Tuition spikes in state two-year college system

Tuition at Southern Union State Community College and other two-year schools in the state will increase for the first time in five years after the state board of education approved a 19.7 percent increase Thursday.

While the rate per credit hour will increase beginning spring semester, student fees will remain the same, said Jaynne Gilbert, assistant director of communications for the Department of Postsecondary Education.

“So the overall cost to a student is really 15.56 percent,” she said.

The increase comes to about $420 a year, taking annual costs for tuition and fees from $2,700 to $3,120.

For Southern Union students, the hike translates to about $104 per credit hour with fees, according to spokeswoman Shondae Brown.

Tuition for each hour of class will go from $71 to $85 in spring 2010 and will go up to $90 per credit hour in fall 2010. Credit hours will automatically go up $2 each year starting in fall 2011.

Brown said the increase was necessary to offset proration and avoid cuts to staff and programs to the college, which has 5,160 students between its three campuses.

Brown predicted the rate increase would have little impact on the school enrollment, citing the school’s tuition was still much cheaper than its four-year counterparts.

“We don’t anticipate it will affect our enrollment ... we certainly hope it won’t,” Brown said.

Advisers for the community college system said the increase was necessary to offset a loss of $92 million in state funding.

Stephanie Bell of Montgomery was the only board member to oppose the plan, which she said was unfair because the board had earlier voted not to raise rates before 2012. Bell said she was also against the hike because it’s coming midyear after students have already planned out their expenses for 2009-10.

“There are students who will not qualify for a Pell Grant or need-based scholarships — they’re in the middle — and yet they have to pay for tuition plus their tax dollars go toward Pell and the scholarships,” she said.

It’s certainly a lot for Deon Nelson, a 21-year-old studying computer information systems and taking a full load of four classes at Montgomery’s Trenholm Technical College.

His school costs are covered by a Pell Grant, but Nelson said it would be a different story if he had to pay out-of-pocket.

“If I didn’t get a Pell Grant the next time around, it would probably mean just taking one class because that’s all I could afford,”  he said.

Board member Betty Peters of Dothan voted for the hike but said she did so with mixed feelings. She said she hopes more time will be spent helping students find scholarship opportunities so they can continue their education.

The tuition increase is expected to raise about $21.5 million in revenue for the 2009-10 school year.

Preliminary numbers for September show 92,329 students were enrolled in the system’s 25 community and technical college campuses.

Interim Chancellor Joan Davis said the rate increase comes at a time when the system is experiencing record enrollment.

“On the other hand, that record enrollment is straining already tight budgets and resources at our colleges,” she said.

Staff Writer Ed Enoch contributed to this report.