As the economy struggles to stay afloat, Georgia’s state colleges and universities have seen an increase in the number of students clamoring back on board for more school.

While student populations are climbing, the state Board of Regents approved a plan Tuesday slashing campus budgets by 6 percent.

“Compared with fall 2007, there are 10,000 more students enrolled in college,” said Rome’s Willis Potts, the 11th Congressional District’s representative to the University System of Georgia Board of Regents. “That’s the equivalent of another University of West Georgia, and we’re having to educate these students with a 6-percent decrease in the budget.”

Campuses and budget observers had expected the board’s move following an August vote to cut the University System of Georgia’s overall spending plan.

The vote was in response to Gov. Sonny Perdue’s request that all state operated agencies develop 6 percent, 8 percent and 10 percent budget reduction plans to deal with the $1.6 billion deficit the state is facing this fiscal year.

Tuesday’s action marked the first time regents have voted on specific budget cuts for each of the system’s 35 colleges and universities.

“It became clear that the only reasonable way to apportion the budget cuts was to do it across the board,” said Potts. “All of the systems schools received a 6-percent cut.”

Essentially, the board adopted in their entirety plans for slicing campus budgets by 5 percent. Those plans had been submitted by college presidents earlier this summer, when the state expected a smaller budget cut.

“I think in terms of the 6-percent cut we’ve certainly met the challenge,” said Georgia Highlands College President Randy Pierce. “We have not compromised the core mission of our school, or the quality of the core mission, and we have certainly met our objectives of trying to save people’s jobs.”

Georgia Highlands College is facing total budget cuts of approximately $934,935.

Pierce said the biggest casualty for GHC was the elimination of the Small Business Development Center in Rome, which was operated with the help of the University of Georgia. The Rome SBDC director, Peter Matthews, has been offered a position at another SBDC in Dalton.

University System of Georgia Chancellor Erroll Davis wanted plans that would give regents the option of picking and choosing from among the proposed reductions.

The board also approved a plan to level out the employer’s share of the premium for some of its higher-scale health-care programs, bringing down the cost for the most expensive package.

Campus-specific cuts include hiring freezes, lowering traveling expenses, and providing fewer opportunities for students to take some courses — such as study abroad.

University officials wondered whether the nation’s darkening economic outlook could trigger even deeper cuts.

Many campuses have already begun to take the steps they outlined, said Tim Burgess, senior vice president for finance and administration at the University of Georgia.

“By the first of August, we were sitting there with the essence of the plan that’s now been approved in place,” Burgess said.

He said hundreds of currently unfilled positions would remain open. UGA’s plan also anticipates declining to fill some jobs that will open up because of retirements.

Bill Megathlin, assistant to the president at Armstrong Atlantic State University, said his school is also holding some positions open but has so far avoided layoffs.

“All of it’s painful,” he said. “But I guess we’re hopeful that the 6 percent will be the bottom.”

Regents are also planning for cuts of 8 and 10 percent, which state officials have indicated are possible if state revenues continue to decline after an upward spike in September that could be temporary.

“Its been tough, and our universities have done a remarkable job of protecting their core, and the core message is education,” Potts said. “Things that aren’t involved directly with education have had to be cut.”

Both Megathlin and Burgess said their institutions would have to consider layoffs if state officials opted for the larger cuts.

“The magnitude of getting to 10 percent is so large at this point that we’ve got all kinds of different options, none of them good,” Burgess said. “And layoffs would probably have to be a part of that.”

“I have great confidence in our university presidents and staff to manage,” Potts said. “But, I’ll be glad when this is all over.”