Georgia's public college students will pay between $150 and $450 more per semester in tuition and fees under an increase the Board of Regents approved Tuesday.

Tuition will increase 3 percent and mandatory fees will go up more than $100 starting this fall. The board's move helps address a $346 million shortfall in funding for the fiscal year starting July 1.

The hike will help cover the gap that stems from state budget cuts passed last week, an ongoing surge in enrollment and disappearing federal stimulus dollars.

Students aren't surprised.

"It is what it is," said Noam Ben-Avraham, a freshman at Gainesville State College. "Everything else is increasing as well. Though it may affect a few students negatively, you have to think about everything else that is being cut, including cuts to scholarships."

This fall, the tuition increase won't be covered by the HOPE scholarship. Under changes passed by lawmakers during the 2011 session, the scholarship would cover 90 percent of tuition. With Tuesday's increase, HOPE will now fund 87.4 percent.

"I don't find myself in a situation where the increase will affect me too much," said Rory Collins, a sophomore at GSC who earned the HOPE scholarship for this fall. "However, it will affect some people more, and I empathize with them because they're trying to start over with their lives and get a basic education."

Overall, the changes are a 9 percent increase for students.

"That's what we were hearing," said Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, who carried the HOPE changes in the Georgia legislature. "I'm glad to see the Regents are looking ahead and keeping in mind the changes that were necessary for the HOPE scholarship program. I hope they continue to be diligent in working with the legislature and keeping the costs in mind."

The tuition increase ranges from $36 a semester at two-year colleges to $106 a semester at research institutions. This means $41 at GSC and $69 at North Georgia College & State University.

The increase would be one of the smallest for the system. Tuition rose by as much as 16 percent at some colleges this year and jumped by 25 percent during the 2009-10 academic year.

But students will still have a large out-of-pocket expense because of an increase in a special fee created two years ago in response to state budget cuts. This means an extra $100 per semester in fees for GSC and NGCSU students.

"We've aimed all along to keep fees reasonable because we know access to college means economic access as well as location and admissions," said GSC President Martha Nesbitt. "We're still among the lowest in the state, and it's important for students to know how much it will cost when they're looking at colleges."

State officials described the 2012 fiscal year as "extremely challenging." The system lost $346 million in state funding, including money to cover enrollment growth.

"We've seen significant growth over the past few years and have relied on that funding to help us keep pace with the increase in students," said Kate Maine, director of public relations at NGCSU. "It means we'll have to evaluate our budgets further, but the increase is lower than what we anticipated initially, so it's a good balance as the university system tries to maintain academic integrity and quality."

The tuition increase will raise $30 million, and the fee change will generate an additional $90 million.

That covers about one-third of the state budget reduction, meaning college presidents will have to cut spending on campuses.

"I think it's a workable plan and a very fair increase that translates to 9 percent overall, which is significantly less than what people were expecting," said Philip Wilheit, a Gainesville native who serves on the Board of Regents. "It'll help make up for that shortfall, and we all have to make sacrifices. That's how life is right now until we can get this economy turned around."

Students and families will continue to watch tuition rates closely as they plan for the fall.

For Josh Delaney, former Student Government Association president at the University of Georgia, it's about keeping the students in mind.

"This is pretty fair in relation to inflation and keeping up with costs," he said. "Still, the regents have made a decision without a student voice in the process, and I hope in the future they will."

Delaney and other student government officers around the state have asked the regents to put a student on the board. Delaney handed over the reins as UGA's top leader to Mallory Davis on Tuesday night and charged her with the same goal.

"I've spent the last few years of my life to get the student voice included," he said. "I hope the administration are good stewards of this income generated by the increase, and I hope they include students in how to spend it. It's our money and our experience."

Associated Press contributed to this report.