graduate School will hold an information session for students interested in pursuing a graduate
degree, especially for residents from Georgia and Alabama who can now benefit from a reduced graduate tuition rate.
The information open house will be held on Tuesday, November 17, 4:30-6:30 p.m. in the Chattanooga Rooms of the UTC University Center. Representatives from UTC’s various graduate programs will be on hand to answer questions and help students apply and register. For more information, contact the UTC Graduate School at (423) 425-4666 or on the web at http://www.utc.edu/GraduateSchool/.
UTC recently announced this step in the direction of full accessibility for North Georgia and Alabama graduate students seeking advanced degrees. Residents of Catoosa, Dade, Fannin, Murray, Walker, and Whitfield counties in Georgia and Jackson county in Alabama now qualify for a regional tuition rate for graduate classes at UTC in spring
semester 2010, beginning January 6.
Eligible students pay a tuition rate equal to in-house fees plus 25 percent of out of state tuition. Currently, these out-of-state students pay $3,004 per three hour credit course; beginning spring semester 2010, that same three hour credit course will cost $1,591.
“Thanks to a decision by the UT Board of Trustees, we can serve a large population in North Georgia and Jackson County, Alabama, that did not have access to affordable, advanced degrees,” said UTC Provost Philip Oldham. “This reduced tuition rate helps our institution to fulfill its metropolitan mission.”
Master’s and doctoral degrees, certificates and specialist programs are included in the regional tuition rate.
This expansion of the regional tuition rate program follows the unquestioned success of the undergraduate regional tuition program, available for students with more than 60 hours of credit in the Georgia and Alabama counties. In the fall 2009 semester, there are 145 students participating in the Regional Tuition Rate program.
“After conducting an in-depth cost and capacity analysis of all UTC graduate programs, we determined that all of our programs can accommodate additional students without the incurrence of additional costs,” Oldham said.
UTC’s presence in Chattanooga as a major, community engaged university with comprehensive degree offerings at both the undergraduate and graduate levels helped convince Volkswagen executives to select Chattanooga for their $1 billion investment. To adequately serve the needs of all major employers, it is essential for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to provide graduate education to those individuals within its economic service zone.
“The regional tuition program is designed to provide education that will then drive the economy of Tennessee for all its citizens,” Oldham said.
