HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) The state Board of Regents has increased tuition and fees by 4.8 percent at Connecticut's community colleges and regional state universities.

Gregory Gray, president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education, said Thursday his staff discussed ``40 or 50 scenarios'' to grapple with a $48.6 million budget gap next year before agreeing on a tuition increase he called ``appropriate and necessary.''

The Hartford Courant reports that for Connecticut residents, the average increase will be $186 more for community college students and $440 more for university students.

A group of students protested the increase, urging Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the legislature to increase funding.

On average, state residents pay $3,786 in tuition and fees annually at the state's 12 community colleges and $9,169 in tuition at the four state regional universities.