Students in Georgia's public colleges and universities will pay 5 percent higher tuition next year under a recommendation expected to be approved today by the state Board of Regents.

The increase, while below what some university officials said they need, will cost students at the state's research universities --- the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State and the Medical College of Georgia --- an additional $160 a year. Students at other four-year colleges will pay $110 more, and students at two-year colleges $70 more.

Chancellor Thomas Meredith said he recommended the increases --- on the heels of last year's 15 percent rise in tuition at the top four schools --- to give the universities needed funds while keeping education affordable.

"Clearly we could have used 10 to 15 percent," Meredith said Tuesday. "We have to do what is right for the institutions."

The chancellor also recommended an increase in student fees of up to 5 percent at some of the schools.

The board will take its formal vote on the tuition increases this morning.

It also will consider raising out-of-state tuition for undergraduates at Georgia Tech by 10 percent, to $16,648 a year.

Robert McMath, Tech's vice provost, said he did not expect the increase to affect fall enrollment, which is expected to include slightly more out-of-state freshmen than last fall. He said the Tech Foundation would provide additional financial aid for students who need help.

"We do not want to price students out of the ability to come," McMath said.

At Georgia State, the tuition increase will allow the school to unfreeze some tenure-track positions, said GSU Provost Ron Henry.

"This allows us to at least be ahead of where we were last year," he said.

University of Georgia Provost Arnett Mace said the additional funds would allow UGA to fill about 30 faculty positions. UGA has restricted the size of the fall 2004 freshman class to 4,500 to control costs.

The 5 percent increase in tuition will cost the lottery-funded HOPE scholarship program about $10 million more in the coming year, said Shelley Nickel, president of the Georgia Student Finance Commission. "That is within what we had projected for next year," Nickel said.

Altogether, the increase in tuition will affect about 210,000 students in the state's University System.

Tuition increases typically generate little outrage in Georgia because HOPE covers much of the cost of college for many of the state's high school graduates. About 100,000 Georgia students receive HOPE scholarships. Most of them attend public colleges and universities.

Though many students lose the scholarship after their first year in college, tuition and fees rank low in comparison to schools in other states.

Staff writers David Simpson and Dana Tofig contributed to this article.